Thank You, Richard

TIVERTON Town have paid tribute to Richard Pears, who is leaving the club following the appointment of Leigh Robinson as the Yellows’ new manager.

Richard had been taking care of the Tiverton first team following the club’s decision to part company with previous manager Martyn Rogers two weeks ago, stepping up from his position as Martyn’s assistant.

Tiverton Town Chairman Michael Dunford said: “Whenever the history of Tiverton Town is written or discussed, the name of Richard Pears will be remembered as one of the great Yellows.

“Along with the likes of Martyn Rogers, Richard is among that select band of people that have given so much to the club, not only as a player, and then as part of the coaching and management team, but in his diligent and enthusiastic approach to off-the-field matters.

“Everyone associated with Tiverton is grateful for everything that he and his wife Calen have done for the Yellows. They will always be friends and most welcome guests of the club any time they visit, which we hope will be often.”

The 47-year-old’s association with the Yellows stretches back to 1998, when he came to Ladysmead for the first of three playing spells with the club. After leaving in 2004, he returned 18 months later and, following another spell away between 2006-2010, he came back to the Ian Moorcroft Stadium in a player-coach capacity.

His third time at Ladysmead took his overall playing record for the Yellows to exactly 250 appearances in which he scored at the consistently healthy rate of a goal every five games and followed managerial spells at Exmouth Town and Cullompton Rangers, the latter alongside Lee Annunziata.

In 2010, he was appointed manager of the Royal Marines, and then managed Exmouth Town for a second time, from 2012-2017, when he left for Barnstaple Town.

Further managerial roles came at Sidmouth Town and Buckland Athletic before he returned, again, to Tiverton. His off-field role included much valuable work behind the scenes, such as sitting on the club’s decision-making Executive Committee and forging links with the local community, tasks that he embraced wholeheartedly to the club’s great benefit.