Ian Anthony Pearce (born 7 May 1974) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who is the head of recruitment at West Bromwich Albion. As a player he was defender from 1990 until 2012, notably in the Premier League for Blackburn Rovers where he won the title in 1995. He also played top flight football for Chelsea, West Ham United and Fulham. He played in the Football League for Southampton and Lincoln City, as well as for non-league sides Oxted & District, Kingstonian and Lingfield. He was capped three times by the England U21 team in 1995. Since retiring he has since worked on the coaching staff at Lincoln City and worked as a scout for Brighton & Hove Albion before taking up his current role with West Brom. Club career Chelsea Pearce started his career at Oxted & District FC before signing for Chelsea during the 1991–92 season. He made his debut on 11 May 1991 in a 2–2 draw with Aston Villa. He made five substitute appearances in three seasons for the west London club, before moving to Blackburn Rovers in October 1993 for a fee of £300,000. Blackburn Rovers Pearce's Blackburn debut was in a League Cup third-round replay against Shrewsbury Town on 9 Nov 1993, in which Pearce scored the winning goal in extra time. He scored his first League goal in April 1994 after coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win at West Ham United, a result which guaranteed Rovers a place in Europe for the first time in their history. He moved to centre-half the following season, forming a formidable partnership with Colin Hendry, and won a Premier League medal in the 1994–95 season. West Ham United Pearce moved to West Ham United for £2.3 million on 9 October 1997. After playing regularly in his first two seasons with the club, and being named as runner-up in the 1999 Hammer of the Year award, he played just 37 minutes in 1999–2000 after injuring knee ligaments in a clash with teammate Stuart Pearce. Pearce was out for 14 months, returning on 28 October 2000 against Newcastle United. He failed to find his true fitness, and only made 17 appearances in the 2000–01 season. He was able to take part in pre-season training for the first time in five years in 2002–03, and despite some further niggling injuries, made 33 appearances in