James Robert Perch (born 28 September 1985) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. Perch was versatile and has covered many positions in both

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

and across

midfield In many sports, midfield is the part of a sports field that is near the line that is equally far from the end lines. That is, in American football it is the part of the field near the 50-yard line; in association football (soccer) and field hoc ...

. However, he is usually deployed at

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Career

Nottingham Forest

Perch was born in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

, Nottinghamshire and began his career at

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. He made 22 league appearances in his début season as Forest were

relegated Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

from the rebranded

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

. His first professional goal came in the same season, scoring in the 63rd minute against

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

in the

Third Round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

of the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

. After his first season, he signed a new contract to extend his stay a further 2 1/2 years. He made over 200 appearances for Forest (including 30 league appearances in the 2007/08 campaign when Forest were promoted back to the Championship) before moving to newly promoted

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

Newcastle United

On 5 July 2010, Perch signed for

for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £1 million, on a four-year deal. Forest had rejected a transfer bid from Newcastle in January of the same year. He made his debut for Newcastle against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

on 16 August 2010 in a 3–0 defeat. On 18 September 2010, he set a new Premier League record by being the first player ever to receive five yellow cards in his first five games in the league. His only goal for Newcastle came in a 4–3 defeat to

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

. During his stay, Perch was nicknamed "Perchinho" due to the fans respect for his steady performances and versatility.

Wigan Athletic

On 3 July 2013, Perch completed a move to recently relegated

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

holders

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

, signing a four-year contract with the club. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but was estimated to be around £750,000. Perch made his league debut for Wigan on 3 August 2013, in a 4–0 away victory over

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 9 March 2014, in a 2–1 win against Premier League

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, helping holders Wigan to the semi-finals of the

for a consecutive season.

Queens Park Rangers

On 31 July 2015, Perch signed for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Perch made his competitive QPR debut in the first game of the 2015-16 Championship Season which resulted in a 2–0 defeat against

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Charlton, south-east London, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Their home ground is ...

, he played the whole game. On 6 April 2018, it was announced that Perch would leave the club at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Scunthorpe United

He joined Scunthorpe United in August 2018, signing a two-year contract.

Mansfield Town

Perch signed for his hometown club

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

in August 2020. He suffered a

fractured skull A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of t ...

in August 2021 that initially ruled him out of action for the 2021–22 season. Perch made a return to training quicker than expected in January 2022, and made his return to the starting line-up against

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

on 15 March.

Ilkeston Town

On 8 September 2023, Perch signed for

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...

Premier Division club Ilkeston Town. On 3 January 2025, Perch announced his retirement from playing football.

International career

In October 2012, he was approached by the

Jamaica Football Federation The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is the governing body of football in Jamaica and is in charge of the Jamaica national football team and the Jamaican football league system, including the Jamaica Premier League. History Early history ( ...

, who wanted Perch to play for Jamaica during their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. Perch is also eligible for

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

through his father, who was born on the island.

Career statistics

Honours

Nottingham Forest *

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

runner-up: 2007–08

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perch, James 1985 births Living people Footballers from Mansfield Black British sportsmen English men's footballers English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent English people of Barbadian descent Sportspeople of Barbadian descent Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Newcastle United F.C. players Wigan Athletic F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Ilkeston Town F.C. players Premier League players English Football League players Northern Premier League players 21st-century English sportsmen