Frederick David Sears (born 27 November 1989) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Brentwood Town.
He started his career with his local club West Ham United at the age of eleven, progressing through the West Ham United Academy. He made a scoring first-team debut in March 2008 when he netted the winner against Blackburn Rovers after coming on as a second-half substitute. Sears made over 50 first-team appearances for West Ham, but never held down a regular starting position.
Sears had loan spells with Crystal Palace, Coventry City and Scunthorpe United, before joining Colchester United for the latter half of the 2011–12 season. He scored two goals in 11 appearances for the U's, prompting the club to sign him on a permanent basis from the Hammers in July 2012. After joining the Essex club, Sears rediscovered his scoring form, scoring 34 goals in 99 games in his two-and-a-half-year stay before departing for Ipswich. Sears has also represented England at under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels.
Club career West Ham United Born in Hornchurch, East London, Sears scored his first goal in the Premier Reserve League South on 20 November 2006 when West Ham drew 1–1 with Portsmouth. He scored a further three goals in 14 reserve appearances, making ten starts. In addition, Sears made 28 appearances in the Academy League, where he netted nine goals and started 19 games.
2007–08 season Sears began the 2007–08 season in good scoring form during a prolific run with the clubs' under-18 side, which included a hat-trick against Millwall in early October 2007. Having been consistent and scoring 20 goals in 15 games to February 2008, Academy coach Tony Carr warned Sears that he needed to remain focused in order to achieve his goal of breaking into the first-team squad. Sears had already been asked on a frequent basis to train alongside the first-team under Alan Curbishley's stewardship. Sears managed a total of 17 under-18 games, starting 16 matches scoring 22 goals. He also appeared in one FA Youth Cup game, and started four reserve games, appearing in six and scoring three goals.
On the back of his excellent form at both Reserve and Academy levels, Sears was first handed a new contract on 11 March 2008 to tie him to the club until 2010, and he was then handed his first-team debut on 15 March, aged 18, in a Premier League game against Blackburn Rovers. With both sides deadlocked at 1–1, Sears came on for Nolberto Solano in the 75th minute and scored the winner, also his debut goal, just five minutes and 16 seconds into his first-team career, heading in the rebound from his initial attempt at goal. Sears said that he was buzzing following his debut, and it was made even sweeter as a West Ham fan with his friends and family in the stands at the Boleyn Ground. Sears again appeared as a substitute one week later as West Ham secured a draw at Everton. He had a chance to win the game in the 90th minute, but his effort clipped the post.
Sears made his first senior start for West Ham on 19 April in a match with Derby County. After featuring for 75 minutes, manager Alan Curbishley was verbally abused by the home fans when he withdrew Sears and replaced him with Carlton Cole. However, Curbishley's decision was justified just two minutes later when Cole scored the winner for the Hammers. Sears ended the season with a total of seven first-team appearances.
2008–09 season Sears missed 2008–09 pre-season with West Ham due to international duty with the England under-19s in the European Under-19 Championship. He featured in his first game of pre-season in a youthful Hammers side that beat Thurrock on 27 July. He made his first appearance of the season for the first-team in West Ham's 2–1 win over Wigan Athletic on 16 August 2008. Sears signed a new five-year contract in November 2008. Sears played 17 Premier League games during the season, alongside three FA Cup and two League Cup appearances. He also featured for the Reserve side, making seven appearances and scoring five goals. He scored all four goals for the Hammers in a 4–3 win over West Bromwich Albion on 30 September 2008.
2009–10 season Prior to the beginning of the 2009–10 season, Hammers manager Gianfranco Zola announced his intention to send Sears out on loan to 'prove himself'. Leyton Orient manager Geraint Williams expressed an interest in signing Sears on loan, but showed concern that he may but put off in signing for a League One club. Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock also showed his interest in taking Sears on loan, before confirming his signing on a season-long loan deal on 22 June 2009.
Crystal Palace (loan) Warnock said he was "delighted" to have Sears on board at the club following his loan signing, praising the player for agreeing to the switch despite late interest from Queens Park Rangers. Sears scored in his first appearance in Palace colours on 14 July, scoring in a 5–2 win in Baltimore, US, against Crystal Palace's American affiliates Crystal Palace Baltimore. He made it two goals in two pre-season games, netting a 20-yard shot in their 3–1 win against Harrisburg City Islanders on 17 July. Sears later told Warnock that he was happy to play where his manager wanted following his positive start to his Crystal Palace career. He scored his third goal in four games in a 3–0 friendly win over Bristol Rovers on 24 July, before starting in Palace's Championship opening fixture against Plymouth Argyle on 8 August. Sears admitted that he should have scored a debut goal but was confident he would be on the scoresheet before too long.
Sears started in Palace's next match against Bristol City at Ashton Gate, and looked to have scored his first goal for the club in the fixture on 15 August. However, the match officials failed to see the ball cross the line and the goal was not awarded after Sears shot had flown into the back of the net, hit the stanchion at the back of the goal and bounced back out. Palace went on to lose 1–0 to a late goal from Nicky Maynard. Following his appearances for England under-21s and a goal against Macedonia, Neil Warnock hoped that Sears' goal for his country would help to break his duck at Crystal Palace. He returned to first-team action as a second-half substitute in Palace's 4–0 defeat by Scunthorpe United on 12 September, where he missed a penalty despite wrestling the ball from usual penalty taker Neil Danns with the intention of scoring his first goal for the club. Sears injured his ankle late in the game, and left Selhurst Park wearing a cast. He returned to action as a substitute for the injured Victor Moses in the Eagles 1–1 draw at Cardiff City on 17 October.
In November 2009, Warnock confirmed that Sears was not able to be recalled by West Ham before January, with his parent club struggling for forwards following an injury to Carlton Cole, although Warnock later said that he was aiming to get Sears scoring for the team, with West Ham now reportedly willing to allow Sears to join Palace on a permanent basis in January. In December, despite still failing to find the back of the net for the club, West Ham announced their intention to recall Sears from his loan to attempt to ease their injury troubles. Warnock confirmed that following Crystal Palace's game with Swansea City on 28 December, Sears would return to the Hammers. After making 19 appearances in the league and League Cup, Sears completed his loan spell without making the scoresheet.
First return to West Ham Sears returned to West Ham after his Crystal Palace loan and went into the squad to face Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup on 3 January 2010. He came on as a substitute for Frank Nouble in the 2–1 home defeat to a warm reception from the Hammers faithful. He played just once more for the club during the season, with his last appearance coming in the Premier League, once again as a late substitute for Nouble in a 0–0 home draw with Blackburn Rovers on 30 January. He did however score twice in the Premier Reserve League 4–2 defeat to Arsenal on 12 January. He made two appearances in the Reserve League across the season.
Coventry City (loan) Coventry City signed Sears on 11 February 2010 in a 93-day loan deal to see him spend the rest of the season at the Ricoh Arena, while Sears was reassured by West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola that he still had a future at Upton Park. Sears said that City manager Chris Coleman was a major influence in his decision to join the club based on his past achievements with Fulham, and that Bristol City had made a late attempt to sign the player. He made his City debut on 13 February, replacing Clinton Morrison after 67 minutes in a 1–0 win over Queens Park Rangers.
Despite making only substitute appearances for his first six games for the Sky Blues, Sears hoped to push for a starting position, and confirmed that there was a possibility that he could return to the Ricoh Arena for the 2010–11 season. He then made his first start for the club on 27 March in a 1–1 home draw with Sheffield Wednesday. After starting for Coventry in their 1–0 away defeat to Sheffield United on 10 April, Sears suffered an ankle injury in training, ruling him out of action briefly, but a set-back in his recovery effectively ruled him out of contention for the remainder of the season. Sears' loan spell ended with ten league appearances for the Sky Blues, once again failing to find the back of the net. At the end of the campaign, Coleman admitted that it would be unlikely that Sears would return to the club for the 2010–11 season.
2010–11 season
Sears returned to West Ham in May 2010 following his loan stint with Coventry, where he played in Academy director Tony Carr's testimonial match, scoring West Ham's fourth goal in their 5–1 win against an Academy All-Star team. On 30 July, Sears scored all four goals in a pre-season game for the reserves against Bishop's Stortford in his quest to earn a place in the West Ham first team. He made a late substitute appearance against Bolton Wanderers on 21 August, replacing Carlton Cole with three minutes remaining of the Hammers' 3–1 home loss. Sears then made his first start since 16 March 2009 three days later when West Ham faced Oxford United in the League Cup. Sears played for 78 minutes in the 1–0 victory before being replaced by Benni McCarthy.
Scunthorpe United (loan) Sears returned to the Championship on loan once again on 19 October 2010, joining Scunthorpe United for one month ahead of their clash with Preston North End the same day. He made his debut in the match, playing the full 90 minutes as the Iron emerged 3–2 victors. Manager Ian Baraclough was pleased with the impact Sears had in the game, with his 83rd minute shot hitting the post, allowing Martyn Woolford to score. The club extended Sears loan stay in November ahead of their clash with Cardiff City, keeping him with Scunthorpe until January. After making nine starts but failing to score for the club, Sears was recalled by his parent club in December 2010 following another injury crisis at Upton Park.
Second return to West Ham On his return to West Ham, Sears was thrust into the starting line-up for the Hammers' Boxing Day clash with Fulham at Craven Cottage, a game in which he played the full 90 minutes and West Ham won 3–1. Manager Avram Grant opted to play Sears in a right midfield role for the games against Fulham and a 1–1 draw with Everton on 28 December, games in which Sears put in solid performances. Sears said that his loan spell away with Scunthorpe left him feeling "refreshed" and he felt "like a new man". Sears then scored his second-ever goal for the club on New Year's Day 2011 in the basement battle against Wolverhampton Wanderers, sealing their 2–0 victory with a 15-yard strike eleven minutes from the full-time whistle.