Harry Pickering (footballer)

This article is about the English footballer. For the English cricketer, see Harry Pickering (cricketer).

Harry Pickering

Pickering in December 2019
Personal information
Full name	Harry Leslie Pickering [1]
Date of birth	(1998-12-29) 29 December 1998 (age 25) [2]
Place of birth	Chester, England
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Left-back
Team information
Current team	Blackburn Rovers
Number	3
Youth career
0000–2016	Crewe Alexandra
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2021	Crewe Alexandra	127	(9)
2021–	Blackburn Rovers	108	(4)
2021	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	20	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:57, 5 May 2024 (UTC)

Harry Leslie Pickering (born 29 December 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers.

Career

Crewe Alexandra

A graduate of Crewe Alexandra's Academy, Pickering signed professional terms with Crewe in March 2016. ^{[3] [4]} He made his debut on 22 April 2017, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Callum Ainley against Leyton Orient at Gresty Road. ^[5] Pickering scored his first senior goal on 24 February 2018 with an equaliser from a direct free kick away at Lincoln City in a game Crewe eventually won 4–1. ^[6]

In April 2018, Pickering signed a new three-year contract at Crewe, with the option of a further year. ^[7] At Colchester United on 21 August 2018, Pickering sustained a hamstring injury ruling him out of action for over a month. ^[8]

In September 2020, Pickering signed a new three-year contract with the club, ^[9] and in December 2020 was named Crewe captain in the absence of Perry Ng ^[10] (Ng moved to Cardiff City the following month). Crewe rejected an initial offer from Blackburn Rovers during the January 2021 transfer window, ^[11] but later agreed his move to Blackburn on a four-and-a-half-year deal (to summer 2025) for an undisclosed fee, with Pickering remaining at Crewe on loan (and remaining club captain) until the end of the 2020–21 season. ^[12]

Blackburn Rovers

Pickering made his Rovers debut at Ewood Park in a 2–1 win over Swansea City on 7 August 2021. ^[13] He scored his first goal for Blackburn just over a month later in a 2–2 league draw against Luton Town at Ewood Park on 11 September 2021. ^[14] After a run of strong defensive performances, Pickering suffered a hamstring injury on 2 January 2022 in Blackburn's game against Huddersfield Town which ruled him out of first team action for several weeks. ^[15]

On 19 August 2023, Pickering received his first career red card after bringing down Hull City's Liam Delap in the 16th minute of Blackburn's 2–1 home defeat at Ewood Park. ^[16] In December 2023, shortly before his 100th game for Blackburn, he signed a contract extension committing himself to the club until 2027. ^[17] In January 2024, Pickering suffered a hamstring injury ruling him out for around six weeks. ^[18]

Career statistics

As of 7 May 2024

Club	Season	Division	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Crewe Alexandra	2016–17	League Two	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2017–18 [19]	League Two	35	3	3	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	40	3
	2018–19 [20]	League Two	32	0	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	35	0
	2019–20 [21]	League Two	35	3	4	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	43	3
	2020–21 [22]	League One	24	3	2	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	1	29	4
	Total		127	9	10	0	4	0	7	1	148	10
Blackburn Rovers	2020–21 [22]	Championship	0	0	–		–		–		0	0
	2021–22 [23]	Championship	32	2	0	0	1	0	–		33	2
	2022–23 [24]	Championship	40	1	5	0	1	0	–		46	1
	2023–24 [25]	Championship	36	1	1	0	4	0	–		41	1
	Total		108	4	6	0	6	0	0	0	120	6
Crewe Alexandra (loan)	2020–21 [22]	League One	20	0	–		–		–		20	0
Total			253	13	16	0	10	0	7	1	288	14

1. Appearances in EFL Trophy

References

1. "Retained List 2015-16" (PDF). English Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
2. "Harry Pickering". 11v11. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
3. Sharpe, Rich (10 March 2016). "Crewe Alexandra: Alex tie promising Academy pair to professional deals". Sentinel. Retrieved 22 April 2017.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
4. "Pickering & Dale Sign Professional Terms". CreweAlex.net. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
5. "Crewe Alexandra 3-0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
6. "Lincoln City 1-4 Crewe Alexandra". BBC Sport. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
7. "Contract: Pickering Puts Pen-To-Paper On Long-Term Deal". CreweAlex.net. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
8. Wilson, Rob (28 August 2018). "Pickering Also Ruled Out For Extended Period With Hamstring Tear". CreweAlex.net. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
9. "Pickering Signs New Three Year Deal". Crewe Alexandra F.C. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
10. "Pixie Honoured To Be Named Captain In Ng Absence". CreweAlex.net. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
11. Baggaley, Michael (12 January 2021). "Crewe Alex boss Dave Artell answers questions on Blackburn Rovers' bid for Harry Pickering". Cheshire Live. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
12. "Harry Pickering: Blackburn Rovers sign Crewe Alexandra defender on four-and-a-half year deal". BBC Sport. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
13. "Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Swansea City". BBC Sport. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
14. "Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Luton Town". BBC Sport. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
15. Crooke, Jaquob (3 January 2022). "Harry Pickering injury details with Blackburn Rovers wing-back to undergo a scan". LancsLive. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
16. "Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Hull City". BBC Sport. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
17. "Harry Pickering: Blackburn Rovers left-back signs new deal to stay at Ewood Park until 2027". BBC Sport. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
18. "Hayden Carter & Harry Pickering: Blackburn Rovers defenders out with hamstring injuries". BBC Sport. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
19. "Games played by Harry Pickering in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
20. "Games played by Harry Pickering in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
21. "Games played by Harry Pickering in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
22. "Games played by Harry Pickering in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
23. "Games played by Harry Pickering in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
24. "Games played by Harry Pickering in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
25. "Games played by Harry Pickering in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

External links

• Harry Pickering at Soccerbase