Tyrone Robert Mears (born 18 February 1983) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-back. His clubs include Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, West Ham United, Derby County, Olympique de Marseille, Burnley, Seattle Sounders FC, Atlanta United FC, Minnesota United FC, and West Bromwich Albion. From Stockport in the north west of England, Mears once played for the Jamaica national football team despite not being eligible to do so. Club career Manchester City Mears came through the ranks at Manchester City and signed trainee forms in August 2001. Mears only made one appearance for City, replacing Stuart Pearce as a substitute in the 84th minute against Nottingham Forest in March 2002. On Manchester City's promotion to the FA Premier League in 2002, Mears' first-team opportunities became limited and he was sold to Preston North End. Preston North End Mears joined Preston in July 2002, for a fee of £200,000. He signed a three-year contract and was expected to provide cover for Graham Alexander. After missing out the start of the season, due to a thigh injury he suffered in the pre-season training, Mears made his debut for Preston as a substitute in a 3–3 draw with Walsall on 19 October 2002, After playing in the reserve for a while, Mears played his first match in months against Grimsby Town on 14 December 2002. It wasn't until on 15 April 2003 when he scored his first goal for the club, in a 5–1 loss against Reading. Though Manager Craig Brown expressed disappointment over the results, he singled out praises to Mears, including his "spectacular". In his first season at Preston North End, Mears went on to make a total of 24 league and cup appearances in the 2002–03 season, as Preston finished in mid-table of the Football League Championship. In the 2003–04 season, Mears struggled to regain his first team, as he suffered a hamstring that kept him sidelined at the start of the season. It wasn't until on 27 September 2003 when he made his first appearance of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Walsall. However, he struggled to continue to in the first team, as he compete with Graham Alexander and Rob Edwards over the wing-backs position. Despite this, Mears scored his first goal of the season on 10 March 2004, in a 3–3 draw against Sunderland and only made 14 appearances. Nevertheless, Mears was