Nigel Pearson: Here and Now

[Simoken]

12 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

I think a large chunk of the appeal he has is that he winds people like you up no end. 

 

It's fantastic

wind me up? good one.

[eblair]

22 hours ago, DanNDH88 said:

Can never bring myself to warm to a manager since Pearson left

so true this, always compared all of them to NP and just think would much rather be hearing from him than anyone we have had since

[Mickyblueeyes]

43 minutes ago, Simoken said:

I hope not. The man is a ticking timebomb and a Championship manager at best. ( please dont remind me about the season he kept us up and all that bs, i know) im not convinced, k thanks.

At best ? Really ? A guy who has won the league re-built three teams (including Hull) to compete at play off level. Kept Southampton up, destroyed league 1 is just about good enough to manage in the championship ? Behave. He is a very good manager who players respond to as long as he has team around him. 

[1972 Fox]

12 minutes ago, Simoken said:

wind me up? good one.

No, not a chance of winding you up! 

[Simoken]

1 hour ago, Blue Fox 72 said:

No, not a chance of winding you up! 

Baiting failed more like 

[Stadt]

I can’t see it happening in all

likelihood but I’d love it if he was on the board. Probably couldn’t happened whilst he’s still looking to manage but he’s a seriously bright man than understands the successful culture of the club.

[Clever Fox]

One thing is sure, Things were never dull with Nigel around. Always plenty to happening at the Club.

Plus he'd have had the new signings in club already preparing for the season.  A true legend.

[deanolegend1989]

Pearson will always for me be the best manager in our entire history.

His first spell he took a club on the floor in their lowest situation in their history to a record breaking title.

He brought confidence, consistency and a level of stability in a time where we’d be useless for a good 4 years.

It also stopped us from potentially wasting away in the lowly levels and King Power would never of bought us most likely if we remained in league 1.

He then took a newly promoted team to the playoff semis. Overachieving massively that season.

I always say that 09/10 was the season I felt out of all was the most we ‘overachieved’ compared to our squad capabilities(yes even more so than 15/16). This was down to pure hard work, fantastic business in the transfer market and brilliant motivation and management skills.

08-10 is only 2 years but he completely transformed everything to crown of a great first spell.

The few years in between, we showed signs of quality but lacked consistency and any level of commitment. It felt like we threw money at it, big names and hoped it all worked out. It didn’t.

 

Thank god nige came back.

I remember at the time being super happy. He was already the best manager since ONeil and I was excited about finally getting potentially back to the big time. 11/12 was already a long shot but you just knew Nige would sort it.

He did his best with the ‘squad on paper’ as he said. A great win at a good Southampton team , was an eye opener. 12/13 and a summer with nige couldn’t come quick enough.

 

Again, right signings, got rid of the deadwood and big egos and stamped his authority on the whole club. We had new owners, perhaps the best and we also had perhaps the best manager in our entire history too. We were only going to go up.

A poor ending to 12/13 was his first test, but typical Nige always got it done and we scraped into the playoffs.

You could feel the team wasn’t ready, Vardy and Drinky on the bench. Using Loanees like Kane and Keane and Wood I’m at new year, a mush mash of a squad - great quality no doubt but a lack of something..I could feel it. Watford were much more polished, a good team - we were underdogs in my eyes.

NP again worked his class and never did we give a single inch or game away without absolutely making the opposition work for it. We lost, it was ridiculous the way we lost, but again how proud was I! What a turnaround from 10-12. Hrs building a 2nd era here!!

 

13/14 came around and I’ve never been more confident in any pre season that we would do well. He had it all under control, a year to bed in. Right the slight wrongs and it’ll flow great and boy did it flow!

Record breaking territory again! A fantastic season, A championship title and back to the big time since 2004! Nige had done it again, cemented 2 fantastic spells with 2 promotions and 2 playoffs in 4 full seasons - this is not a fluke, he is a fantastic manager.
 

As he said, he was suprised we were struggling early in 14/15, so was I.

we had quality, we showed it vs Man U and I never expected to be anywhere under 10-14th.

We looked a mess, for the first time in his reigns I was having doubts. We looked clueless and looked like we had left it too late when we failed to beat a poor 10 man Hull team.

However, as every other season NP was with us, he somehow managed to pull it around again in the most spectacular manor!!

One if the best escapes you will ever see, another sign that a NP team is never beat and no team ever gets an easy game - proven by the fact that even before the late serge, no team did much more than edge us out and we just needed it to click.

He had completely changed our club and kept us up. Success after success.

Now can we ‘kick on’ and stabilise in the Prem.

 

Sacked. Not for his ability’s but sacked. A very upsetting way to end such unparalleled success but we were in good shape, no doubt about it.

Favourites to get relegated apperantly? Was I the only one to not be nervous that year? I was so confident I expected us to push for top 10, until NP was sacked and CR came in, even so in Nige I trusted, we had a good squad, we’ll be ok if he doesn’t tinker.

A Fairytale story year later and all I could think about was ‘this is Niges title’.

We will never know what would of happened if Nige had stayed, but what I will say is:-

Nigel Pearson is the best manager we have ever had and I’d argue is the best English manager in the modern era.

His personality will ruffle a few, not everyone will like him, but hes tactically astute, his man management skills, his motivation and belief of players with confidence crisis, his eye for a good signing and more importantly than ever, as Sir Alex Ferguson was known for, Nige is one of a rare few managers who arnt scared to upset big egos and make big decisions when he knows there right!

And this is the reason why for me he will ALWAYS be a legend at this club for life.

[Mark_w]

@deanolegend1989 I think you’re understating his brilliance TBH

[coolhandfox]

Like Pearson, good manager at the right time, but never understood the almost cult like fan club he has! 

 

As a supporter from 1989, I'd would rank him in the top 5 manager since that time of Ranieri, O'Neill, Little, Adams and himself.

 

I'd probably rank them in this order;

 

1) Ranieri 

2) O'Neill 

3) Little, Adam, Pearson.

 

I think the jobs Little and Adams did are comparable to the one Pearson did. Generally because both Little and Adams were working with a budget whilst Pearson arguably had one of, if not the biggest budget in both League 1 and then the Championship.

 

 

Edited 21 August 2020 by coolhandfox
Typo

[NeilLCFC]

37 minutes ago, coolhandfox said:

Like Pearson, good manager at the right time, but never understood the almost cult like fan club he has! 

 

As a supporter from 1989, I'd would rank him in the top 5 manager since that time of Ranieri, O'Neill, Little, Adams and himself.

 

I'd probably rank them in this order;

 

1) Ranieri 

2) O'Neill 

3) Little, Adam, Pearson.

 

I think the jobs Little and Adams did are comparable to the one Pearson did. Generally because both Little and Adams were working with a budget whilst Pearson arguably had one of, if not the biggest budget in both League 1 and then the Championship.

 

 

Quite simple really... he took us from the lowest point in our history, and played a HUGE role in us winning the biggest prize in English football. A lot of our fans felt more connected to the club during NPs time in charge, than they have done at any other time. 
 

What’s not to understand?

Edited 21 August 2020 by NeilLCFC

[coolhandfox]

8 minutes ago, NeilLCFC said:

Quite simple really... he took us from the lowest point in our history, and played a HUGE role in us winning the biggest prize in English football. A lot of our fans felt more connected to the club during NPs time in charge, than they have done at any other time. 
 

What’s not to understand?

Whilst being in League 1 was our lowest league standing, for me the lowest point was going into administration and the real possibility of going out of existence. I actually felt Adams did a pretty good job of managing the team at that point, with lots of of field distractions and players playing for free etc.   

 

What made you feel more connected to the club during Pearson time out of interest? 

[Corky]

Pearson did more than Adams. Adams, despite the financial problems, still had a squad containing Izzet, Dickov, Deane, Elliott, Taggart, Walker, Scowcroft- more than good enough to get promoted. Failed to keep us up despite being in so many positions to win matches and left the squad ridiculously old and jaded. Not a bad manager but his last 9 months were awful.

 

Pearson reshaped Sven's squad, added great value players, won promotion and kept the team up, leaving a set-up in place that managers have been able to use to their advantage.

[coolhandfox]

54 minutes ago, Corky said:

Pearson did more than Adams. Adams, despite the financial problems, still had a squad containing Izzet, Dickov, Deane, Elliott, Taggart, Walker, Scowcroft- more than good enough to get promoted. Failed to keep us up despite being in so many positions to win matches and left the squad ridiculously old and jaded. Not a bad manager but his last 9 months were awful.

It hard to compare era's, as there are so many factors to consider. 

 

Not surprising Adam left the squad old and jaded when he had nothing to spend, he total spend was 300k in he was 2 seasons in he's charge. 

 

How many teams get promoted and spend nothing and stay up, it would have been a miracle to keep that squad up.

 

Yes he had some good players but he should some serious leadership to keep that squad on track with all the off field issues  

 

Quote

Pearson reshaped Sven's squad, added great value players, won promotion and kept the team up, leaving a set-up in place that managers have been able to use to their advantage.

No disputing he did a fantastic job, but he had one of the biggest budgets in the Championship and had the opportunity to build over a number of season.  

 

I'm not staying he didn't do a great job, just find the cult like status he achieve with some of the fan base interesting.  

 

Unfortunately he lost he job for non-football reason, it would have been interesting to have seen what he would have achieved without his son's action causing he's demise. 

 

Edited 21 August 2020 by coolhandfox

[Fox92]

1 hour ago, coolhandfox said:

Like Pearson, good manager at the right time, but never understood the almost cult like fan club he has! 

 

As a supporter from 1989, I'd would rank him in the top 5 manager since that time of Ranieri, O'Neill, Little, Adams and himself.

 

I'd probably rank them in this order;

 

1) Ranieri 

2) O'Neill 

3) Little, Adam, Pearson.

 

I think the jobs Little and Adams did are comparable to the one Pearson did. Generally because both Little and Adams were working with a budget whilst Pearson arguably had one of, if not the biggest budget in both League 1 and then the Championship.

 

 

Speaking on bahalf of myself here... I started going to games regular in 2002 when it was the first year at Filbert Way. Relegation had just happened, the club was in a mess, some high earners had just left.

 

Adams did a tremendous job getting us up under circumstances, do not underestimate it, and suddenly I was a STH of a Premier League club. Good times. I recall somewhat enjoying the season.

 

Then, the period 2004-2008, it became shit. Every season it was 17th place finish in the championship, just staying up. Losing home games against the likes of Rotherham and Brighton. The 1-3 defeat at home to Wednesday. No money. Manager's coming and going. It was a circus until we eventually, sadly, got relegated and I was at Stoke away that day.

 

Then Pearson walked in. No nonsence. Turned us around. Do not underestimate getting out of League One at the first attempt (ask Forest, Southampton, Leeds, Sunderland, Wednesday - big clubs that struggled to get of the league). Not only did we get out, we walked it. I remember going to Cheltenham away and walking out having watched us won 4-0 away from home. Couldn't believe it. The season was superb and still one of my favourites following City.

 

Promotion to the Championship, again, another good season and we were in the play offs. I'd never seen us in the play offs before! It just all came together. Suddenly we were on the verge of promotion.... We all know what happened there...

 

Sadly the owners went behind his back showing Sousa around when Pearson was still manager, but thank God they got him back. Sousa/Sven were poor inconsistent years. Owners can invest as much money as they want but without the right manager it doesn't come together. Thankfully Pearson was the right manager for us.

 

Pearson turned this club around, twice. Not just on the field but off it too, we wouldn't be where we are now without Pearson. Even Kasper said that on the Peter Crouch podcast. To people like me, my age, Pearson's time he was the first time we were actually good and following us was enjoyable. I was too young to rememeber/appreciate O'Neill, seeing the back end of Izzet's career here etc, and after watching years of rubbish Pearson's made us into a good team, a good club, again.

 

When he left I was gutted. I haven't felt connection to a manager like I did to Pearson. The man is a legend. Met him many times and I will not have a bad word to say about him.

Edited 21 August 2020 by Fox92

[Corky]

1 hour ago, coolhandfox said:

No disputing he did a fantastic job, but he had one of the biggest budgets in the Championship and had the opportunity to build over a number of season.  

 

I'm not staying he didn't do a great job, just find the cult like status he achieve with some of the fan base interesting.  

 

Unfortunately he lost he job for non-football reason, it would have been interesting to have seen what he would have achieved without his son's action causing he's demise. 

 

A lot of it probably isn't that serious, just a bit of a laugh really. Plus we're in the close season and not much is happening so little else to discuss.

[coolhandfox]

2 hours ago, Fox92 said:

Speaking on bahalf of myself here... I started going to games regular in 2002 when it was the first year at Filbert Way. Relegation had just happened, the club was in a mess, some high earners had just left.

 

Adams did a tremendous job getting us up under circumstances, do not underestimate it, and suddenly I was a STH of a Premier League club. Good times. I recall somewhat enjoying the season.

 

Then, the period 2004-2008, it became shit. Every season it was 17th place finish in the championship, just staying up. Losing home games against the likes of Rotherham and Brighton. The 1-3 defeat at home to Wednesday. No money. Manager's coming and going. It was a circus until we eventually, sadly, got relegated and I was at Stoke away that day.

 

Then Pearson walked in. No nonsence. Turned us around. Do not underestimate getting out of League One at the first attempt (ask Forest, Southampton, Leeds, Sunderland, Wednesday - big clubs that struggled to get of the league). Not only did we get out, we walked it. I remember going to Cheltenham away and walking out having watched us won 4-0 away from home. Couldn't believe it. The season was superb and still one of my favourites following City.

 

Promotion to the Championship, again, another good season and we were in the play offs. I'd never seen us in the play offs before! It just all came together. Suddenly we were on the verge of promotion.... We all know what happened there...

 

Sadly the owners went behind his back showing Sousa around when Pearson was still manager, but thank God they got him back. Sousa/Sven were poor inconsistent years. Owners can invest as much money as they want but without the right manager it doesn't come together. Thankfully Pearson was the right manager for us.

 

Pearson turned this club around, twice. Not just on the field but off it too, we wouldn't be where we are now without Pearson. Even Kasper said that on the Peter Crouch podcast. To people like me, my age, Pearson's time he was the first time we were actually good and following us was enjoyable. I was too young to rememeber/appreciate O'Neill, seeing the back end of Izzet's career here etc, and after watching years of rubbish Pearson's made us into a good team, a good club, again.

 

When he left I was gutted. I haven't felt connection to a manager like I did to Pearson. The man is a legend. Met him many times and I will not have a bad word to say about him.

I think you've probably hit the nail on the head, a lot depends on your age and when you started watching City.

 

I suppose a lot of people like me who started watching City in the Pleat years, felt the same way about Little and O'Neill.  

 

 

 

[Sharpe's Fox]

They call us a cult but we just appreciate a man who made us feel something for Leicester City we had never felt before. That's why, for me, he will always be the greatest.

[deanolegend1989]

11 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

Like Pearson, good manager at the right time, but never understood the almost cult like fan club he has! 

 

As a supporter from 1989, I'd would rank him in the top 5 manager since that time of Ranieri, O'Neill, Little, Adams and himself.

 

I'd probably rank them in this order;

 

1) Ranieri 

2) O'Neill 

3) Little, Adam, Pearson.

 

I think the jobs Little and Adams did are comparable to the one Pearson did. Generally because both Little and Adams were working with a budget whilst Pearson arguably had one of, if not the biggest budget in both League 1 and then the Championship.

 

 

So your saying Ranieri is a better manager than Pearson? 😂.

Pearson got us 2 promotions and 2 playoffs in 4 seasons, kept us up in incredible circumstances and build the squad for our title win.

Ranieri rode a wave, he got success of what he inherited. The first sign he had to make his own stamp on the team, he failed dramatically.

Hes never won anything before us, despite being at big clubs throughout his career, ruined us the season after with still a fairly decent squad(Even Shakespeare rescued us and got us to a QF of the CL), then he was awful at Fulham too. 
He’s a nice jolly man and I’m happy that he got success with us because a nice guy winning before he retires is a plus for me.

However to say he’s a better manager than Pearson? That’s an embarrassing comment.

 

6 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

I think you've probably hit the nail on the head, a lot depends on your age and when you started watching City.

 

I suppose a lot of people like me who started watching City in the Pleat years, felt the same way about Little and O'Neill.  

 

 

 

 It depends on age to some extent, however whilst I was too young to really appreciate O’Neil and certainly little. From what I’ve looked back on and read, Little as a Judas and not even close to being as good as Pearson.

 

Oneil did a fantastic job, no doubt about it. He won us 2 league cups, that’s nearly impossible in today’s game for any club outside the top 4/6.

 

Adams season was also the season I first followed regularly and he did a fantastic job, short term, in very hard circumstances.

We put up a fair fight in the Prem as well, with no budget but just couldn’t hold onto enough leads with an aging slow defence.

Again he did a decent job but not on Pearson’s level.

 

Pearson and O’Neil are far far far and away our best 2 managers in the modern era.

No one else even gets close.

[coolhandfox]

1 hour ago, deanolegend1989 said:

So your saying Ranieri is a better manager than Pearson? 😂.

Pearson got us 2 promotions and 2 playoffs in 4 seasons, kept us up in incredible circumstances and build the squad for our title win.

Ranieri rode a wave, he got success of what he inherited. The first sign he had to make his own stamp on the team, he failed dramatically.

Hes never won anything before us, despite being at big clubs throughout his career, ruined us the season after with still a fairly decent squad(Even Shakespeare rescued us and got us to a QF of the CL), then he was awful at Fulham too. 
He’s a nice jolly man and I’m happy that he got success with us because a nice guy winning before he retires is a plus for me.

However to say he’s a better manager than Pearson? That’s an embarrassing comment.

 

 It depends on age to some extent, however whilst I was too young to really appreciate O’Neil and certainly little. From what I’ve looked back on and read, Little as a Judas and not even close to being as good as Pearson.

 

Oneil did a fantastic job, no doubt about it. He won us 2 league cups, that’s nearly impossible in today’s game for any club outside the top 4/6.

 

Adams season was also the season I first followed regularly and he did a fantastic job, short term, in very hard circumstances.

We put up a fair fight in the Prem as well, with no budget but just couldn’t hold onto enough leads with an aging slow defence.

Again he did a decent job but not on Pearson’s level.

 

Pearson and O’Neil are far far far and away our best 2 managers in the modern era.

No one else even gets close.

Check you facts before call other people comments embarrassing........

 

Fiorentina

Coppa Italia: 1995–96

Supercoppa Italiana: 1996

 

Valencia

Copa del Rey: 1998–99

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998

UEFA Super Cup: 2004

 

You also claim he rode the wave of the team Pearson built, do you feel the same about Jose, the core of the Chelsea team which won two Premier League titles under Mourinho, including John Terry, William Gallas, Wayne Bridge, Claude Makélélé and Frank Lampard were all brought to Chelsea or nurtured by Ranieri. 

 

Edited 21 August 2020 by coolhandfox

[deanolegend1989]

2 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

Check you facts before call other people comments embarrassing........

 

Fiorentina

Coppa Italia: 1995–96

Supercoppa Italiana: 1996

 

Valencia

Copa del Rey: 1998–99

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1998

UEFA Super Cup: 2004

 

You also claim he rode the wave of the team Pearson built, do you feel the same about Jose, the core of the Chelsea team which won two Premier League titles under Mourinho, including John Terry, William Gallas, Wayne Bridge, Claude Makélélé and Frank Lampard were all brought to Chelsea or nurtured by Ranieri. 

 

When I said never won anything I meant anything of note. No league titles and no Champions league.

 

No it’s completely different situation. Ranieri didn’t build anything at Chelsea bar scraping into the CL vs Liverpool in 2003.

Roman knew he needed a top manager, all through 03/04 season he was being linked with the sack, even Sven was linked with his job!

 

Lampard and Terry he inherited through the academy, nothing to do with Raneiri. Wayne Bridge? 🤦‍♂️ Just no. Jose even brought in De Horno over him for their title wins and eventually Cole.

Chelsea dominated because Jose came in and signed true world class players and take on a team Ranieri largely didn’t progress with.

Robben, Carvalho, Ferrera, Cech and Drogba filled the huge gaps in Ranieri’ team along with Lampard and Terry(which as I said came through, and would become world level, with OR without Ranieri).

 

Listen I love Ranieri for his lovable personality and for what he did here, but he’s a very very average(at best) manager. Nigel is not. He’s a top coach and if he didn’t have an eccentric and controversial personality he would do it at the very top level.

Edited 22 August 2020 by deanolegend1989

[swanlee]

6 hours ago, deanolegend1989 said:

No it’s completely different situation. Ranieri didn’t build anything at Chelsea bar scraping into the CL vs Liverpool in 2003.

Roman knew he needed a top manager, all through 03/04 season he was being linked with the sack, even Sven was linked with his job!

Sorry I have to disagree. Whilst Its true Ranieri didn't deliver silverware at Chelsea. You have to remember what Chelsea were before Abramovitch came along. They had a record very much like ours in the 80's, yo-yoing  between the 1st & 2nd. It was all Ken Bates, electric fences, and a rep as a horrible club with a horrible fanbase. Admittedly in the 90's there was a classy dutchman and a splattering of Italian footballing pedigree. Plus a few cup wins. But Chelsea before the russian revolution were a mid-table prem club and to write Claudio off for only just 'scrapping' in to the CL is to do him a huge disservice.

 

I seem to recall at the time many felt that Claudio was harshly treated. And as for Jose and his ego filling the gaps in Claudio's squad with astute signings. With the older & unfashionable manager gone, the billionaire's money did the talking and Chelski were transformed both as a footballing team and a brand, both on and off the pitch. Welcome to the era of the Prem League mega-brand. 

 

Edited 22 August 2020 by swanlee

[coolhandfox]

10 hours ago, deanolegend1989 said:

When I said never won anything I meant anything of note. No league titles and no Champions league.

What did Pearson win of note?

 

If you say League 1 and the Championship.

 

Ranieri won Serie B x 2, Serie C x 1, Ligue 2 x 1

 

10 hours ago, deanolegend1989 said:

 

No it’s completely different situation. Ranieri didn’t build anything at Chelsea bar scraping into the CL vs Liverpool in 2003.

Roman knew he needed a top manager, all through 03/04 season he was being linked with the sack, even Sven was linked with his job!

So finishing 2nd to the Arsenal "The Invincibles" resulting in the best league placing for the club in 49 years at the time and losing a CL semi-final is nothing?  In his four seasons at Chelsea they improved their points total season on season.

 

10 hours ago, deanolegend1989 said:

Lampard and Terry he inherited through the academy, nothing to do with Raneiri. Wayne Bridge? 🤦‍♂️ Just no. Jose even brought in De Horno over him for their title wins and eventually Cole.

Well he signed Lampard from West Ham for a start . 

 

10 hours ago, deanolegend1989 said:

Chelsea dominated because Jose came in and signed true world class players and take on a team Ranieri largely didn’t progress with.

Robben, Carvalho, Ferrera, Cech and Drogba filled the huge gaps in Ranieri’ team along with Lampard and Terry(which as I said came through, and would become world level, with OR without Ranieri).

Ranieri identified Didier Drogba, and has spoken about this in interviews in the media! If this wasn't true I'm sure Jose would have a lot to say about it.

Cech signed for Chelsea in February 2004 whilst Ranieri was still manager although he didn't move from Rennes to London until the summer.

 

10 hours ago, deanolegend1989 said:

 

Listen I love Ranieri for his lovable personality and for what he did here, but he’s a very very average(at best) manager.

Not many average managers manage Juventus, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea.......

 

 

 

 

[HighPeakFox]

3 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

What did Pearson win of note?

 

If you say League 1 and the Championship.

 

Ranieri won Serie B x 2, Serie C x 1, Ligue 2 x 1

 

So finishing 2nd to the Arsenal "The Invincibles" resulting in the best league placing for the club in 49 years at the time and losing a CL semi-final is nothing?  In his four seasons at Chelsea they improved their points total season on season.

 

Well he signed Lampard from West Ham for a start . 

 

Ranieri identified Didier Drogba, and has spoken about this in interviews in the media! If this wasn't true I'm sure Jose would have a lot to say about it.

Cech signed for Chelsea in February 2004 whilst Ranieri was still manager although he didn't move from Rennes to London until the summer.

 

Not many average managers manage Juventus, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea.......

You can expect a very long answer...

[1972 Fox]

6 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

Not many average managers manage Juventus, Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid, Chelsea......

You can add Valencia, Roma, Napoli, Fiorentina, Parma, Monaco and Sampdoria to those names. As well as the mighty Leicester City.