Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team, primarily as a winger. Downing has previously played for Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sunderland, and has won the Football League Cup twice in his career.
Downing was born in Middlesbrough. He was considered one of the most promising graduates of the Middlesbrough Academy.
His debut came on 24 April 2002 in a FA Premier League game away at Ipswich Town. He was limited to just three appearances during that season, plus a further three the following season despite scoring his first senior goal in a 4–1 League Cup victory over Brentford. He was sent out on loan to Sunderland in 2003 in order to gain experience. His first-team chances at Middlesbrough were limited due to the form of Bolo Zenden in the left-midfield slot. Downing's career began to take-off when he was recalled from his loan during an injury crisis and was pushed into the first-team.
The 2004–05 season saw Downing make forty-nine appearances, scoring six goals, as well as providing numerous assists. In a UEFA Cup match against Lazio in November 2004, both Downing and Zenden were in the starting line-up. Though Zenden scored both goals in the 2–0 victory, Downing drew praise for his performance down the left. Such performances that season saw him called up to Sven Göran Eriksson's England squad in February 2005 for a friendly against the Netherlands.
Andrew Thomas Carroll (born 6 January 1989) is an English footballer who plays for Liverpool and the England national team as a striker.
Carroll started his professional career with Newcastle United in 2006, before spending a brief period on loan with Preston North End, during which time he scored his first league goal. He established himself as a regular in the Newcastle first team by 2008, and following Newcastle's relegation from the Premier League to the Championship in 2009, scored 17 goals in 39 appearances to help Newcastle finish first in the league, earning immediate promotion back to the Premier League in the process. He continued to play for Newcastle in the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances.
Carroll signed for Liverpool on the last day of the transfer window on 31 January 2011 for a fee of £35 million, which to date represents both Liverpool's most expensive ever signing, and the highest amount ever paid by one club to another for a British footballer. Carroll was bought to replace Fernando Torres, who moved from Liverpool to Chelsea on the same day for a fee of £50 million, making Carroll the second-most expensive player currently playing for a British club, behind Torres. An injury sustained in December delayed his Liverpool debut until March 2011, and he scored his first two goals for his new club in April 2011 in a 3–0 victory over Manchester City.
Juan Manuel Mata García (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwan manˈwel ˈmata]; born 28 April 1988) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for English club Chelsea in the Premier League. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder and a winger. Mata is known for his creativity, acceleration, speed, versatility, and technical ability and is described as a "creative spark". He has also been described as "a touch of flair" and has earned critical acclaim for his playing style, which has led to the media, fans and player's drawing comparisons to both Spanish international and former Valencia team-mate David Silva and Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola.
Mata began his football career in Spain, playing for Real Oviedo. In 1997, he joined Real Madrid. Mata spent three years in the club's academy progressing through their junior teams and, at the age of 18, made the switch to Real Madrid Castilla for the 2006–07 season, where he finished the season as the side's second best scorer with 10 goals. In the start of the 2007–08 season, Mata signed for fellow La Liga side Valencia CF, through a contractual clause at Real Madrid. He was voted the team's Best young player, at the end of that season. Since making his debut for Valencia in 2007, Mata had become an integral part of the club's midfield, making over 174 appearances for the duration of four seasons. In the 2011–12 season, Mata moved to England, signing for Premier League club Chelsea in August 2011, for a fee in the region of £23.5 million. On 27 August 2011, Mata made his debut and scored a goal for Chelsea against Norwich City, where he came on as a substitute.
Steven George Gerrard MBE ( /ˈdʒɛrɑrd/; born 30 May 1980) is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 91 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfield role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger.
Gerrard, who has spent his entire career at Anfield, made his début in 1998 and cemented his place in the first team in 2000, succeeding Sami Hyypiä as team captain in 2003. His honours include two FA Cups, three League Cups, one UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Cup, and two Super Cups. In 2005, Gerrard came third in voting for the Ballon d'Or.
Gerrard made his international debut in 2000 and has represented England at the Euro 2000 and Euro 2004, as well as the 2006 World Cup where he was the team's top goalscorer with two goals. Gerrard first captained his country at the 2010 World Cup in the absence of regular captain Rio Ferdinand, who missed the tournament through injury. He was named again as England captain for the Euro 2012.
James Alfred Pearce (December 14, 1805 – December 20, 1862) was an American politician. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the second district of Maryland from 1835–1839 and 1841-1843. He later served as a U.S. Senator from Maryland from 1843 until his death in 1862.
Pearce was the son of Gideon Pearce and Julia Dick, and the grandson of Elisha C. Dick.
Pearce was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and, as a youth, attended a private academy there. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1822. He later studied law, and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice in Cambridge, Maryland, in 1824. Pearce moved to Louisiana in 1825 and engaged in sugar planting, returning to Kent County, Maryland, in 1828, where he resumed the practice of law in Chestertown.
From 1831 until 1835, Pearce was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates. He was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1835 until March 3, 1839, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1838 to the Twenty-sixth Congress, losing to Philip Thomas. He was again elected to Congress in 1840, and served one term from March 4, 1841, until March 3, 1843.