Freeman's Wharfer Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 In case anyone is interested, I've written a (long) blog on Nigel Pearson's media handling this season and the 'Ostrich Gate' here: http://theposthorngallop.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-curious-case-of-nigel-pearson.ht Feel free to read, comment and share.... It was a sight that hadn’t been seen for some time. Leicester City had just secured their fourth consecutive Premier League win with a dogged and determined display in deepest Lancashire. Up at Turf Moor, Burnley, scenes of twelve months prior - when this had been a Championship title-deciding ‘six pointer’ - repeated. Rough round the edges but full of substance, Leicester were victorious. Striding across the turf, and wearing the expression of a proud father, Nigel Pearson congratulated his players. One by one as they made their way off the field Pearson embraced them - a handshake here, a hug there, a playful headlock thrown in for good measure. It was an insight into the man, the manager, that has seldom been seen this season. And to it, to him, the players responded. Grown men buried bashful smiles into his shoulder. Pearson is a man they are eager to please. Having tried so valiantly to do so for so much of the season, galvanized they are finally doing it. Fast forward four days and Pearson was once again playing protector to his players. This time in a battle fought not on the pitch but instead in the pressroom. There’s no getting away from the fact that at times this season, Pearson’s conduct has been bizarre. When the BBC’s Pat Murphy turned up armed with what he referred to as a ‘charge sheet’ the list compiled swearing at a fan, abusing a journalist and ‘that McArthur incident’. The latest addition? Calling a reporter an ostrich. It was the kind of incident which garnered far more attention and received far more interest because of who was involved and not what was actually said. Whilst he talked of the journalist burying his head in the sand, Pearson has already drawn his line in that same sand. The man he presents to the media is not the same man who has inspired such a remarkable upturn in Leicester’s fortunes. Players, supporters and even members of the media testify of a Nigel Pearson disparate from the one that has presented in front of the cameras and microphones this season. Somewhere there is method in the apparent madness. Pearson is a man of principle. A man who sets out his stall and refuses to err from it, reluctant to call a spade a shovel. At times he is resistant to the point of nausea, steadfast to the point of being surly. Those who know him are acutely aware that there is certain terrain that Pearson will not tread in interviews. Criticism of his players is a path he will never take and those who try to lead him down it receive a sizeable dollop of disdain. At times this season the helpings have been a little too forthcoming – questions can be raised about who holds to account the father of this Leicester City family. At first glance, Pearson’s latest indiscretion could be interpreted as an uncontrolled outburst but there is also an argument to be made that it was an overzealous effort at media management which over-stepped a line. Attempting to create a siege mentality that could ultimately see his tight-knit group of players over the line in their bid for Premier League survival, what started as something jovial turned more sinister in his attempt to launch a defence of his players as resolute as theirs at Burnley. That passion so admirable on the Turf Moor pitch suddenly so abominable in 60 seconds at the King Power Stadium. The context to this story is wider than a Chelsea post-match press conference. Pearson has waged a war that he cannot win, even with the complete support of his players. He is taking on the media and is doing so with the assuredness of a man who is king of his empire at Leicester City. The incident when he told a fan – the term applied loosely given that no rational supporter of The Foxes would have directed such abuse to the man who brought them back from the brink - to go to a place where a vast majority of fans would have directed him as well, first saw sympathisers. If not for what he said, for his reaction to such unwarranted abuse. The McArthur incident, so clearly good-humoured in the first instance, was covered in a sensationalist manner so out of sorts with Pearson’s matter-of-fact style that it irked him. A mixture of stubbornness and embarrassment resulted in an attempt at face-saving that only endeavoured to make things worse. Pearson’s assertions that he could “look after himself” cast upon his character a harshness which saw a man who should be so well-respected for what he has achieved in recent years instead ridiculed. The story rumbled on. Taking exception to a question about Leicester’s season ‘waning’ – subsequently vindicated it could be argued – Pearson replied with the colourful response of a man with total belief in his players. The press pack closed ranks and the battle lines were drawn. In the wake of ‘Ostrich Gate’, Kasper Schmeichel spoke of a manager who: “Takes the hits necessary for the greater good. Someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure his players are ready to perform”. Were this Messrs Mourinho or Ferguson, the molehill would remain a mound. That it is Nigel Pearson, a man who refuses to pander to the media, has seen a media storm over one man calling another man at best ‘an ostrich’ and at worst ‘stupid’. And so to the headlines the following day. Nothing about the end of Leicester City’s winning streak. Nothing about the fact that his players are still deep in the midst of a high pressure relegation battle. Nothing about the fact that Leicester city have a huge game this weekend against Newcastle United. Taking the hits for his players to perform. The following day also brought a visit to Pearson’s pre-match press conference from Pat Murphy, self-appointed spokesperson for the press pack. Amidst a barrage of questions intended only to rile Pearson, some of which over-stepped the line of professionalism in the same way Pearson had done just hours before, he kept his cool. Under siege he answered calmly. Pearson may win the media battles by keeping Leicester City up but he has made numerous enemies in a media war who will be waiting for a revenge that they will be happy to devour cold. Previous incidents have already been pulled together into a collective ‘charge sheet’. There is no doubt that a question needs to be raised about who can advise Nigel Pearson, about who can question a man who has rebuilt the club from top to bottom and earned the freedom of it. The saga that saw Pearson sacked and re-instated again within a matter of hours points to an ambiguity in the chain of command above Pearson, but it is a question that can await an answer for now. For now, the matter at hand is Premier League survival and if Pearson’s players can keep their cool in the same way that their manager did under pressure from Murphy then Nigel Pearson will be in the glare of the Premier League spotlight for a little longer yet. Refusing to pander to a media with knives at the ready and taking those hits for those players who so clearly adore him.
theadmans Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 One advantage of all of this - even if we stay up and have an amazing season in the Premier League next season - England won't be knocking at the door to steal Pearson away from us
foxer Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 One advantage of all of this - even if we stay up and have an amazing season in the Premier League next season - England won't be knocking at the door to steal Pearson away from us That's a good point. Not England, but I guess there is a chance that some owners who may have wanted him in the future will be put off.
stulcfc Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 Top read , if your theory about the media wanting revenge on pearson are true maybe they started the rumors he got sacked to unsettle him and then lie and say that one of the owners did do it to get away with it
FantasticMrFox Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 Why do they call it 'gate' Because of that Doughnut MP Andrew Mitchell called that rozzer a "pleb" for not opening the gate for him outside number 10!? :-)
FantasticMrFox Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 This is a well thought out article. An insight for sure, although we can all only guess what goes on in his head...
David Guiza Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 Why do they call it 'gate' Goes back to The Watergate scandal in the US I believe.
Spudulike Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 Enjoyed that, Freeman's Wharfer Great name, btw. Can never understand why we don't call it that whatever sponsorship it has.
Freeman's Wharfer Posted 1 May 2015 Author Posted 1 May 2015 Thank you for the kind words everyone! One advantage of all of this - even if we stay up and have an amazing season in the Premier League next season - England won't be knocking at the door to steal Pearson away from us That's a good point. Not England, but I guess there is a chance that some owners who may have wanted him in the future will be put off. These are really interesting points that I hadn't even considered. Certainly in terms of other chairman/owners looking at him there would have to be extra consideration in light of his conduct this season. With England (if he ever got that far), I think the Hodgson appointment over Redknapp thankfully showed that it doesn't matter how many mates you have in the press if you're the man they want. Again, I'm sure there would be a second thought about the way he would conduct himself in such a high profile role though. I think there are now a lot of people in the press waiting for their chance to crucify Pearson. Our recent form made some of them begrudgingly give him some credit and praise but you can bet your life that if he ever goes through another run like the one earlier in the season the media won't be favourable in their reporting on his situation. Hopefully time can be a healer.
FantasticMrFox Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 It is nice to see a new blogger with good grammar and one who can actually spell properly. I've seen several blogs recently which have been written with a multitude of errors. These were good articles about the game / subject, but you have to wonder why the blogs were not proofread, because it obviously affects the credibility of the piece. By the way, I'm not interested in whether any other Foxes Talk posters can spell or not, just those who profess to be journalists or high flying bloggers who should know that craft at least.... Good luck! J
David Lowe Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 Interesting comments. My opinion on the 3 incidents is.... 1. Stranglegate. A bit of fun. Even if Pearson is 'unhinged' I don't think he would actually be strangling a player. I think he then grabbed the player to make sure he knew it was fun before he went. 2. Fangate. Even John Carver who has no record with Newcastle has lost it with a fan. Whilst it can't be condoned, I can see why Pearson reacted having done so much for the club. 3. Ostrichgate. He was doing a 'Mourinho' to get everybody talking about him rather than the players before such a crucial match. It was not something that just slipped out as it went on too long. So far it has worked a treat!
Arriba Los Zorros Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 Going to give me own opinon here as I dont agree with David Lowe: Interesting comments. My opinion on the 3 incidents is.... 1. Stranglegate. A bit of fun. Even if Pearson is 'unhinged' I don't think he would actually be strangling a player. I think he then grabbed the player to make sure he knew it was fun before he went. This is a very strange one, I think NP lost his temper at being taken out and cooled down in time to make it seem like a bit of fun. I agree that he could have just been joking laddily with McArthur 2. Fangate. Even John Carver who has no record with Newcastle has lost it with a fan. Whilst it can't be condoned, I can see why Pearson reacted having done so much for the club. Fan was out of order, Pearson is a proud man who cares a lot about the success of the club and reacted to personal abuse. No need for him to apologise to the fan afterwards. 3. Ostrichgate. He was doing a 'Mourinho' to get everybody talking about him rather than the players before such a crucial match. It was not something that just slipped out as it went on too long. So far it has worked a treat! Just don't buy that. Pearson lost his temper and went on an incredible rant. I think he has a bit of a narcissistic streak which is why he uses such choice words and thinks he can basically say what he wants. However, he went too far, saw the reaction, and backed down to apologise, which was the right thing to do. NP is a man I have always supported, and he is the right manager for our club. However, he quite clearly struggles to contain his emotions at times, he is a very passionate man. On top of this, he is a man who disregards generally accepted rules and conventions and a man who will not be told what he should do and how he should do it - something I respect very much - but which may result in more of these incidents in the future in media scrutiny.
shailen Posted 1 May 2015 Posted 1 May 2015 Obviously none of these outbursts are planned, but Pearson is evidently doing everything to protect the players. He is different from SAF and Mourinho who would themselves criticise players, but he won't have any of it in the public domain where he can affect it. This group of players have been through the play off heartbreak, and clearly there is a strong unit and team spirit in the group regardless of what happens. Pearson won't agree with any outsiders questioning his ability and quite rightly. Although he was maybe overly aggressive, but these journalists will spin o any leverage you give their way. Those who don't rate Pearson as a manager have to agree he does get the team spirit up and he will do anything to keep it that way, if someone wants to question players abilities.
Guest Col city fan Posted 2 May 2015 Posted 2 May 2015 In case anyone is interested, I've written a (long) blog on Nigel Pearson's media handling this season and the 'Ostrich Gate' here: http://theposthorngallop.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/the-curious-case-of-nigel-pearson.ht Feel free to read, comment and share.... It was a sight that hadn’t been seen for some time. Leicester City had just secured their fourth consecutive Premier League win with a dogged and determined display in deepest Lancashire. Up at Turf Moor, Burnley, scenes of twelve months prior - when this had been a Championship title-deciding ‘six pointer’ - repeated. Rough round the edges but full of substance, Leicester were victorious. Striding across the turf, and wearing the expression of a proud father, Nigel Pearson congratulated his players. One by one as they made their way off the field Pearson embraced them - a handshake here, a hug there, a playful headlock thrown in for good measure. It was an insight into the man, the manager, that has seldom been seen this season. And to it, to him, the players responded. Grown men buried bashful smiles into his shoulder. Pearson is a man they are eager to please. Having tried so valiantly to do so for so much of the season, galvanized they are finally doing it. Fast forward four days and Pearson was once again playing protector to his players. This time in a battle fought not on the pitch but instead in the pressroom. There’s no getting away from the fact that at times this season, Pearson’s conduct has been bizarre. When the BBC’s Pat Murphy turned up armed with what he referred to as a ‘charge sheet’ the list compiled swearing at a fan, abusing a journalist and ‘that McArthur incident’. The latest addition? Calling a reporter an ostrich. It was the kind of incident which garnered far more attention and received far more interest because of who was involved and not what was actually said. Whilst he talked of the journalist burying his head in the sand, Pearson has already drawn his line in that same sand. The man he presents to the media is not the same man who has inspired such a remarkable upturn in Leicester’s fortunes. Players, supporters and even members of the media testify of a Nigel Pearson disparate from the one that has presented in front of the cameras and microphones this season. Somewhere there is method in the apparent madness. Pearson is a man of principle. A man who sets out his stall and refuses to err from it, reluctant to call a spade a shovel. At times he is resistant to the point of nausea, steadfast to the point of being surly. Those who know him are acutely aware that there is certain terrain that Pearson will not tread in interviews. Criticism of his players is a path he will never take and those who try to lead him down it receive a sizeable dollop of disdain. At times this season the helpings have been a little too forthcoming – questions can be raised about who holds to account the father of this Leicester City family. At first glance, Pearson’s latest indiscretion could be interpreted as an uncontrolled outburst but there is also an argument to be made that it was an overzealous effort at media management which over-stepped a line. Attempting to create a siege mentality that could ultimately see his tight-knit group of players over the line in their bid for Premier League survival, what started as something jovial turned more sinister in his attempt to launch a defence of his players as resolute as theirs at Burnley. That passion so admirable on the Turf Moor pitch suddenly so abominable in 60 seconds at the King Power Stadium. The context to this story is wider than a Chelsea post-match press conference. Pearson has waged a war that he cannot win, even with the complete support of his players. He is taking on the media and is doing so with the assuredness of a man who is king of his empire at Leicester City. The incident when he told a fan – the term applied loosely given that no rational supporter of The Foxes would have directed such abuse to the man who brought them back from the brink - to go to a place where a vast majority of fans would have directed him as well, first saw sympathisers. If not for what he said, for his reaction to such unwarranted abuse. The McArthur incident, so clearly good-humoured in the first instance, was covered in a sensationalist manner so out of sorts with Pearson’s matter-of-fact style that it irked him. A mixture of stubbornness and embarrassment resulted in an attempt at face-saving that only endeavoured to make things worse. Pearson’s assertions that he could “look after himself” cast upon his character a harshness which saw a man who should be so well-respected for what he has achieved in recent years instead ridiculed. The story rumbled on. Taking exception to a question about Leicester’s season ‘waning’ – subsequently vindicated it could be argued – Pearson replied with the colourful response of a man with total belief in his players. The press pack closed ranks and the battle lines were drawn. In the wake of ‘Ostrich Gate’, Kasper Schmeichel spoke of a manager who: “Takes the hits necessary for the greater good. Someone who is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure his players are ready to perform”. Were this Messrs Mourinho or Ferguson, the molehill would remain a mound. That it is Nigel Pearson, a man who refuses to pander to the media, has seen a media storm over one man calling another man at best ‘an ostrich’ and at worst ‘stupid’. And so to the headlines the following day. Nothing about the end of Leicester City’s winning streak. Nothing about the fact that his players are still deep in the midst of a high pressure relegation battle. Nothing about the fact that Leicester city have a huge game this weekend against Newcastle United. Taking the hits for his players to perform. The following day also brought a visit to Pearson’s pre-match press conference from Pat Murphy, self-appointed spokesperson for the press pack. Amidst a barrage of questions intended only to rile Pearson, some of which over-stepped the line of professionalism in the same way Pearson had done just hours before, he kept his cool. Under siege he answered calmly. Pearson may win the media battles by keeping Leicester City up but he has made numerous enemies in a media war who will be waiting for a revenge that they will be happy to devour cold. Previous incidents have already been pulled together into a collective ‘charge sheet’. There is no doubt that a question needs to be raised about who can advise Nigel Pearson, about who can question a man who has rebuilt the club from top to bottom and earned the freedom of it. The saga that saw Pearson sacked and re-instated again within a matter of hours points to an ambiguity in the chain of command above Pearson, but it is a question that can await an answer for now. For now, the matter at hand is Premier League survival and if Pearson’s players can keep their cool in the same way that their manager did under pressure from Murphy then Nigel Pearson will be in the glare of the Premier League spotlight for a little longer yet. Refusing to pander to a media with knives at the ready and taking those hits for those players who so clearly adore him. I think this is nicely written....I agree that Pearson wants to defend his players. But there are simply ways of doing that which, to my mind, are sensible and logical. What Pearson has done, in the three aforementioned incidents, is not sensible, logical, calm or productive. The reaction is disproportionate to the situation. I simply think he gets angry..... seething in fact...and can't control himself on occasion. Whilst understandable, maybe, it serves no productive purpose. Finally, I believe that the people on here condoning it, in fact encouraging outbursts like these, would be the same people to utterly ridicule another club's manager if they acted in the same way. Imagine if old gravel throat had given an interview like that last week. The forum would be full of opinion regarding how he's out of control, how Burnley are already relegated and how he's never been Premiership standard. Etc.
MooseBreath Posted 2 May 2015 Posted 2 May 2015 Having tried so valiantly to do so for so much of the season, galvanized they are finally doing it.[/i] At times he is resistant to the point of nausea, steadfast to the point of being surly.[/i] Being intentionally pedantic here because I think the writer will appreciate it, and I'm not sure if I'm right, but shouldn't these two sentences and one or two others in the piece have semi-colons instead of commas?
Dr The Singh Posted 2 May 2015 Posted 2 May 2015 Being intentionally pedantic here because I think the writer will appreciate it, and I'm not sure if I'm right, but shouldn't these two sentences and one or two others in the piece have semi-colons instead of commas? Trust you to talk about colons again,
MooseBreath Posted 2 May 2015 Posted 2 May 2015 Trust you to talk about colons again, Nothing wrong with a semi in the morning as long as your mum doesn't see, that's what I've always said.
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