Has Pearson gone West ?

[Raw Dykes]

Well ok then......but Matt Giles did that as well.

 

Really not a debate.

 

Again, there is a debate. There's an argument to be made that finishing top 4 in the modern day is more difficult than it has ever been. We've seen the same 4 or 5 names at the top of the league every season for decades. The money was more evenly spread before the PL was formed.

 

I'm not knocking Gillies - I'm just saying there absolutely is a discussion to be had re: best ever City manager. To get an answer, you'd have to work out how to judge best, i.e. what competitions are most important, how important a runner-up place would be, whether to consider the changes in fairness money has played over the years, etc.

[kimsalabim]

It's a shame we parted ways with Pearson in 2010. We wasted time with Sousa and Sven. We'd probably been in the Premier League 2 years earlier had he not gone to Hull. And when he came back he had to spend time getting rid of of some of the deadwood brought in by Sven.

As others have said, recruitment was phenomenal. Most players we signed made a positive contribution to the club, from Michael Morrison to Riyad Mahrez. Even forgotten men like Dany N'Guessan and Nobby Solano were decent squad fillers who did a job for us.

We were utter garbage for years before he came. Transformed the club from a third tier mess and left as a thriving Premier League club.

This.

[HighPeakFox]

If we finish top 4, then both CR AND NP will go even higher in my estimation

[Manwell Pablo]

Again, there is a debate. There's an argument to be made that finishing top 4 in the modern day is more difficult than it has ever been. We've seen the same 4 or 5 names at the top of the league every season for decades. The money was more evenly spread before the PL was formed.

 

I'm not knocking Gillies - I'm just saying there absolutely is a discussion to be had re: best ever City manager. To get an answer, you'd have to work out how to judge best, i.e. what competitions are most important, how important a runner-up place would be, whether to consider the changes in fairness money has played over the years, etc.

 

You might get away with that argument normally, but lets remember this is the year "no one wants to win the Premier League" .

 

In any case we were bottom when Gillies took over and we were as far behind the bigger teams then financially as were are now,he turned the club around completely he signed some of the clubs most influential players of al time and developed two of the best goal keepers in World Football history and we made money off a lot of his signings. Finished fourth and won silverware. He's pretty much done everything any of his main rivals have done, the only person you can make a case for being better is O'Neil and that is purely on major trophies won.

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

Top four finish? No good finishing second according to you.

 

 

Yes, because the pedigree of players for Man City/Arsenal/Chelsea (ha) is generally considered to be far higher in general than that of ours. To finish top 4 with this squad would be a remarkable achievement

 

Before my time, but I'd hazard a guess that in the 50's-60's it was a much more even spread with a much lower general quality of player

[Manwell Pablo]

Yes, because the pedigree of players for Man City/Arsenal/Chelsea (ha) is generally considered to be far higher in general than that of ours. To finish top 4 with this squad would be a remarkable achievement

 

Before my time, but I'd hazard a guess that in the 50's-60's it was a much more even spread with a much lower general quality of player

 

Spurs had a great side, as did Burnley and Everton, consistent top 4-6 for years.

[inckley fox]

We all have different opinions and my opinion is that Gilles, having taken us to four domestic cup finals, and nearly winning the league too, is the greatest manager we've had. Just because we experienced the O'Neill era, which in itself was really special, doesn't ride over something achieved in the 60's. We played in three FA Cups finals ffs, two of them managed by Gilles.

 

You're right, but two of the common measurements of how great a manager is for a club is how much he improves the side (Gillies took us from a struggling side to one that could compete with the best, but left with us on the brink of the drop, whereas others have left us greatly better off than when they arrived, including O'Neill) and how much they win (for which, obviously, the higher the status of the trophy, the more credit managers tend to get; and of course nobody remembers runners-up except for, clearly, the runners-up!). Average league finishes must also come into it, as well as how much one manager's average finish improves on that of the previous. By these measures, we have only a few competitors and, even though I suspect Gillies had a higher quality set of players at hand, I think O'Neill has to nick it. Pearson wouldn't be too far behind Gillies and Bloomfield, and would edge it over Milne / Hodge.

[Webbo]

we were as far behind the bigger teams then financially as were are now.

That's not true, away teams got a share of the gate money, 40% I think, and the tv money was negligible. It was a lot more even in those days. The difference in incomes didn't become a big issue until the 80s.

[hackneyfox]

I think these people who don't appreciate what Pearson did he have got to hold something against him personally. Any other fanbase would be 100% behind a man that guided us to two League titles, two play off semi-finals and turned the club around financially twice. He won League One upon walking into a shite squad (not promoted - we actually smashed the league) - ask Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton, Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest, Leeds, Swindon etc where they finished after relegation from the Championship...

You could ask Doncaster fans, they got promoted back to the Championship in one season as well, plenty of clubs have.

Yes he got us promoted to the PL but many think we should only have been involved in one semi-final play off i.e. a decent manager would have had us promoted to the PL earlier.

I appreciate much of what he did for us, just don't like him as a person (based purely on what I've read).

[hackneyfox]

You're right, but two of the common measurements of how great a manager is for a club is how much he improves the side (Gillies took us from a struggling side to one that could compete with the best, but left with us on the brink of the drop, whereas others have left us greatly better off than when they arrived, including O'Neill) and how much they win (for which, obviously, the higher the status of the trophy, the more credit managers tend to get; and of course nobody remembers runners-up except for, clearly, the runners-up!). Average league finishes must also come into it, as well as how much one manager's average finish improves on that of the previous. By these measures, we have only a few competitors and, even though I suspect Gillies had a higher quality set of players at hand, I think O'Neill has to nick it. Pearson wouldn't be too far behind Gillies and Bloomfield, and would edge it over Milne / Hodge.

Agree with this.

[Mark_w]

Yes he got us promoted to the PL but many think we should only have been involved in one semi-final play off i.e. a decent manager would have had us promoted to the PL earlier.

 

'Many think', does that mean you think that? Do you think he's not a 'decent manager'?

 

We were involved in one play off semi-final when we had a team performing miles above their natural level, Nigel then left. Schmeichel, Peltier, Mills, Bamba, Konchesky, Wellens, King, Danns, Gallagher, Nugent, Howard, St. Ledger, Johnson, Beckford, Weale, Schlupp were the players involved in the game before he took over, are you honestly telling me that taking a season and a half to turn that into a top six side and two and a half seasons to run away with the Championship makes him a less than decent manager? Or are you just posting that, despite not agreeing with it, to waste everybody's time?

[Raw Dykes]

You might get away with that argument normally, but lets remember this is the year "no one wants to win the Premier League" .

 

In any case we were bottom when Gillies took over and we were as far behind the bigger teams then financially as were are now,he turned the club around completely he signed some of the clubs most influential players of al time and developed two of the best goal keepers in World Football history and we made money off a lot of his signings. Finished fourth and won silverware. He's pretty much done everything any of his main rivals have done, the only person you can make a case for being better is O'Neil and that is purely on major trophies won.

 

Yeah, it is true that most of the giant clubs are having a disappointing season. It looks as though the playing field might finally be levelling out again, which is fantastic.

 

I can't see how we could have been just as far behind the bigger teams then financially as were are now, when there is such a ludicrous amount of money in the game now.

 

Again, I'm not saying Gillies is not the best manager we've had - I just don't think it's a fact set in stone that can't be debated.

[Fox92]

You could ask Doncaster fans, they got promoted back to the Championship in one season as well, plenty of clubs have.

Yes he got us promoted to the PL but many think we should only have been involved in one semi-final play off i.e. a decent manager would have had us promoted to the PL earlier.

I appreciate much of what he did for us, just don't like him as a person (based purely on what I've read).

 

I'd be very impressed if he could get Leicester City promoted while managing Hull City.

[Raw Dykes]

You could ask Doncaster fans, they got promoted back to the Championship in one season as well, plenty of clubs have.

Yes he got us promoted to the PL but many think we should only have been involved in one semi-final play off i.e. a decent manager would have had us promoted to the PL earlier.

I appreciate much of what he did for us, just don't like him as a person (based purely on what I've read).

 

Rubbish. Anyone who doesn't realise that the play-offs are a lottery is kidding themselves. When Pearson first got us to the play-offs, it was our first season back in the Championship, with most of the squad being the same ones who played in League 1. We overacheived in that season with a cheaply-assembled team.

 

I think you're letting your personal dislike of NP as a person, based on what you've read, as you say, cloud your judgement of him as a manager. The question isn't, "who was the nicest man we've had manage us?" It's, "who is the best manager we've had?" Personality doesn't come into it at all.

 

If Chris Moyles won us the PL title, I'd have to say he was the best manager we've ever had, even though I think he's a **** of the highest order.

[Manwell Pablo]

Yeah, it is true that most of the giant clubs are having a disappointing season. It looks as though the playing field might finally be levelling out again, which is fantastic.

 

I can't see how we could have been just as far behind the bigger teams then financially as were are now, when there is such a ludicrous amount of money in the game now.

 

Again, I'm not saying Gillies is not the best manager we've had - I just don't think it's a fact set in stone that can't be debated.

 

No well I was unaware of the gate receipts thing, I was going off other teams cramming their stadiums to capacity's much greater than ours. And the fact I don't actually think we are "that" far behind money wise with all the extra money knocking around in the Prem unfancied teams are able to sign some proper talent.

 

I still think it is not a reason to discredit him. Money or not the team we had when he took over was nowhere near capable of challenging the top teams and he turned it around completely.

 

Oh dear Marks in here, no one say Pearson wasn't the greatest manager ever.

[Stadt]

It's a shame we parted ways with Pearson in 2010. We wasted time with Sousa and Sven. We'd probably been in the Premier League 2 years earlier had he not gone to Hull. And when he came back he had to spend time getting rid of of some of the deadwood brought in by Sven.

As others have said, recruitment was phenomenal. Most players we signed made a positive contribution to the club, from Michael Morrison to Riyad Mahrez. Even forgotten men like Dany N'Guessan and Nobby Solano were decent squad fillers who did a job for us.

We were utter garbage for years before he came. Transformed the club from a third tier mess and left as a thriving Premier League club.

 

A brilliant short term signing, that.

[Corky]

Whether Pearson is the best, third best, tenth best doesn't really bother me, you can change stats to suit any argument. What he did for me is end years of turgid football. Of course we had our bad days and poor performances but we managed to mix those in with 3-0, 4-0, 4-1, 5-1, 5-3, 6-0, 6-1 wins. Home games became bearable after four years of, at most, 8 home wins in a season and around 25-30 goals.

 

He, along with Sven for a time and Ranieri now, gave us some entertainment. Where you could actually come away from games fairly regularly and say "Yeah, I enjoyed that". Maybe his PR wasn't the best, maybe his record could've been better but I just wanted some enjoyment from football for a while and he provided that.

[dylanlegend]

Whether Pearson is the best, third best, tenth best doesn't really bother me, you can change stats to suit any argument. What he did for me is end years of turgid football. Of course we had our bad days and poor performances but we managed to mix those in with 3-0, 4-0, 4-1, 5-1, 5-3, 6-0, 6-1 wins. Home games became bearable after four years of, at most, 8 home wins in a season and around 25-30 goals.

He, along with Sven for a time and Ranieri now, gave us some entertainment. Where you could actually come away from games fairly regularly and say "Yeah, I enjoyed that". Maybe his PR wasn't the best, maybe his record could've been better but I just wanted some enjoyment from football for a while and he provided that.

In terms of context Pearson is definitely in the top 3 for me. If we had appointed someone else of kept with Sven we would have had a lower change of getting promoted. That could have potentially been the end for our club the way we were splashing cash when Sven was here. If we hadn't got promoted the season we did I dread to think what would have happened. Look at Bolton- could well have been us!

[enmac]

We can't all remember the early 60s like you.

I wasn't around during the 2nd WW, but I know something about it.

[enmac]

I don't know if you're only referring to post-war, but if you go pre-war there's Hodge and Orr.

Interestingly, it was Hodge who did the team building and won the promotion, Orr who got us to 2nd and 3rd, but Hodge was the one who went down as the great manager among fans. Depending on how well things go for Ranieri, I wonder whether we'll apply a similar logic someday to our re-evaluation.

I'm also not sure where Milne has gone in this, who got us promoted, kept us up for three seasons and made a profit in his dealings. He has to be worth a place on the list, as does Halliday who achieved similar things and set the foundations for Gillies.

Wallace, Little and Adams are curious ones. All three defied expectations at one point in time, but it's hard to say to what extent they left the club in a better state than they found it. Wallace had a younger, better team than the one he inherited but when he took over in, what?, 78 we were recently relegated, when he left in 82 we'd just finished 8th in the second tier. We were on our way to relegation when Little left and made it practically certain. Adams was an integral part of the relegation under Bassett, bounced back with the side he'd inherited but then failed to forge a side on a shoestring and left us mid-table in the second tier. Three years later not a single member of his squad was left at the club.

As for Gillies, I've explained why I think it's a very cloudy issue as to whether or not he'd edge O'Neill. The argument in his favour is a very rickety one. I'd have thought something like O'Neill-Gillies-Bloomfield-Pearson-Hodge-Orr-Milne-Halliday, followed by any two from Wallace-Little-Adams-O'Farrell, as a sort of top ten. I'd have to give it a lot more thought than that, admittedly.

Interesting piece here. Bet you didn't know that Gillies signed MON for Forest! Me neither!

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=IdG8BQAAQBAJ&pg=PT240&lpg=PT240&dq=matt+gillies+shankly&source=bl&ots=yO2gesmHX5&sig=YBX3-2pB-NBVFlGh6WcJOH0qqVQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjJloLh07TKAhUJNhoKHUdjAx0Q6AEIKjAF#v=onepage&q=matt%20gillies%20shankly&f=false

Matt Giles was a great manager just because you probably weren't alive to see it doesn't mean you should over look him, I certainly don't and I wasn't.

[4everfox]

To shorten all this down. Nigel Pearson is a Leicester legend and he always will be, it cannot be taken away from him. He'll be remembered by us lot and the next generation of Leicester fans for years to come. I for one will be monitoring his managerial career with great interest.

[My Nads]

So is Nige going to Bristol then or what? 

[Spiritwalker]

I think he's gone South. Just seen him sitting in the crowd at the cricket.

[Pegosteve]

NP will always be remembered in great esteem. He and his team took us to where we are today. But the point is the "Team" there are all still with us. If we qualify for CL then they're hardly likely to leave so I think he's consigned to another season of living off his pay off.

[FireFox]

If he truly is on gardening leave, does he get the bonuses the other staff get for staying up? Maybe even other bonuses for finishing so high up? Plus "his team"(/his backroom staff's team) finishing so high up might get him a better job/more money to bring his backroom staff along (not that I think they all really would leave).