Am I the only fan who wants Pearson to stay?

[johnny the fox]

If the club fails to go up this season, Pearson will be a quarter of a billion pound failure, the 150 milion you get for promotion and the 100 mill already wasted, I mean invested...that will not be acceptable.

[kingfox]

He has done wonders at this club, but at this moment in time, you can't overlook our position and the chances of failing to get in the play-offs. I've always liked Pearson, but right now he is doing a poor job.

I think he has made mistakes this season, at this point of the season you can't have 19/21 players in your squad, it's ridiculous to have that many players at this time of the season. The players look mentally and physically drained, and who knows but it seems he has now lost the dressing room. You need all the players you have at this stage of the season, not getting rid of more players on loan.

In the first half of the season, you needed certain players to do well, Morgan has been consistent throughout the season, Moore and St Ledger performed well when given the chance, Drinkwater improved dramatically, while his central midfield partnership with James and King were clicking, Knockaert was firing on all cylinders we thought we picked an absolute gem up, Nugent was scoring goals and working hard. However now, Drinkwater is playing poorly, and when the midfield plays poor the team as a whole seem to play poor, Knockaert god knows what's happened to him, the amount of passes he has been giving away recently is ridiculous, while Nugent still tries hard but nothing is paying off for him, and Wood in all honesty has turned from a lively hard working goalscorer, to a lazy average striker.

The team looks lost, at the most important time of the season.

[Crinklyfox]

I want NP to stay. If the team had won last night the calls for his head would have reduced. I saw a team that had a few players out of form but an improvement over a couple of weeks ago.

A manager has to be able to inspire the team and the team last night but in a good shift with no luck. A manager also needs to be tactically aware and I know that this is a criticism from many of his detractors. I can't really comment on how good his tactics are, I reckon that NP has forgotten more about football than I know. Like the other posters I get frustrated when things don't work out but I don't see a magic fix by getting a new manager.

You never get perfection in a manager and switching managers may give the players a temporary incentive to work harder but that doesn't seem to be the problem so why fix it?

[Greatness_Since_1884]

They were hardly in poor form when he took over at Reading they were 20th in the table led them to a 9th place finish in his first season not bad

The following season led Reading to the playoff final they lost that but still good because they at least reached that something that NFP hasn't even achieved yet

Then finally leads them to the title what a shit manager he is...

NP has proven over his managerial time he his nothing more than an a bog standard championship manager fair enough long term we want to do a Dierby County and wait a couple of years than promotion, building a young team then NP is the man for the job. But come on the expectation of our club is high and rightly so we should be doing better in a piss poor league this season that is what hurts me the most because next season it is going to be harder to go up and I don't feel that NP can deliver the goods but I guess time will tell.

Okay so their first seasons were similar - rebuilding and stabilising after previous regimes.

In BM's 2nd season he got them to the play-offs, NP could easily do the same. I'm assuming that if we do make the top 6 you'll then be advocating him staying and having next season as well, seeing as though that's what McDermott had? In fact it took a late season burst for Reading to make the play-offs that year, the sort we might have to produce. So again pretty similar up until this point?

This is one thing I don't understand with some of the arguments; people slating him for 'not having achieved promotion'. Well it's March, of course he hasn't. At least give him a full seasons chance first. We're in a much better position to make the play-offs than we ever were last season yet then there was so much more belief? Whose to say he can't turn it around and have a late season run of form like your fabled saviour McDermott did?

[shearfox]

Something is wrong, we aren't playing football like we were earlier in the season. What has happened to the possesion football and keeping it simple? it has all gone out the window since February.

[LJS]

Of course Pearson should stay. Stability, plus the fact that under him we've played fabtastically at times, are the key points. Last night was the biggest heap of bad luck we've had in a long while. Some of the muppets who phoned RL last night calling for his head made me ashamed.

Why is stability considered a good argument? What good is stable mediocrity? That we've played well at times is moot if we don't achieve anything.

[flowwolf]

Last night, despite the miserable result, was refreshing in that the silent majority that want Pearson to stay came out of the attic and rallied around the team and manager during what is, let's face it, a shocking patch. Maybe it's the siege mentality from the red card, maybe it's the knowledge that his job is probably now hanging by a thread, maybe it's the fact that the players gave it everything last night - De Laet in particular was absolutely shattered by the final whistle in his first game back from injury - or maybe it's the horrible thought of what further disruption sacking the manager and upheaving the whole club would bring, but last night made me even surer that I want Pearson to stay.

Silent majority who want him to stay ? :D If we don't even get in the playoffs and are still in this league next season lets see how many of the " silent majority" renew their season tickets with Pearson still at the helm. Sven got sacked for much less than this loser. The fans rallied around the team and the club not the useless manager. Pearson is like a Rabbit caught in the headlights he hasn't a clue whats going to hit him.

[JohnnyB]

I think we should give him at least one more season, sacking manager after manager has got is no where we are now building a good young squad.

I agree with this entirely. We have a young and relatively inexperienced squad of players; I think I read somewhere that it's one of the youngest squads in the division. Even if we don't go up this season (which is looking less and less likely) we would be in a stronger position next season. Just look at the Cardiff team who have bottled it for the last couple of season's. They will get automatic promotion this time round. It takes time to build teams, and patience often pays dividends in the end.

If we can improve the squad again this summer and remove some of the dead wood, then I'd be pretty confident of doing a Cardiff next season.

[Arriba Los Zorros]

Sacking the manager should be a last resort rather than Plan A when things are going wrong.

The success stories of the last decade - Utd, Everton, Stoke, Wigan, Arsenal, Bolton under Allardyce - have been successful by being consistent with their managers. Even Swansea who have had countless managers pinched form them have always recruited a successor with a similar style. Look at what happens to clubs who constantly chop and change us, Forest, Blackburn, Chelsea, Liverpool - all punch well below their weight.

As much as recent form is dire, lets not forget Pearson got us into the top 2 earlier this season, he is doing some things right. He is also the only manager who has had any success at all at this club in the last 10 years.

You can't always make decisions based on the short term for God's sake!

[Arriba Los Zorros]

Why is stability considered a good argument? What good is stable mediocrity? That we've played well at times is moot if we don't achieve anything.

League One.

[dedlock]

I agree with this entirely. We have a young and relatively inexperienced squad of players; I think I read somewhere that it's one of the youngest squads in the division. Even if we don't go up this season (which is looking less and less likely) we would be in a stronger position next season. Just look at the Cardiff team who have bottled it for the last couple of season's. They will get automatic promotion this time round. It takes time to build teams, and patience often pays dividends in the end.

If we can improve the squad again this summer and remove some of the dead wood, then I'd be pretty confident of doing a Cardiff next season.

Agreed.

[THEBIGJOHNSTEADER;]

It's a good job I'm a regular on the boards again or this place would melt down completely.

[LJS]

League One.

I don't know what you're saying here. That we won league one? So what. If that's the kind of achievement that is attractive to you then fine. I want more than that. If you're suggesting that changing managers results in relegation to that level then you're just wrong.

The stability equals success argument is wrong. Ferguson finished second in his first full season at United. Wenger won the double in his. They earned their stability. Pearson, this time around, has not.

[flowwolf]

It's a good job I'm a regular on the boards again or this place would melt down completely.

Yes and thank god for that John, the voice of reason is back.

[Arriba Los Zorros]

I don't know what you're saying here. That we won league one? So what. If that's the kind of achievement that is attractive to you then fine. I want more than that. If you're suggesting that changing managers results in relegation to that level then you're just wrong.

The stability equals success argument is wrong. Ferguson finished second in his first full season at United. Wenger won the double in his. They earned their stability. Pearson, this time around, has not.

I meant the latter, I'm obviously not proud we won League One, I'm ashamed we were were in it.

However, I'm not wrong that changing managers left right and centre can lead to relegation. It quite often does as it makes teams underachieve - teams in upheaval are always a mess and no team spirit can be created (the backs to the wall fighting against adversity does not last long). There is no way we would have been relegated had we not got through what seemed like 2 managers every season during the 00s. Stability does breed success - if Stoke get rid of Pulis just watch them plummet back down to the lower end of the Championship.....

[LJS]

I meant the latter, I'm obviously not proud we won League One, I'm ashamed we were were in it.

However, I'm not wrong that changing managers left right and centre can lead to relegation. It quite often does as it makes teams underachieve - teams in upheaval are always a mess and no team spirit can be created (the backs to the wall fighting against adversity does not last long). There is no way we would have been relegated had we not got through what seemed like 2 managers every season during the 00s. Stability does breed success - if Stoke get rid of Pulis just watch them plummet back down to the lower end of the Championship.....

Stability alone does not breed success. It's normally the other way around. The issue isn't in sacking unsuccessful managers. It's in appointing bad ones. The two things are separate. Pulis, to use that example, hasn't done well because of the time given. He has been given the time because he has done well. Why would they sack him now when he is still doing so well? It's an illogical argument. Was sacking Sousa bad? Presumably stability would have seen him succeed?

In any case, Pearson has had the time and money to do better here than he has. We look nailed on to miss out on the play offs. If that happens we have made no progress since he rejoined having spent an awful lot of cash.

[theessexfox]

I don't know what you're saying here. That we won league one? So what. If that's the kind of achievement that is attractive to you then fine. I want more than that. If you're suggesting that changing managers results in relegation to that level then you're just wrong.

The stability equals success argument is wrong. Ferguson finished second in his first full season at United. Wenger won the double in his. They earned their stability. Pearson, this time around, has not.

Fergie was close to being sacked in the early years?

[fleckneymike]

Sacking the manager should be a last resort rather than Plan A when things are going wrong.

The success stories of the last decade - Utd, Everton, Stoke, Wigan, Arsenal, Bolton under Allardyce - have been successful by being consistent with their managers. Even Swansea who have had countless managers pinched form them have always recruited a successor with a similar style. Look at what happens to clubs who constantly chop and change us, Forest, Blackburn, Chelsea, Liverpool - all punch well below their weight.

As much as recent form is dire, lets not forget Pearson got us into the top 2 earlier this season, he is doing some things right. He is also the only manager who has had any success at all at this club in the last 10 years.

You can't always make decisions based on the short term for God's sake!

This logic works on the basis that these clubs 'stabilised' for a number of seasons before pushing on and that simply isn't the case. Pulis gained promotion in his second season, Wigan gained promotion in their second season under Jewell followed by promotion to the Prem 2 seasons later, Bolton lost in the play off final in Allardyce's first season before gaining promotion the next. Ferguson at Utd is always cited as the need for stability, again people overlook his CV prior to arriving at Utd, he had 10 trophies to his name (3 league and 2 European) and that granted him the luxury that you want afforded Pearson.

We are in Nigel's second season. All your other examples (excluding Fergie and Moyes) achieved promotion in their second season. Moyes won promotion at Preston in his second season, Fergie had to wait until his third season at St Mirren. Stability didn't beget success, success beget stability.

[Arriba Los Zorros]

Stability alone does not breed success. It's normally the other way around. The issue isn't in sacking unsuccessful managers. It's in appointing bad ones. The two things are separate. Pulis, to use that example, hasn't done well because of the time given. He has been given the time because he has done well. Why would they sack him now when he is still doing so well? It's an illogical argument. Was sacking Sousa bad? Presumably stability would have seen him succeed?

In any case, Pearson has had the time and money to do better here than he has. We look nailed on to miss out on the play offs. If that happens we have made no progress since he rejoined having spent an awful lot of cash.

A lot of people on here, and probably a lot of supporters in the land, completely agree with you. In my opinion, the flaw in your argument is that managers who are judged as 'bad' and sacked very quickly - are not given enough time to be a success. This in turn puts more pressure on the next manager and creates more demanding supporters, as well as leaving teams in turmoil and is bloody expensive too. Very few managers can come in and get things right straight away, and even if they do, supporters cannot expect it to be easy street throughout the whole of a managers reign. Most fans looking in would call us crazy to sack NP after a bad run of form during what has been a very good season. Knee-jerk. I used the example of Pulis, because a lot of Stoke fans are not happy with him apparently and want him out, due to a minor blip in Stoke's form... ridiculous.

[morris1234]

I don't want him to go. I know it's part of his job but I don't see how one man can be responsible for 11 players playing badly.

You can say about tactics etc but most of the season people have called for this 'midfield destroyer' but despite his apparent tactical ignorance we still hold one of the best defensive records in the entire football league without this fabled 'destroyer'.

I do think he cocks up often in interviews as being so cold can have an adverse affect when things are going against you as nobody can and will want to relate and feel for him.

His lack of movement on the transfer front has annoyed me as its been obvious we've needed some fresh energy and to be fair he may have tried and failed but that's annoyed me quite a bit.

I just think that the best thing for the club is to keep him. Financially , replacing him would mean our debt would even further increase on the compensation, new staff and player fees etc or we risk getting a bit stuck with with FFP.

Just be patient I say and see what happens these last few games. If he is to stay and the owners deem him good enough and we are still in this league at the end of the year then get behind him again and we go again. Bring in that last bit of quality and guile like Cardiff have and see what happens.

[LJS]

Fergie was close to being sacked in the early years?

So the conventional wisdom has it but the people at the club at the time have always denied that. Either way Ferguson had won Scottish and European titles with Aberdeen. He had pedigree.

[Arriba Los Zorros]

I don't want him to go. I know it's part of his job but I don't see how one man can be responsible for 11 players playing badly.

You can say about tactics etc but most of the season people have called for this 'midfield destroyer' but despite his apparent tactical ignorance we still hold one of the best defensive records in the entire football league without this fabled 'destroyer'.

I do think he cocks up often in interviews as being so cold can have an adverse affect when things are going against you as nobody can and will want to relate and feel for him.

His lack of movement on the transfer front has annoyed me as its been obvious we've needed some fresh energy and to be fair he may have tried and failed but that's annoyed me quite a bit.

I just think that the best thing for the club is to keep him. Financially , replacing him would mean our debt would even further increase on the compensation, new staff and player fees etc or we risk getting a bit stuck with with FFP.

Just be patient I say and see what happens these last few games. If he is to stay and the owners deem him good enough and we are still in this league at the end of the year then get behind him again and we go again. Bring in that last bit of quality and guile like Cardiff have and see what happens.

The voice of reason! Exactly - we already have a decent base in terms of the manager and plaing staff, stick with it, and improve it when we can. Why destroy everything and start from zero?

[LJS]

A lot of people on here, and probably a lot of supporters in the land, completely agree with you. In my opinion, the flaw in your argument is that managers who are judged as 'bad' and sacked very quickly - are not given enough time to be a success. This in turn puts more pressure on the next manager and creates more demanding supporters, as well as leaving teams in turmoil and is bloody expensive too. Very few managers can come in and get things right straight away, and even if they do, supporters cannot expect it to be easy street throughout the whole of a managers reign. Most fans looking in would call us crazy to sack NP after a bad run of form during what has been a very good season. Knee-jerk. I used the example of Pulis, because a lot of Stoke fans are not happy with him apparently and want him out, due to a minor blip in Stoke's form... ridiculous.

The bad run is the catalyst but doesn't speak of the context. I don't want him sacked for the run alone. I want him gone because I see noting to suggest that he is capable of winning promotion from this level. Given that's what we are aiming for I just don't see the point keeping him on.

I also disagree that it has been a very good season. Us having two five game winning runs and being second a couple of times doesn't make it a good season any more than Peter Taylor being top of the league early in his first season made his first campaign a successful one. We all saw what was coming. We are about to go seventh with seven games remaining. That is a fairer reflection of our season overall than our league position in January. It's looking like a poor season given the time and resource that Pearson has had.

[Chrysalis]

my only question is why is he still here.

to the OP how the hell do you not how this has happened? even when we were winning games we were poor been outplayed in almost every game.

Plus he has loaned out far too many first team players.

The decision to not replace him during the break has cost us the playoffs,

[LcFc_Smiv]

Luckily, owners like ours will not take fans opinion into consideration, which for me is the main reason why Pearson will be keeping his job. His job is to restructure the club, cut the wage bill and build a solid base in which we can work on. That has been the successful part of the season and can not be denied, league position and performance on the other hand is not so great at the moment. Results today see us 7th with 7 to go, a different story to the start of the year, it's depressing but it's also not the end. To sack him now would do more harm than good, if you've written off the season your an idiot, everyone knows anything can happen in football, as the play offs are also a lottery. It amuses me how so many people will us on to fail, ok so you support the club not the manager, for the time being there two sides of the same coin. If Pearson goes it has to be a no f*****g brainer, we can't keep making sideways movements. If we are going to bring someone in they have to be better than what we have. At the moment there is nobody who is any better than what we already have.