PLAYER PROFILE

Ian Pearce

Position: Defence

Height: 6'4

Weight: 14st 4lbs

Date of Birth: 1974-05-07 Bury St Edmunds, England

Ian Pearce

Ian Pearce joined Fulham in a player plus cash deal from West Ham in January 2004, the deal saw former Wales international Andy Melville move to Upton Park.

Ian Pearce's West Ham career might have been blighted by injury, but that didn't stop him becoming a firm crowd favourite with the Hammers' fans, and when fit, he was a key member of the first team following his arrival from Blackburn Rovers in September 1997.

Harry Redknapp beat off competition from other Premiership clubs and beat down Blackburn's initial £3million asking price to sign the big centre back as a direct replacement for Marc Rieper following the Dane's move to Celtic.

Often thrust into matches as a temporary striker at Ewood Park, the central defender's career at Blackburn Rovers was transformed by a majestic performance against Barcelona in November 1994 when he stifled the threat of Romario. Until that moment the versatile player had been mostly on the substitutes bench filling in wherever he was required.

Pearce tackles well, gets back into position quickly and has the aerial ability to cope with any Barclaycard Premiership striker. As one of the unsung heroes at West Ham, the management had always valued his consistency.

His return to the first team at the tail end of the 2001/02 season after more than a year out recovering from a serious knee ligament injury provided a welcome boost to Glenn Roeder's side, and Pearce even weighed in with a couple of goals to assist their seventh place finish.

However, he could not prevent the Hammers rapid slide down the table the following season, nor their consequent relegation. He is a welcome addition to the Fulham squad, bringing with him a wealth of experience to help the Cottagers' younger defenders.

However, his 2004/05 season was hampered by an back injury suffered in December. Although he played a few games for the reserves toward the end of the campaign, he did not play again for the first-team.

In August 2005 he almost joined Norwich City, only to pull out at the last minute for 'family reasons', and was restricted to just 12 games for Fulham because of injury again.

He returned in 2006/07 to make 23 appearances. He is an experienced and reliable member of the squad.