Jay Spearing

Jay Francis Spearing (born 25 November 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool, where he is also a coach at their academy.

He started his career with Liverpool as a youth-team player in 1997.

Raised in Wallasey, Merseyside, Spearing was the captain of the Liverpool Under 18s that won the FA Youth Cup in 2007.

He featured the previous season in the final against Manchester City, but missed the majority of the season due to a broken leg.

He was promoted to Melwood in the summer of 2007 to train with the Liverpool first team after impressing in the club's Academy.

He had been involved with his boyhood club since he was seven years old.

He was voted the best player in the Torneo di Renate, a competition for under-20 sides, competing against clubs such as Milan and Parma.

He was also part of the Reserve side that won the Premier Reserve League in the 2007–08 season.

Spearing made his competitive first-team debut on 9 December 2008, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 UEFA Champions League win against PSV.

Spearing also appeared in the Reds' 4–0 win over Real Madrid in the second round of the Champions League.

On 31 March 2009, Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez announced that he would be offering Spearing a new contract, alongside fellow home-grown youngster Stephen Darby.

On 6 July 2009, Spearing agreed to a new three-year contract with Liverpool.

On 22 March 2010, Liverpool confirmed Spearing would join Championship club Leicester City on loan until the end of the 2009–10 season, linking up with former Liverpool reserve teammate Jack Hobbs.

His debut came two days later, starting in the Foxes' 2–1 Championship loss to Reading.

His last game for Leicester was on 12 May in the Championship play-off semi-final, with Leicester winning 3–2, but it wasn't enough to reach the final as they lost on a penalty shootout.

He made nine appearances for Leicester and scored his only goal for the club in the 4–1 home win against Watford.

Spearing was included in Liverpool's 21-man squad for the 2010–11 Premier League season.

He started and played the full 90 minutes in the opening leg of Liverpool's UEFA Europa League qualifier against Macedonian side FK Rabotnički, and came on as a substitute at Anfield in the second leg.

On 16 September, he again played the full 90 minutes in the Reds' opening group game against Steaua București, his first-ever start at Anfield, setting up David N'Gog for the fourth and final goal as Liverpool won 4–1.

On 22 September, he was involved in Liverpool's League Cup third-round exit to League Two side Northampton Town; Liverpool lost 4–2 on penalties after a 2–2 draw.

On 21 October, he played the full 90 minutes in Liverpool's third group-stage tie, a 0–0 draw with a Napoli side featuring former Liverpool left-back Andrea Dossena.

Spearing was an unused substitute in Liverpool's 1–0 Premier League win against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium on 31 October.

He came on in the 90th minute of Liverpool's 2–0 victory over Chelsea on 7 November 2010, instantly making an impact by playing a through ball to assist a Maxi Rodríguez effort.

On 20 November, it was reported that Spearing had broken his ankle in training and would be out for up to six weeks.

He made his first appearance of 2011 against Everton on 16 January.

In the post-match interview, Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish praised the young midfielder and joked that Steven Gerrard may never get into the first team again.

On 20 March, Spearing started another league game, away to Sunderland.

Spearing won a penalty, which was converted by Dirk Kuyt to put Liverpool 1–0 up.

Spearing then went on the secure a first-team berth with the absence of Steven Gerrard and out-of-favour Christian Poulsen.

For the remainder of the Premier League season, he formed a midfield partnership with Lucas.

In May 2011, the club announced that he had extended his contract, and he was included in England under-21s provisional 40-man squad for the 2011 Summer U21 European Championship, with fellow Liverpool player Andy Carroll.

For the 2011–12 season, Spearing wore the number 20, with his old number 26 being registered to new arrival Charlie Adam.

Spearing immediately fell down the pecking order in Liverpool's midfield after the arrival of midfielders Adam, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing.

He remained at Anfield for sixteen years before leaving, in 2013, for Bolton Wanderers.

After four years at Bolton, he joined Blackpool, newly promoted to League One, in 2017, initially until the end of the 2017–18 season.

Against Arsenal on 17 April, Spearing gave away a 98th-minute penalty, which Robin van Persie converted to make the game 1–0.

The match finished 1–1.

Despite this, Spearing won the man-of-the-match award from Sky Sports and was praised after the game for his determination, work-rate and battling performance.

He received the journalists' man-of-the-match award on the official Liverpool website three times during the season.

He made the move permanent the following summer and remained at the club until 2020, before joining Tranmere Rovers for two years before his semi-retirement and movement in to coaching.