Peter Fear

Peter Fear (born 10 September 1973 in the London Borough of Sutton), nicknamed 'Fearo', is an English footballer, playing in central midfield. His last club was Sutton United, then in the Conference South, whom he rejoined in December 2006 after a nine-month absence that took in spells with Havant & Waterlooville and Carshalton Athletic. He originally signed at the start of the 2004–2005 season after two years with Crawley Town, with whom he won his second Southern League championship medal in 2004; he had also been a member of Kettering's successful line-up two seasons earlier.

He is best remembered for his spell with Wimbledon. He signed for them as an apprentice on leaving school in July 1990 and turned professional for the 1992-93 season, when they were FA Premier League founder members. He made his debut against Norwich City on 5 December 1992 when they lost 2-1 in the league at Carrow Road. A further three appearances followed that season, but he had far more chances in the 1993-94 campaign with 23 appearances and his first senior goal, as the Dons finished sixth—equalling their highest-ever league finish. The next two seasons brought limited first-team opportunities, but he had more chances of action in 1996-97, when he scored twice in 18 league games as the Dons finished eighth in the Premier League and were semi-finalists in both domestic cups. For much of the season, the Dons were in the top five of the Premier League and they were rarely more than a few points off the top of the table, so the failure to achieve UEFA Cup qualification was quite a disappointment, though the season was still a great success for a club of Wimbledon's stature.

Fear featured in a famous weekly comedy sketch in Match magazine, entitled "What if Peter Fear was?" the picture would then show the player in a humorous new job such as a vicar, or, most famously, as a potato.

Peter Fear's career highlight to date was scoring twice in the space of ten minutes, against Tottenham Hotspur in the 1997-98 season. Unfortunately for Fear, Wimbledon went on to lose the game 6-2, and Fear's goals counted merely as a consolation. They were the last goals he would score for the Dons, as he was back on the sidelines and managed just eight league games that season. He made the team just twice in 1998-99, before signing for Oxford United on a free transfer on 13 July 1999.

Oxford had just narrowly avoided bankruptcy when Fear joined them, and had been relegated to Division Two. He played 38 league games over two seasons, scoring three goals, helping them narrowly avoid a second successive relegation in 1999-2000 but not being able to prevent relegation in 2000-01, when Oxford suffered 33 league defeats (the joint second worst ever of any Football League or Premier League club) and went down in bottom place. Fear then left the club.

On the edition broadcast on 23 August 2007, Peter was a contestant on the TV gameshow The Weakest Link. He was also a contestant on Ken Bruce's BBC Radio 2 'phone-in pop music quiz Popmaster on Thursday 13 May 2010 and again on Thursday 31 January 2013. During this last appearance, Peter informed the host that he was working as a cab driver.

There is a strong rumour that he has invested in his passion, gardening, and will be imminently opening a nursery near his home in Sutton, England.

Famous quotes containing the words peter and/or fear:

    Trust everybody, but cut the cards.
    —Finley Peter Dunne (1867–1936)

    When Alexander Pope strolled in the city
    Strict was the glint of pearl and gold sedans.
    Ladies leaned out more out of fear than pity
    For Pope’s tight back was rather a goat’s than man’s.
    Allen Tate (1899–1979)