Pearson has gone, let's move on

[nettle]

Let's hope we don't hear the 'one Nigel Pearson' chant in pre-season or in any game next season because it's a crap chant any way.

[The Doctor]

I don't really understand the logic behind "not moving on" because you're not happy with the names being linked to the post. What's the aim?

If the options were appealing we'd be sat here quite optimistic about the new man, whoever he may be, but with the names linked, Lennon and cotterill in particular, being akin to agreeing to relegation before the season starts, it's hard to look forward when the past is almost certain to be better and therefore nicer.

[Gary Eatfood]

Even if it was Redknapp?

 

Even if it was ol' jowl face. I'm still going to look forward to going to the footy on a Saturday regardless, otherwise what's the point?

 

Don't think it will be Redknapp though, do you?

[foxfanazer]

Even if it was ol' jowl face. I'm still going to look forward to going to the footy on a Saturday regardless, otherwise what's the point?

Don't think it will be Redknapp though, do you?

No I was just throwing out the worse case scenario

I just feel like we were building something to be proud of that was a bit unique. Now it's whether abandon that and take a new approach or get someone in to continue our plan. I'd like us to comtinue with the same high energy and desire that has got us where we are and not just rely on spending big

[Bettsj2]

There are many managers linked of varying experience, age and type. To say that none of the candidates are good enough to replace Pearson is a bit odd.

Earlier in the season it was said quite a bit on here that Pearson supporters were overly loyal to him to the point that they were blind to his faults and also to the merits of any alternative.

Some of the posts recently are really starting to back that up.

Literally every name linked with the job will either consign us to relegation, bankruptcy or in some peoples opinion 'he wont come here'. Its a little bit ridiculous.

[The Doctor]

There are many managers linked of varying experience, age and type. To say that none of the candidates are good enough to replace Pearson is a bit odd.

Earlier in the season it was said quite a bit on here that Pearson supporters were overly loyal to him to the point that they were blind to his faults and also to the merits of any alternative.

Some of the posts recently are really starting to back that up.

Literally every name linked with the job will either consign us to relegation, bankruptcy or in some peoples opinion 'he wont come here'. Its a little bit ridiculous.

 

Look at the candidates seriously being mentioned on here: Cotterill, a man who has failed at the bottom end of the championship, Lennon, a step back from Pearson in terms of footballing qualities and from a PR perspective, Klopp, a man who could walk into any premiership job he felt like (why wouldn't he wait the 3 months until Liverpool sack Rodgers), Allardyce, who has said he wants a year out and doesn't want to come, and Hiddink, 

 

The only ones that would be an improvement, Klopp, Allardyce and Hiddink, one has said he won't come, one is highly unlikely to be interested, only Hiddink is remotely realistic, and there's serious questions over his commitment and whether he's over the hill. When the only manager who isn't a proven failure or not interested in a 68 year old Dutchman who many are suggesting needs to retire for his own sake, that's not an appealing list.

[Beliall]

When we were losing it was Pearson fully in control though right?

 

im really not sure how to answer that. I was referring to the way the club is run, everything seems to be proceeding as normal. if he set the tactic during the losing run , then yeah, but i dont know that

[Guest]

I don't really understand the logic behind "not moving on" because you're not happy with the names being linked to the post. What's the aim?

 

I guess it's pretty difficult to 'move on' when the concern is that the club you love has just taken a massive roll of the dice in favour of sticking with a steady progression.

 

Part of that roll of the dice is the calibre/history/preconceptions of names being touted, and therefore until it even gives a hint of being a positive decision I doubt there'll be some who are able to 'move on'.

[midland_red]

I think most people have moved on in the sense that the OP has called for. The issue - and concern - now is who will be the replacement?

Unless there was a link between Hiddinck leaving the Dutch national team and NP's sacking the evidence is still stong that they sacked him without a plan B in place......

[Fez of Mahrez]

Look at the candidates seriously being mentioned on here: Cotterill, a man who has failed at the bottom end of the championship, Lennon, a step back from Pearson in terms of footballing qualities and from a PR perspective, Klopp, a man who could walk into any premiership job he felt like (why wouldn't he wait the 3 months until Liverpool sack Rodgers), Allardyce, who has said he wants a year out and doesn't want to come, and Hiddink,

The only ones that would be an improvement, Klopp, Allardyce and Hiddink, one has said he won't come, one is highly unlikely to be interested, only Hiddink is remotely realistic, and there's serious questions over his commitment and whether he's over the hill. When the only manager who isn't a proven failure or not interested in a 68 year old Dutchman who many are suggesting needs to retire for his own sake, that's not an appealing list.

Isn't it worth:

a) only worrying it about when someone is appointed?

b) giving the new manager some games to show us what he can do?

[foxfanazer]

im really not sure how to answer that. I was referring to the way the club is run, everything seems to be proceeding as normal. if he set the tactic during the losing run , then yeah, but i dont know that

Apologies if I've misunderstood your post. I've read on here a few times that when we're doing well it's down to the players and NP should take minimal credit but when things go wrong he's the reason

[The Doctor]

Isn't it worth:

a) only worrying it about when someone is appointed?

b) giving the new manager some games to show us what he can do?

 

a) I would say worrying about who will be appointed is perfectly reasonable, with the new tv money kicking in 16/17, staying up this season is paramount to avoid getting stuck as a yo-yo team at best, and this next appointment is make or break on the regard.

b) With managers who are potentially good enough, yes - Hiddink could work out brilliantly given his record up to Chelsea. With proven failures in lower divisions, not really: one season up isn't safe enough to throw away half a season seeing if a shit championship manager like Cotterill won't be shit in the premiership (I can tell you now, he'll fail like he has everywhere else outside league one)

[ARM1968]

I think the owners realised this and knew how important the coming season is. That is why Pearson has been removed now, because in all likelihood he would have been at some point mid season for one gaff or another.

[Fez of Mahrez]

a) I would say worrying about who will be appointed is perfectly reasonable, with the new tv money kicking in 16/17, staying up this season is paramount to avoid getting stuck as a yo-yo team at best, and this next appointment is make or break on the regard.

b) With managers who are potentially good enough, yes - Hiddink could work out brilliantly given his record up to Chelsea. With proven failures in lower divisions, not really: one season up isn't safe enough to throw away half a season seeing if a shit championship manager like Cotterill won't be shit in the premiership (I can tell you now, he'll fail like he has everywhere else outside league one)

It's obviously an important appointment for the reasons you state - nobody is questioning that - but we're not going to be able to affect things other than through the support we give.

Even that ability to affect what happens on the pitch is sometimes in doubt but the contribution of a positive atmosphere created by the fans towards our achievement at the end of last season is evidence enough that we should support the new manager, in my opinion.

But we'll see how things pan out. I'm tempted to log off this place til the appointment's made but it's strangely addictive.

[The Doctor]

It's obviously an important appointment for the reasons you state - nobody is questioning that - but we're not going to be able to affect things other than through the support we give.

Even that ability to affect what happens on the pitch is sometimes in doubt but the contribution of a positive atmosphere created by the fans towards our achievement at the end of last season is evidence enough that we should support the new manager, in my opinion.

But we'll see how things pan out. I'm tempted to log off this place til the appointment's made but it's strangely addictive.

 

Still all the atmosphere can do is boost the team up slightly, that worked at the end of the season because we weren't far away; indeed we could argue that performances warranted more points and being well in the dog fight already before West Ham, if we take a step backwards then we're getting further away and making it harder for the support to make that extra little bit of difference.

[Bettsj2]

Look at the candidates seriously being mentioned on here: Cotterill, a man who has failed at the bottom end of the championship, Lennon, a step back from Pearson in terms of footballing qualities and from a PR perspective, Klopp, a man who could walk into any premiership job he felt like (why wouldn't he wait the 3 months until Liverpool sack Rodgers), Allardyce, who has said he wants a year out and doesn't want to come, and Hiddink,

The only ones that would be an improvement, Klopp, Allardyce and Hiddink, one has said he won't come, one is highly unlikely to be interested, only Hiddink is remotely realistic, and there's serious questions over his commitment and whether he's over the hill. When the only manager who isn't a proven failure or not interested in a 68 year old Dutchman who many are suggesting needs to retire for his own sake, that's not an appealing list.

Not that I want Cotterill but I think its harsh to label him the way you have.

At Burnley he did a very good job despite constantly having his best players sold. He took a Portsmouth side in absolute turmoil and got them stable and at Forest, well, lets not pretend that they are anything other than a joke club. People are slating our owners at the minute but Fawaz is on another level. No manager at that point could achieve any more than he did with that set up which is why Stevie Mac ditched it.

Again not defending Cotterill as a candidate as he's not my first choice, however the way he's being talked about its as if he's completely clueless.

Regards the rest of the list, you've only mentioned 5 but there are many more. But again, it seems a pointless exercise to list them all as they will all in some peoples eyes (yours included I imagine) not measure up to Pearson.

Initially I was excited at the prospect of Hiddink. People are dismissing his time at Chelsea as if it were a lifetime ago. Not that much has changed and if he were to come in, he'll do an excellent job i'm sure. Thanks to Pearson we have players of great potential that could adapt very well to Hiddinks style of play and with the backing of the owners, he'd certainly be able to attract a different quality of player.

Having said all that, the more I think about it, the more I wouldn't mind Lennon.

Many managers have failed at Celtic so it wasnt as easy as most make out. With that being his first managerial position too, its certainly more impressive than is actually being credited.

To be honest, from what I saw of Bolton, they didnt look great but we have better players and a platform much closer aligned to Celtic. Many in the game seem to respect him and tip him for success and with his affinity for the club, he would certainly care and have the motivation that the other candidates wouldnt.

Maybe i'm just hoping that he would be O'Neill MKII and i'm letting nostalgia get the better of me, but when O'Neill arrived here it was on the back of a not particularly fantastic spell at Norwich and after a rocky start, well, we know the rest.

[Fez of Mahrez]

Still all the atmosphere can do is boost the team up slightly, that worked at the end of the season because we weren't far away; indeed we could argue that performances warranted more points and being well in the dog fight already before West Ham, if we take a step backwards then we're getting further away and making it harder for the support to make that extra little bit of difference.

Agree again on most of that but I still don't think we know that we're taking a step backwards based on current speculation, we just have to wait and see.

Aside from deciding whether we'll stay up or not prior to a ball being kicked based solely on the manager we appoint, my other gripe is that most people on here have drawn a line where they think Pearson is and are putting Lennon and Cotterill on one side of it and people like Moyes, Redknapp and Klopp () on the other.

If we'd sacked Pearson for footballing reasons this would make sense. As it is, I think it's pretty clear that it wasn't because of what happened on the pitch. The owners decided they had to sack him for other reasons and that leaves us in an unusual position of sacking a popular manager who has won seven from nine and achieved his season objective.

I don't think you can draw that line in these circumstances. We just need to make the best of a bad situation.

Anyway, we seem to agree on most points - it can be frustrating when the betting markets are throwing up names you don't want to see but hopefully we see a quick, positive appointment. The owners and management will want that too and I'm sure they're working hard to make it happen. It's in their interests even more than ours.

[Stevie Synex]

I wish he was still here...but it's not bizarre if he's been sacked because a working relationship between him and the owners is no longer viable. The Club stated this. Why do we need to know more?

 

For me it is bizarre as his dismissal would appear to be for a non football related incident and that is my main point, we the fans simply do not know and probably never will know why he went and on that basis I can not get closure on the issue. 

 

You are correct, the club have made their statement but it does not go far enough. To be honest the statement treats fans with a little bit of contempt if the club feel it provides sufficient detail as I do not think it goes anywhere near far enough in providing us with an explanation as to why the decision was made.

 

There are many decisions made by the club on a daily basis that do not require an explanation but when it comes to something as fundamental as this then in my opinion they should come out and say what the issue was.

 

Once the facts are firmly established then I can/will move on but until then the trust in the people running our football club for me has dipped a little and it is not making me feel comfortable at the moment.

[The Doctor]

Not that I want Cotterill but I think its harsh to label him the way you have.

At Burnley he did a very good job despite constantly having his best players sold. He took a Portsmouth side in absolute turmoil and got them stable and at Forest, well, lets not pretend that they are anything other than a joke club. People are slating our owners at the minute but Fawaz is on another level. No manager at that point could achieve any more than he did with that set up which is why Stevie Mac ditched it.

Again not defending Cotterill as a candidate as he's not my first choice, however the way he's being talked about its as if he's completely clueless.

Regards the rest of the list, you've only mentioned 5 but there are many more. But again, it seems a pointless exercise to list them all as they will all in some peoples eyes (yours included I imagine) not measure up to Pearson.

Initially I was excited at the prospect of Hiddink. People are dismissing his time at Chelsea as if it were a lifetime ago. Not that much has changed and if he were to come in, he'll do an excellent job i'm sure. Thanks to Pearson we have players of great potential that could adapt very well to Hiddinks style of play and with the backing of the owners, he'd certainly be able to attract a different quality of player.

Having said all that, the more I think about it, the more I wouldn't mind Lennon.

Many managers have failed at Celtic so it wasnt as easy as most make out. With that being his first managerial position too, its certainly more impressive than is actually being credited.

To be honest, from what I saw of Bolton, they didnt look great but we have better players and a platform much closer aligned to Celtic. Many in the game seem to respect him and tip him for success and with his affinity for the club, he would certainly care and have the motivation that the other candidates wouldnt.

Maybe i'm just hoping that he would be O'Neill MKII and i'm letting nostalgia get the better of me, but when O'Neill arrived here it was on the back of a not particularly fantastic spell at Norwich and after a rocky start, well, we know the rest.

 

Portsmouth were in turmoil financially, they had a good playing squad still, and the financial collapse continued so I don't see how you can say he stabilised them. He was with Forest until Fawaz took over so that they're a joke now makes no difference, they finished 6th the season before, he took that squad over in October in 20th, and despite having a side good enough to challenge for the play-offs, finished 19th, having had them battling relegation all season. McClaren underachieved with that side but he did no better. Burnley, he didn't really uproot any trees at - yes he lost good first team players but he failed in the recruitment to replace them. He's pottered around the bottom half of the championship with squads better than that, if it were 2011 again and we were looking to replace Sven I wouldn't look twice at him and we're at a higher level now while his career has gone down another division since. He's not good enough for a midtable championship side, let alone one with any intent to stay in the premiership.

 

I rate Hiddink, but you can't deny that what Dutch fans have said about him is worrying.

 

Those managers had Rangers to deal with though, Lennon didn't; they were in a 1 team division without Rangers. Bolton he started well then fell apart and it says a fair amount that Bolton fans wouldn't be fussed if he left.

[An Away Move]

Like most I'm pretty gutted and anxious that our long term stability and resulting success might be in danger.

Like most I will always be grateful for what NP did for our club. He leaves with a better record (win ratio) than MON. 

 

I dare say, like most, the love will start to dissipate when NP finds a new club and starts coming back here for signings for his new club. He tried the same for us after he left Hull. Can't see why it would be different next time.

[l444ry]

Like most I'm pretty gutted and anxious that our long term stability and resulting success might be in danger.

Like most I will always be grateful for what NP did for our club. He leaves with a better record the MON. 

 

I dare say, like most, the love will start to dissipate when NP finds a new club and starts coming back here for signings for his new club. He tried the same for us after he left Hull. Can't see why it would be different next time.

Are you sure?

[Sharpe's Fox]

Are you sure?

I think he means win ratio.

[An Away Move]

Are you sure?

 

Take your point. Especially with the two league cups and better Premiership finishes. But the win statistics say different and football has moved on. I personally think we played better football under NP in the last two seasons than we did under MON.

[eblair]

cant unlove a man whose done so much for this club

[An Away Move]

cant unlove a man whose done so much for this club

 

Difficult to disagree with that. Now. I wonder how much that would be tested if he poached Schmeichel from us, etc., for his next club.