Stuart
Pearce

With Kenny Dalglish selling left-back Robbie Elliott the Magpies were short in that position, though nobody would have guessed it would be a player who made his England debut when his predecessor Elliott was just 13 years old who would be signed as a replacement.

Pearce became available as a free transfer having negotiated the deal with former club Nottingham Forest even though he had three years of a lucrative contract remaining. Two years of service to Newcastle would certainly seem like good business as King Kenny looks to work his special brand of magic on the Tyneside club.

When Frank Clark resigned his post as Forest manager, he immediately suggested Stuart Pearce to take the reigns and try to steer Forest away from the relegation zone.

Pearce, always a natural leader took just twenty-four hours to decide to take up the challenge, unforunately Pearce could not halt Forest's slide in to the Nationwide League, and handed the reigns to Dave Bassett, who came in as general manager late in the season.

Stuart Pearce had been a key player at Nottingham Forest since joining from Coventry for �200,000 in June 1995 and was surely the most popular player at City Road. He captained the side from August 1987 onwards.

He is still one of the most respected left backs in the country and his strength and determination in the tackle is legendary.

He played superbly for England agaist Switzerland in the November 1995 friendly and proved that he is still a match for anybody. And just for good measure he struck England's first goal for three matches.

He has the pace to burst out of defence when necessary and the ability to control his thunderous shots at goal. Although he has a reputation as a hard man, his timing is consistently impeccable and he has the balance to recover quickly after one of his cruching challenges - often more quickly than his opponents!

The power and accuracy that he has with his left foot make him a superb taker of penalties and freekicks. Pearce's goalkeeper Mark Crossley reckons: ``Stuart has the fiercest shot in football.''

He rarely misses from the spot and buries the ball with the minimum of fuss. In his celebration he simply holds his arms aloft to the crowd before his team-mates rush to mob him.

His old manager Brian Clough said of his captain: ``He leads by example and what a great example he is.'' Pearce has been an inspiration both in his role as club skipper and Graham Taylor's favoured choice for the England armband.

In fact Taylor considered one of the problems that led to England's decline under his management was Pearce's absence through injury.

The star defender made his England debut in May 1987 in the 1-1 draw with Brazil at Wembley. He has played well over 50 times for his country and has been one of the most consistent members of the squad.

When Forest were relegated after the 1992-3 season, Pearce was linked with a move to Manchester United and it was even rumoured that the club had ordered shorts big enough to accomodate his thunder thighs!

But the trained electrician stayed loyal to Forest, signing a new improved contract and pledging his future to the club. The club shot back into the Premiership like a bolt of lightening.

Nicknamed Psycho and a major Stranglers fan, Pearce is anything but a monster. He is quiet and unassuming and enjoys nothing better than getting on with his work on the pitch.

People were sceptical of Frank Clark as a worthy successor to Brian Clough, but it was the clinching of Pearce's signature on a new contract rather than the signing of Stan Collymore and Colin Cooper that won over the Forest faithful.

City Ground's own cult figure was born in London but has settled down happily near Nottingham with his wife and horses. There's no reason to believe he won't stay there for the rest of his career.

With Graham Le Saux out injured, Stuart found himself recalled to the England setup during his testimonial season, culminating in a personally successful Euro 96 tournament. The sour memories of "that missed penalty" during Italia 90 were wiped away with not one but two successful spot kicks, one against Spain where the image of Pearce's celebrations will last in the memory forever, the other in the semi-final against Germany.

Although he retired from international football, new England coach Glenn Hoddle has persuaded Stuart to assist in England's attempt to qualify for the France 98 World Cup, making his "comeback" at the ripe old age of 34, away to Moldova.