{{Short description|English footballer (born 1967)}} {{Use British English|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Peter Shearer | image = | fullname = Peter Andrew Shearer<ref>{{Hugman|17837|accessdate=27 August 2015}}</ref> | height = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1967|2|4}} | birth_place = Birmingham, England | death_date = | position = Forward / Midfielder | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = Coventry City | youthyears2 = 1983–1985 | youthclubs2 = Birmingham City | years1 = 1985–1986 | clubs1 = Birmingham City | caps1 = 4 | goals1 = 0 | years2 = 1986 | clubs2 = Rochdale | caps2 = 1 | goals2 = 0 | years3 = 1986–1988 | clubs3 = Nuneaton Borough | years4 = 1988–1989 | clubs4 = Cheltenham Town | years5 = 1989–1994 | clubs5 = AFC Bournemouth | caps5 = 85 | goals5 = 10 | years6 = 1994–1996 | clubs6 = Birmingham City | caps6 = 25 | goals6 = 7 | years7 = 1997–1998 | clubs7 = Peterborough United | caps7 = 0 | goals7 = 0 | nationalyears1 = | nationalteam1 = England National Game | nationalcaps1 = 1 | nationalgoals1 = 0 }}

'''Peter Andrew Shearer''' (born 4 February 1967) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward or midfielder for a number of teams in the lower divisions of the Football League in the 1980s and 1990s.

==Club career== Shearer was born in Birmingham, and began his football career as a schoolboy with Coventry City. When he left school in 1983 he joined Birmingham City as an apprentice, and signed professional forms two years later.<ref name=Matthews>{{cite book |last=Matthews |first=Tony |title=Birmingham City: A Complete Record |year=1995 |page=123 |publisher=Breedon Books |location=Derby |isbn=978-1-85983-010-9}}</ref> He made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old, on 3 November 1984, as a substitute in a goalless draw at home to Shrewsbury Town in the Football League Second Division. He played four more first-team games that season, at the end of which Birmingham were promoted to the top flight,<ref>Matthews, p. 220.</ref> but made no further appearances, and in April 1986, he was one of several players released with the club in financial difficulties.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F90AD0750F3FFE3&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815 |title=£250,000 for City |newspaper=The Times |via=NewsBank |date=23 April 1986 |accessdate=9 March 2009}}</ref>

Moving on to Rochdale of the Third Division,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fchd.info/ROCHDALE.HTM |title=Rochdale |work=Football Club History Database |publisher=Richard Rundle |access-date=9 March 2009}}</ref> Shearer played only one league game<ref name=NeilBrown>{{cite web |url=http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player3/petershearer.html |title=Peter Shearer |work=UK A–Z Transfers |publisher=Neil Brown |accessdate=9 March 2009}}</ref> before dropping into non-league football six months later with Nuneaton Borough.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F90B522667E4E5F&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815 |title=Telford poised to savage Burnley |newspaper=The Times |via=NewsBank |date=15 November 1986 |first=Paul |last=Newman |accessdate=9 March 2009}}</ref> A year with Nuneaton and a successful spell with Cheltenham Town,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ctfc.com/club/history/ |title=History |publisher=Cheltenham Town F.C. |date=21 May 2008 |accessdate=27 August 2015}}</ref> during which he was capped for the England's semi-professional representative side,<ref name=Matthews/> brought him an £18,000 move back to the Second Division with Harry Redknapp's AFC Bournemouth.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fchd.info/AFC-BOUR.HTM |title=A F C Bournemouth |work=Football Club History Database |publisher=Richard Rundle |access-date=9 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F91026AD5B5C856&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815 |title=Tinnion on the move to Bradford City |newspaper=The Times |via=NewsBank |date=8 March 1989 |accessdate=9 March 2009}}</ref>

Shearer's form at Bournemouth impressed sufficiently for a £500,000 move to First Division club Wimbledon to be projected, but a knee injury spoilt his plans. In December 1992, after the player's return to fitness, Cheltenham manager Lindsay Parsons predicted that Shearer would "be a Premier League player in a month"; Cheltenham Town would receive a third of any fee paid to Bournemouth for such a sale.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:LTIB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0F91F5D59D1FF02E&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=0D0CB57AB53DF815 |title=Wye revives Woking's hopes |newspaper=The Times |via=NewsBank |date=7 December 1986 |first=Walter |last=Gammie |accessdate=9 March 2009}}</ref>

After trials with Coventry City and Dundee,<ref name=Matthews/> Barry Fry brought Shearer back to Birmingham in January 1994 for a fee of £50,000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/fry-ready-to-put-heat-on-leeds-1318305.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220526/https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/fry-ready-to-put-heat-on-leeds-1318305.html |archive-date=26 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Fry ready to put heat on Leeds |date=10 February 1996 |newspaper=The Independent |accessdate=9 March 2009 |first=Phil |last=Shaw |location=London}}</ref> Initially he failed to settle, and was soon made available for transfer, but in the 1994–95 season he came into his own. He made a major contribution to the club's winning the Second Division title and the Football League Trophy both with his tenacity and his goalscoring<ref name=Matthews/> – ten years later, the ''Birmingham Evening Mail'', discussing the young Darren Carter, suggested that "Blues have not had a player capable of scoring goals in that manner from central midfield since Peter Shearer".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A126615785/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=7478205c |title=Carter out to impress |first=Colin |last=Tattum |newspaper=Birmingham Evening Mail |date=30 December 2004 |page=70 |access-date=21 July 2021 |via=Gale OneFile: News |url-access=subscription}}</ref> An operation on his Achilles tendon prevented him playing in the last two games of the season, when the club clinched the title,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4713360.html |title=Birmingham City midfielder Peter Shearer is to have an Achilles tendon operation |newspaper=The Independent |date=1 May 1995 |via=Highbeam Research |accessdate=30 September 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104205244/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4713360.html |archivedate=4 November 2012 }}</ref><ref>Matthews, p. 230.</ref> and he never played for the club's first team again.

Shearer had a trial with Notts County in 1997<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/6175119.Forward_thinking_Cox_sparks_goal_spree/ |title=Forward thinking Cox sparks goal spree |newspaper=Bolton Evening News |date=21 July 1997 |accessdate=27 August 2015}}</ref> before joining Peterborough United as player-coach. He played for Peterborough's reserve team,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/6638868.End_of_United_s_nightmare/ |title=End of United's nightmare |date=20 August 1998 |accessdate=27 August 2015 |newspaper=Oxford Times}}</ref> but his only appearances for the first team were three outings as an unused substitute.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/sport/S-Posh-midfielder-scored-a.4909264.jp |title=S: Posh midfielder scored a hat-trick of penalties but we still lost |newspaper=Peterborough Evening Telegraph |date=24 January 2009 |first=Alan |last=Swann |accessdate=9 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uptheposh.com/seasons/110/playing/unused_substitutes/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723225226/http://www.uptheposh.com/seasons/110/playing/unused_substitutes/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=23 July 2008 |title=1997/98 Playing Records: Most Times as an Unused Substitute |website=UpThePosh.net |accessdate=9 March 2009}}</ref>

==Honours== '''Birmingham City''' *Football League Second Division: 1994–95 *Football League Trophy: 1994–95<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/fry-s-delight-as-carlisle-succumb-to-sudden-death-1616946.html |title=Fry's delight as Carlisle succumb to sudden death |first=Trevor |last=Haylett |website=The Independent |date=24 April 1995 |access-date=29 April 2024}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shearer, Peter}} Category:Living people Category:1967 births Category:Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:English men's footballers Category:Men's association football forwards Category:England men's semi-pro international footballers Category:Coventry City F.C. players Category:Birmingham City F.C. players Category:Rochdale A.F.C. players Category:Nuneaton Town F.C. players Category:Cheltenham Town F.C. players Category:AFC Bournemouth players Category:Peterborough United F.C. players Category:English Football League players Category:National League (English football) players Category:20th-century English sportsmen