Richard James Pears (born 16 July 1976) is an English former professional footballer who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He is currently manager of Cullompton Rangers.

Career

Born in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, Pears began his career as a trainee with

Exeter City Exeter City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Exeter, Devon, England. The team play in , the third level of the English football league system. Known as "the Grecians", the origin of their nickname is subject to ...

, turning professional in July 1994, having made his league debut the previous season. He played 60 league games for Exeter before being released at the end of the 1996–97 season. He briefly joined local rivals

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

, but left without appearing for the

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United F.C., Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National Leagu ...

side. Pears then began his career in non-league football, joining Cullompton Rangers and subsequently playing for Heavitree United before joining Clyst Rovers. He moved to Tiverton Town in October 1998, playing in the winning

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

side at the end of that season. He remained with Tiverton until January 2004 when he joined Mangotsfield United in a player-exchange deal, Darren Edwards moving in the opposite direction. In August 2004, Pears left Mangotsfield to join Exmouth Town as player-assistant manager., leaving to join Willand Rovers in the June 2005. In September 2005, Pears returned to Tiverton Town, Pears rejoined Willand Rovers in June 2006, but left at the end of the 2006–07 season as he could not commit to the travelling involved, partly due to his work requirements with Exeter City Council. In June 2007, despite being linked with a move to

Elmore Elmore may refer to: Places United States *Elmore, Alabama *Elmore, Illinois * Elmore, Minnesota *Elmore, Ohio * Elmore City, Oklahoma * Elmore, Vermont *Elmore, Wisconsin *Elmore County (disambiguation) *Elmore Township (disambiguation) *Lake Elm ...

, Pears was appointed as manager of Exmouth Town. In May 2008 he was appointed as co-manager of Cullompton Rangers, alongside Lee Annunziata. In February 2010 he returned to Tiverton Town for his third stint at the club, to provide cover to Martyn Rogers injury, and suspension hit side. In June 2010 he was appointed manager of the

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

. After managing Exmouth Town from 2012 until 2017, he was appointed manager of Barnstaple Town in May 2017. He resigned as the club's manager in December. During the summer of 2018 Pears was announced as the new manager of Sidmouth Town. However, he left to take over as manager of Buckland Athletic on 15 October 2018. He left Buckland in September 2019. He subsequently worked as assistant manager at

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

. In September 2024 he was appointed manager of Bridgwater United. However, he resigned from the role in November and rejoined Cullompton Rangers as manager.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pears, Richard Living people 1976 births English men's footballers Men's association football forwards Exeter City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Cullompton Rangers F.C. players Clyst Rovers F.C. players Tiverton Town F.C. players Mangotsfield United F.C. players Exmouth Town F.C. players Willand Rovers F.C. players English football managers Exmouth Town F.C. managers Cullompton Rangers F.C. managers Royal Marines A.F.C. managers Barnstaple Town F.C. managers Sidmouth Town A.F.C. managers Buckland Athletic F.C. managers Bridgwater United F.C. managers Footballers from Exeter English Football League players