Pearson under pressure

[Leicester_Numan]

I've only just got in, was anything said or was it just the usual Pearson dribble?

Pretty much the usual but it didn't sound like he'd been put under any extra pressure or been threatened with the sack. He was a bit more light hearted and upbeat, maybe his media image was part of the discussion. We'll see what happens with that next time we lose

[paulsherwood1]

I wanted NP to be reappointed, supported him throughout last season and was impressed up until mid-January. We were still on a winning run when I began to worry. Since then his behaviour and decision-making has, at times, been shocking for a professional football manager. I want him to stay until the end of the season, but I have no defence for his recent actions.

I'd consider the Schlupp situation, whether you think we should sell him or not, as one of the most unusual in football right now; we haven't addressed obvious weaknesses in the team, have been reluctant to alter the formation or the line-up and post-match comments from players and manager alike have hinted at massive complacency ('there's nothing we can do about [going six points behind Watford, after losing to Peterborough]', 'I'm not bothered', 'my players have been outstanding all season' etc.).

There have been regular conflicts, of late, between fans and players / staff. This rarely happens at promotion-winning sides.

He has set expectations far too low in recent weeks and my opinion of him as a manager has lowered massively. If the board has asked questions of him this week, then I am fully behind them.

Spot on. This is not about a witch hunt for NP, but the points you make about his complacency and lowering of expectations is correct. I understand about taking pressure off his players, but his actions have done the opposite and put pressure on!

Other questions are why has Shlupp not played since Novembef if he is good enough for a trial at man united?

What's happened to Chris Wood? On fire at the start, then a rumoured bust up with NP and he's not the same player.

What was the bust up at the beginning of the season with SSL?

Why did we only start the season with two recognised centre backs on the books?

[Bilbo]

I was just thinking what a joke the criticism that Pearson is coming under is this morning as I pray my car gets through it's MOT.

Here we have a manager who has tried to create a squad within a reasonable budget, got rid of players he thought had a negative effect on the team and most of all managed to get us in the top 6 for the majority of the season.

What more do people want? Pearson has his faults but if he didn't he would surely be managing in the Premiership.

[LJS]

All this stuff about 'the state we were in' before Pearson joined confuses me. What state? We were two points off the play offs when Eriksson was sacked and were sixth in the league after Pearson's first game back. Yeah, we had some players on ridiculously high wages and some weren't worth what we paid, but let's not allow that to con us into thinking we had a bad side. We didn't. We were within three points of the play offs until the last four games of the season.

We finished ninth. Pearson hasn't had to come in and rebuild a club. Whilst he has had the challenge of reducing the wage bill it isn't as though he hasn't had a decent base to work from. People need to stop looking to Hull and claiming that Pearson built the foundations of their current squad, too. You could equally argue that he wasn't able to get the best out of the players he did sign there, or that he left significant areas for improvement, and that Bruce has dealt with these issues. They certainly weren't automatic promotion challengers under Pearson.

I like Pearson. Not as much as I used to, granted. His comments earlier this week pissed me off to the point of apathy about his fate. If he is sacked before the season ends I won't have much sympathy with the bloke. But in terms of the direction of the club it would seem a bit daft to me to be sacking him at this stage of the season. There isn't long to go until it's all over now and a decision can be made then. Some of the names being mentioned as replacements concern me. Roy Keane, Chris Powell. No point sacking Nige if the replacement doesn't have a track record of achieving more than the current incumbent.

He does come across as a man under pressure though. His comments and tone on Tuesday night speak of a man who knows it's going wrong, doesn't know how to stop it, and knows his fate if he can't.

[MC Prussian]

It's a bit of a toughie with managers and their public exposure as well as their image.

Would you rather have a smokescreen of a guy that represents the club well or a man that does what he does best - his job?

Maybe Pearson can come across as being a tad bit arrogant, but that doesn't mean much to me. Looking at the stats, he's got one of the best records for any manager at this club, if not the best. Those numbers don't lie.

What I'm rather interested is how he manages the team, the core of the club we've all grown to love over the years.

In that regard, he's doing a great job. We've got a young team that is still somewhat growing together as a unit, with the last new arrivals coming in just a few weeks ago.

It has got to grow organically and it's no easy task to keep such a side together without star players being lured away by other clubs.

We have a certain potential as a club with this current side and I'm sure Pearson does his best to improve the players' abilities as well as their focus and commitment.

Pearson has led us to playoff places before and I'm convinced he has learned from previous mistakes - after all, he's still a rather young manager.

Get behind the team and let's make this happen!

[The Year Of The Fox]

I just find it hard to believe some fans would prefer a charismatic manager who gives us entertaining post match insights over a winning team on the field. There are currently 19 teams below us in this league. 3 of those 19 were Premiership teams last season. Two of those above us have been steadily building a team over a few seasons. Hull and Cardiff. Another team has signed everyone from Udinese (admittedely Zola has done very well in gelling them so quickly) So have we really got much to complain about? Cardiff look as if they're capable of doing what they've always done the last few seasons. Do you think their fans will be wanting the managers head there if that happens?

I wonder whether our moaning fans would be like this had we not reached the dizzy heaights of top in October and 2nd in January. On the face of it it does seem a bit gut wrenching to be slipping away at the wrong time and I'm sure Pearson is no less happy than us. Most of us are rational enough to realise such is the nature of football and Leicester City in particular though. I think too many of us got ahead of ourselves looking at the fixture lists. (There was a thread titled something along the lines of, 'The Easiest Next 10 Fixtures?'

We don't have a divine right to go up nor to beat teams every week. It's the hardest league to get out of for a reason you know!

IF we win today and Tuesday I'd like to think it will signify the end of our a blip. A blip that was inevitable but a blip we will have got through leaving us still in the playoffs and still with a chance of pinching 2nd place! There are worse blips to have had!

[birdwith2beaksandnofriends]

On a positive note, I fancy Chris Wood to snaffle a goal or two today against a fairly poor SWFC back line.

I just don't think SWFC will be able to shut us down like some other teams have.

[sdb]

He took over a shambles of a club and turned it around in a relatively short space of time. Our squad is better. The egos have gone. Wage bill slashed. League position and chance of promotion is better. Take a look at the bigger picture and he's not a manager we want to lose.

[birdwith2beaksandnofriends]

There are positives and negatives to NP. I think he just rubs people up the wrong way and for me he does sap a lot of what is enjoyable about supporting LCFC.

[Guest Col city fan]

All this stuff about 'the state we were in' before Pearson joined confuses me. What state? We were two points off the play offs when Eriksson was sacked and were sixth in the league after Pearson's first game back. Yeah, we had some players on ridiculously high wages and some weren't worth what we paid, but let's not allow that to con us into thinking we had a bad side. We didn't. We were within three points of the play offs until the last four games of the season.

We finished ninth. Pearson hasn't had to come in and rebuild a club. Whilst he has had the challenge of reducing the wage bill it isn't as though he hasn't had a decent base to work from. People need to stop looking to Hull and claiming that Pearson built the foundations of their current squad, too. You could equally argue that he wasn't able to get the best out of the players he did sign there, or that he left significant areas for improvement, and that Bruce has dealt with these issues. They certainly weren't automatic promotion challengers under Pearson.

I like Pearson. Not as much as I used to, granted. His comments earlier this week pissed me off to the point of apathy about his fate. Of he is sacked before the season ends I won't have much sympathy with the bloke. But in terms of the direction of the club it would seem a bit daft to me to be sacking him at this stage of the season. There isn't long to go until it's all over now and a decision can be made then. Some of the names being mentioned as replacements concern me. Roy Keane, Chris Powell. No point sackong Nige if the replacement doesn't have a track record of achieving more than the current incumbent.

He does come across as a man under pressure though. His comments and tone on Tuesday night speak of a man who knows it's going wrong, doesn't know how to stop it, and knows his fate if he can't.

There's too much sense in this post for it to be worthwhile mate. It will be skipped over by the happy clappers in favour of 'Pearson is a miracle worker' or words to that effect.

[birdwith2beaksandnofriends]

There is a lot of sense spoken in this thread from both sides in fairness. What weakens the good arguments but forward by the pro-Pearson thinkers are that most of the complete loons seem to be on their side. That does weaken the good points they make, but it does dilute them.

[Legend_in_blue]

Pearson needs to get us back to how we were, to the days of being spoilt with the amount of quality on offer. Perhaps then the clowns will get back behind him.

Imo being spoilt represents promotion winning football and the clowns just tell it how it is and what we have become.

Pearson needs to get off his high horse and sort it. Starting with today.

[The Year Of The Fox]

Spot on. This is not about a witch hunt for NP, but the points you make about his complacency and lowering of expectations is correct. I understand about taking pressure off his players, but his actions have done the opposite and put pressure on!

Other questions are why has Shlupp not played since Novembef if he is good enough for a trial at man united?

What's happened to Chris Wood? On fire at the start, then a rumoured bust up with NP and he's not the same player.

What was the bust up at the beginning of the season with SSL?

Why did we only start the season with two recognised centre backs on the books?

No proof that either of those occured in the first place!- Besides you can't expect Wood to score in every single game. He got injured and looked as rusty as hell in his first game back yet still scored didn't he?. Here lies the problem with our disgruntled fans I think- 'Why sin't Wood scoring in every game?'

Pearson sees Schlupp in training every day. He was taken ontrial by Man Utd, probably to only get a look at him in the same in the same circumstances that Nige sees him day in day out. He's since returned to LCFC anyway, so what (if anything does that tell you) NP and Fergie obviously have a great relationship with each other, with Fergie sending us a lot of his up and coming players, so why shouldn't the favour be reciprocated?

Which two CBs did we have on the books at the start of the season?

[Fox92]

Worrying that we can potentially drop to 6th/7th says it all for me. Pearson has done a fantastic job to guide us to where we are, within reach of the play offs. Not only that, he has rebuilt the squad (again). Got rid of the players that are not good enough, the 'big players', and brought in young talent, as well as (again) making sure our finances look better than previous seasons. His job should not be underrated, and he is correct in saying we have played well for most of this season - two wins where we have won by 6 goals, for example.

[Leicester_Numan]

It's a bit of a toughie with managers and their public exposure as well as their image.

Would you rather have a smokescreen of a guy that represents the club well or a man that does what he does best - his job?

Maybe Pearson can come across as being a tad bit arrogant, but that doesn't mean much to me. Looking at the stats, he's got one of the best records for any manager at this club, if not the best. Those numbers don't lie.

What I'm rather interested is how he manages the team, the core of the club we've all grown to love over the years.

In that regard, he's doing a great job. We've got a young team that is still somewhat growing together as a unit, with the last new arrivals coming in just a few weeks ago.

It has got to grow organically and it's no easy task to keep such a side together without star players being lured away by other clubs.

We have a certain potential as a club with this current side and I'm sure Pearson does his best to improve the players' abilities as well as their focus and commitment.

Pearson has led us to playoff places before and I'm convinced he has learned from previous mistakes - after all, he's still a rather young manager.

Get behind the team and let's make this happen!

Looking at the stats, he's got one of the best records for any manager at this club, if not the best. Those numbers don't lie.

Correct

"@oconnells31: Statistically best managers - history of #LCFC (min 10 games) 1) Pearson 51.4% (last time) 2) O'Farrell 46.27% 3) Pearson 45.33% (this time)"

[The Year Of The Fox]

Looking at the stats, he's got one of the best records for any manager at this club, if not the best. Those numbers don't lie.

Correct

"@oconnells31: Statistically best managers - history of #LCFC (min 10 games) 1) Pearson 51.4% (last time) 2) O'Farrell 46.27% 3) Pearson 45.33% (this time)"

We've not played any league 1 teams this season though

[Leicester_Numan]

We've not played any league 1 teams this season though

No but see number 3

[Thracian]

Pearson looks, acts, and increasingly talks like a man who knows his fate.

Can smell it a mile off. Obvious that some of the more astute players know this as well.

Tomorrow will be very interesting.

About sums it up. The owners give every impression of looking for an excuse to move him out.

And, while fans might not think Pearson's handling of the media has anything to do with his value as a manager I think it and believe it certainly does to our owners.

Building a brand requires good PR and the most obvious way of spreading that message is through the way we play on the pitch and the soundbites that come out of that.

And most of that is all about attitude and, sadly, we seem to get the wrong attitude far too often - both in our tactics, our philosophy and the way we respond afterwards.

What galls is that Pearson's had plenty of warning and plenty of opportunity to play with a smile and promote us in the same way. He even seemed to try at one stage but he simply doesn't seem to have the belief. the wit or the tactical imagination to see it through. Nor has he got sufficient back-up within his squad as was clearly shown with the Dyer deployment.

I say this wondering very seriously if we would still be better off - at least in the short term - sticking with Pearson and giving him further chance (another season) to build our house on rock rather than risk another upheaval which will quite possibly probably involve us in yet another transfer merry-go-round which would probably stall our progress yet again.

It really depends on who we might appoint as a managerial replacement and the players' reaction to that appointment. But it would be a big gamble whatever and probably a bigger one than sticking with Pearson unless he's already sick of the situation, decided he'd rather move on and is content to collect his pay-off.

[The Year Of The Fox]

No but see number 3

I think I'm misreading your stance and vice versa.

My point was had under his first reign we been playing in the championship our win rate wouldn't have been so high meaning in affect he's been more successful this time round at a higher standard

[1964FOX]

As the players know NP is under pressure today we may learn if they have got over the Chris Wood 'incident' or not by the way they play. If it was an injury or bust up (my belief) doesn't matter it has certainly upset the apple cart and we have not been the same team since.

Hopefully they can put it behind them and get back the togetherness they had prior to the incident and start winning again.

COME ON LEICESTER.

[MattyFromLE]

About sums it up. The owners give every impression of looking for an excuse to move him out.

And, while fans might not think Pearson's handling of the media has anything to do with his value as a manager I think it and believe it certainly does to our owners.

Building a brand requires good PR and the most obvious way of spreading that message is through the way we play on the pitch and the soundbites that come out of that.

And most of that is all about attitude and, sadly, we seem to get the wrong attitude far too often - both in our tactics, our philosophy and the way we respond afterwards.

What galls is that Pearson's had plenty of warning and plenty of opportunity to play with a smile and promote us in the same way. He even seemed to try at one stage but he simply doesn't seem to have the belief. the wit or the tactical imagination to see it through. Nor has he got sufficient back-up within his squad as was clearly shown with the Dyer deployment.

I say this wondering very seriously if we would still be better off - at least in the short term - sticking with Pearson and giving him further chance (another season) to build our house on rock rather than risk another upheaval which will quite possibly probably involve us in yet another transfer merry-go-round which would probably stall our progress yet again.

It really depends on who we might appoint as a managerial replacement and the players' reaction to that appointment. But it would be a big gamble whatever and probably a bigger one than sticking with Pearson unless he's already sick of the situation, decided he'd rather move on and is content to collect his pay-off.

"About sums it up. The owners give every impression of looking for an excuse to move him out." - sorry, please tell me where they have made any comment on the situation? I must have missed it. I agree that he has his limitations, but until the end of the season he should stay in charge.

The Thais will have known his strong points when they hired him, and will have taken our financial situation in to account in his appointment.

[LJS]

People are confusing themselves with raw facts here. Pearson might have an impressive win rate but he has never managed us in the top tier. It's a nonsense measure. Yes, he wins lots of games at this level. But look back through our history and you will see that Leicester City doing well at this level is not outside of the norm.

The last decade or so has been the worst in our history and that seems to have sapped the ambition from our fanbase. We have spent (roughly) as much time in the top flight as we have in this league. We are not a huge club but, with the greatest of respect to them, we aren't Barnsley either. A promotion challenge is what we should expect every time we are at this level. Anything less is underachieving. Pearson is merely performing to par. Perhaps even below if you consider what he has spent. For some of you winning games in this league might be enough. It isn't for me. I want us in the top flight, pitting our wits against the very best. I can accept that a club of our stature is likely to yo-yo between the top two leagues. But I certainly won't be grateful for top six finishes in the second tier unless there is promotion at the end of it.

[Mattyfox]

Worrying that we can potentially drop to 6th/7th says it all for me. Pearson has done a fantastic job to guide us to where we are, within reach of the play offs. Not only that, he has rebuilt the squad (again). Got rid of the players that are not good enough, the 'big players', and brought in young talent, as well as (again) making sure our finances look better than previous seasons. His job should not be underrated, and he is correct in saying we have played well for most of this season - two wins where we have won by 6 goals, for example.

Great shout!

[birdwith2beaksandnofriends]

Great shout!

But even accepting we are a yo-yo club, we should be challenging for promotion in this division year in, year out, even without he massive investment.

I can't see how, with the investment and backing he has had, people can see possibly reaching the play offs as a success?

Where is your ambition people? This is typical of Leicester and is part of the culture at the club which is part of the reason we've never won anything of note. A 90%. Too satisfied with the mediocre.

[Captain...]

As the players know NP is under pressure today we may learn if they have got over the Chris Wood 'incident' or not by the way they play. If it was an injury or bust up (my belief) doesn't matter it has certainly upset the apple cart and we have not been the same team since.

Hopefully they can put it behind them and get back the togetherness they had prior to the incident and start winning again.

COME ON LEICESTER.

Are you a fvcking retard?

Seriously, why the fvck would you choose to believe a baseless unsubstantiated rumour? What evidence do you have that there was any sort of bust up, other than the incoherent dribbling of your fellow inmates?

Why do people actively want to to stir up trouble and spread this crap and turn the fans against the players or the manager? You're supposed to be a fvcking Leicester fan grow the fvck up.