Bye Bye Pearson

[johnny the fox]

I'd give him another year, but that's just my opinion... Even though we are now 7th, he has still taken us forward/improved our position and squad from last season. With a bit of added quality (new midfielder and left back), I don't see why we can't give it another go next season.

I just feel like the last thing we need is changing manager again.

another season of failure is not an option..put 50 million in, then think again..

[CKB]

Like i have said numerous times, i never thought we had the overall quality to really make a case for the top 2 positions but i honestly thought we just had enough to cement our playoff places... Now as that is now dead (yes technically still possible to get into the playoffs, blah, blah) i am seriously disappointed in how we just capitulated and yes the players have to look at themselves but Pearson also needs to evaluate his skills aswell

Even with our supposedly mini revival, i still never really thought we were back to our best and still looked very dodgy at times

After the promise we showed to basically just throw it away and well bottle it, makes me pretty annoyed and disappointed... Will NP survive? other managers have had less shocking runs than us and have been sacked, so i wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't sacked in the summer... I'm not a NP hater, i want him to do well but a time comes when you have to look at the bigger picture and i'm just not sure if NP can take us on

If he sticks around, i'll support him but if he goes i wouldn't be that bothered either... Many say oh with a new manager comes a new team, etc, etc and that's not true, if you have wits about you, just a few additions here and there can be enough.. Look at Bruce at Hull! he hardly made sweeping changes and they are on the brink of promotion, so what i am saying is you just need a manager who's going to install that belief and i just don't know if NP can do it anymore....

[JonnyBoy]

watched the game today and Watford were absolutely lethal when they broke, something we cannot offer. That's why we are 7th and they are pushing for automatics. Something needs to change, a new manager maybe. Who knows

[inckley fox]

Judging from your lengthy post, one could come to the conclusion that no other manager in the footballing world is as flawed and prone to errors like Nigel Pearson.

Maybe the fact that the player aren't up to playing in a different formation is also down to... the players?

Fact is, all managers make mistakes. Just like footballers do. I find it funny that everything you examine is somehow miraculously Pearson's fault. As if there were no other forces involved in managing a football team.

We have seen so many times what chopping and changing does to a team and a club, especially here at Leicester. This squad shows signs of promise and we need stability. No brainer: Pearson stays (for at least one more season). If we won't make the playoffs and if he can't deliver at the end of the 2013/2014 campaign, I might join in with the "Pearson Out!" brigade. Until then: Patience required.

Besides, in case you haven't noticed: The season's not over yet.

Well, chopping and changing did us no harm when we brought in Pleat (who saved us from relegation in 88), Little (who turned relegation-strugglers into play-off finalists in nine months), O'Neill (who got us promoted in six months, and kept us up in less time than Pearson has had here - and with less money), Adams (who returned us to the Premier in twelve months), Kelly (who kept us up in four months). Even Pearson's initial success came after we'd parted with our fourth manager in eighteen months.

And the players... All managers are judged on their players. In Pearson's case he signed seven of them who started tonight and two of the three subs. He can hardly be spared on that argument.

And promise? Yes there's some, but two wins in sixteen put a big question mark on the progress we've made, and Knockaert, Wood, Marshall, Drinkwater, Futacs and Vardy do not appear to have improved as players since Pearson signed them. I'm not convinced that there's as much promise as we think.

Oh, and yes - all of my aforementioned points were distinctly managerial errors. Loans out, transfers in and tactics are all distinctly a manager's responsibility. I'd argue you could add league position to that too.

[Cropwellfox]

2 wins in 16 says it all. Terrible. He's assembled a squad which doesn't look like they know how to win anymore, his trademark mean defence has been shot to pieces, for all the talk of him cutting the wage bill, most of the highest earners out of favour are actually still being paid by the club. I just can't see how long this has to go on before he runs out of supporters.

[Foxhateram]

Hull have about three Pearson signings as established first team players.

Bolton and Palace both changed managers. A new manager, clearly, doesn't have to get rid of the existing squad (see City under O'Neill).

I'm not sure there's much substance to this argument.

Hull have more and they are the nucleus as well.

And yes a manager doesn't have to change the team and you know what if we did change and the new man built in what we had then fair enough, but Pearson knows these players better than anyone and will, with a few additions take us to the right place.

Others are supporting my point, we are clearly going to have to stay divided in opinion and see what happens.

[kingfox]

We have a squad with good potential. And, as I've mentioned, we just need a couple of experienced leader types in the squad to keep the balance. Pearson changed to a couple different formations recently and the reason they haven't worked is due to how the squad's heads have dropped. We just need a couple of experienced players to keep them going on the pitch.

He needs to sign more experienced players.

We have the third youngest squad in the whole of the football league, they just don't have the mental strength when it comes to the crunch. Wrong formation and Wrong signings, you can't play 4-4-2 anymore on a consistent basis it just don't work, 4-3-3 is a terrible formation to play as well as it always turns into 4-5-1, we need to set our stall out like Birmingham did when they came down here, especially when it comes to the midfield, they let Redmond and Morrison roam and play the free roles, we don't let our players do that, we stick Knockaert, Dyer and Marshall out wide and keep them there, just don't work. A lot of his signings have been a waste as well, Futacs, Whitbread, Kane and Vardy in particular were pointless, while De Laet and Drinkwater have flaws.

You need balance to get out this league, we simply don't have it.

[Guest ttfn]

I'm torn.

I can see the advantages of sticking with him, hoping the consistency and (hopefully) lessons learnt will pay off next season. However, there's been countless faults on show this year and I fear he hasn't got the tactical intelligence to build a team capable of winning promotion.

I guess it all depends on what our options are. There aren't any obvious, realistic, managers available at the minute.

Pretty much exactly this.

Unless our owners are spectacularly unambitious, Pearson has failed to deliver on his objectives this season. The collapse since the end of January has been absolutely shameful, and one of the worst runs in the football club's history. It will scar these players in future promotion campaigns, should any of them be lucky enough to stick around for them.

But if I was to go into the market for a new manager at this stage, I would be looking for all the attributes Pearson possesses:

• Championship experience
  
• Tough character
  
• Keen on developing young players
  

On paper, what's not to like? There's no guarantees that anybody we'd bring in would be any more successful.

But I'd like to see those responsible for the collapse held accountable. Whether that involves Pearson being sacked is up to the Thais. It's not my money, but I'd keep him and give him one last go.

[Finnaldo]

He needs to sign more experienced players.

We have the third youngest squad in the whole of the football league, they just don't have the mental strength when it comes to the crunch. Wrong formation and Wrong signings, you can't play 4-4-2 anymore on a consistent basis it just don't work, 4-3-3 is a terrible formation to play as well as it always turns into 4-5-1, we need to set our stall out like Birmingham did when they came down here, especially when it comes to the midfield, they let Redmond and Morrison roam and play the free roles, we don't let our players do that, we stick Knockaert, Dyer and Marshall out wide and keep them there, just don't work. A lot of his signings have been a waste as well, Futacs, Whitbread, Kane and Vardy in particular were pointless, while De Laet and Drinkwater have flaws.

You need balance to get out this league, we simply don't have it.

Agree

[inckley fox]

Hull have more and they are the nucleus as well.

And yes a manager doesn't have to change the team and you know what if we did change and the new man built in what we had then fair enough, but Pearson knows these players better than anyone and will, with a few additions take us to the right place.

Others are supporting my point, we are clearly going to have to stay divided in opinion and see what happens.

No - I agree with you. Pearson does know this side better than anyone else, despite his flaws. It would take a very strong alternative to justify sacking him. Where I disagree is that, if we can fire him, he should have no complaints at all. He has, put simply, not done a good job this time around.

[johnny the fox]

He needs to sign more experienced players.

We have the third youngest squad in the whole of the football league, they just don't have the mental strength when it comes to the crunch. Wrong formation and Wrong signings, you can't play 4-4-2 anymore on a consistent basis it just don't work, 4-3-3 is a terrible formation to play as well as it always turns into 4-5-1, we need to set our stall out like Birmingham did when they came down here, especially when it comes to the midfield, they let Redmond and Morrison roam and play the free roles, we don't let our players do that, we stick Knockaert, Dyer and Marshall out wide and keep them there, just don't work. A lot of his signings have been a waste as well, Futacs, Whitbread, Kane and Vardy in particular were pointless, while De Laet and Drinkwater have flaws.

You need balance to get out this league, we simply don't have it.

I wouldn't let this bloke anywhere near my fookin cheque book..

[Bob Weasel Fox]

Blah Di blah Di fookin blah

All I saw was a side full of pace and who had a great game plan, against a side who had huff and puff but who actually didn't have a clue what they were doing. No obvious Gameplan at all.

Pearson out.

18 months to come up with losing at home to Watford ain't acceptable.

It's time for a change and for someone who knows how to play football. Not just passion, kick and hope.

This

[MC Prussian]

Well, chopping and changing did us no harm when we brought in Pleat (who saved us from relegation in 88), Little (who turned relegation-strugglers into play-off finalists in nine months), O'Neill (who got us promoted in six months, and kept us up in less time than Pearson has had here - and with less money), Adams (who returned us to the Premier in twelve months), Kelly (who kept us up in four months). Even Pearson's initial success came after we'd parted with our fourth manager in eighteen months.

And the players... All managers are judged on their players. In Pearson's case he signed seven of them who started tonight and two of the three subs. He can hardly be spared on that argument.

And promise? Yes there's some, but two wins in sixteen put a big question mark on the progress we've made, and Knockaert, Wood, Marshall, Drinkwater, Futacs and Vardy do not appear to have improved as players since Pearson signed them. I'm not convinced that there's as much promise as we think.

Oh, and yes - all of my aforementioned points were distinctly managerial errors. Loans out, transfers in and tactics are all distinctly a manager's responsibility. I'd argue you could add league position to that too.

Many of the managers you've mentioned got axed again after a maximum of two seasons (MON and Pleat excluded), so they prove that chopping and changing does in fact more harm than good (in the long run). Besides, Little was given three seasons before he took us up. Kelly lasted for it for about one year exactly, then came Worthington, then Martin Allen and with them one of the most bizarre periods in this club's history ever (mainly thanks to an erratic owner).

Or to use an analogy: I also like quick fixes, but their effect fades as quick as the taste of a burger from a fastfood joint.

I think Knockaert has improved, maybe not as much as I would've liked myself. As for Futacs, he hasn't really featured a lot. Marshall and Drinkwater are both still very young and can go places (at Leicester). As for Wood, I think it's down to us not playing proper passing game anymore. Wood can't put in a decent header even if he tried. Hoofball doesn't suit him and maybe that tactical chance is indeed Pearson's fault.

As for Vardy... I do agree he's been rather clumsy when he played for us (apart from the Blackburn away game maybe).

Coming straight up from Fleetwood at his age was always going to be a big ask.

Maybe Pearson thought we could maintain our good run of form with the smallish squad that we have. Or maybe he was told by the owners that he could go no further with investments due to an internal salary cap. It's all down to speculation. I think, given the player material, he's done a good job so far. Not a great job, but a good job.

[lcfcsnow]

Pearson has had more resources available to him than any other manager in the league, anyone he didn't get on with were soon shipped out so he got his tight knit group with no distractions. And yet with one game to go we haven't even beaten last seasons points total.

If that isn't a sackable offence I don't know what is.

[Guest MattP]

Pearson has had more resources available to him than any other manager in the league, anyone he didn't get on with were soon shipped out so he got his tight knit group. And yet with one game to go we haven't even beaten last seasons points total.

If that isn't a sackable offence I don't know what is.

You are thinking of Sven, Pearson has cut our outgoings since he arrived,

[lcfcsnow]

I'm certain they both had more resources in each spell than the rest in our league but both have ultimately failed in typical Leicester fashion. But if not you have worry what goes through his mind when he's willing to blow a million on a non league player despite having limited funds.

[mod hero]

Nigel threw this in the crowd at the final whistle, im wearing them for rounders on monday.

[Guest ttfn]

You are thinking of Sven, Pearson has cut our outgoings since he arrived,

I don't think the two things are mutually exclusive. He has cut our outgoings and still had more resources than anybody but Cardiff.

The owners have backed him as well. Buying Wood in January looked like the final piece in the jigsaw.

[inckley fox]

Many of the managers you've mentioned got axed again after a maximum of two seasons (MON and Pleat excluded), so they prove that chopping and changing does in fact more harm than good (in the long run). Besides, Little was given three seasons before he took us up. Kelly was up for it for about one year, then came Worthington, then Martin Allen and one of the most bizarre periods in this club's history ever (mainly thanks to an erratic owner).

Or to use an analogy: I also like quick fixes, but their effect fades as quick as the taste of a burger from a fastfood joint.

I think Knockaert has improved, maybe not as much as I would've liked myself. As for Futacs, he hasn't really featured a lot. Marshall and Drinkwater are both still very young and can go places (at Leicester). As for Wood, I think it's down to us not playing proper passing game anymore. Wood can't put in a decent header even if he tried. Hoofball doesn't suit him and maybe that tactical chance is indeed Pearson's fault.

As for Vardy... I do agree he's been rather clumsy when he played for us (apart from the Blackburn away game maybe).

Coming straight up from Fleetwood at his age was always going to be a big ask.

Maybe Pearson thought we could maintain our good run of form with the smallish squad that hwe have. Or maybe he was told by the owners that he could go no further with investments due to an internal salary cap. It's all down to speculation. I think, given the player material, he's done a good job so far. Not a great job, but a good job.

Without wishing to sound patronising, I think you justify that point very well.

I'd just like to debate a couple of things. Firstly, only one of those six managers I mentioned were fired within two years, so I'm not sure you can say the majority of them were. Secondly, I think it's worth pointing out that Pearson inherited the most expensively-assembled side in this league, then proceeded to spend more on it than Hull, Watford, Palace or Bolton have on theirs. He hasn't exactly struggled on the financial front.

Do you really think Knockaert looks better now than he did in the first three months of the season?

[johnny the fox]

pearson has had two fair chances at it and one half chance at it.. he is lacking , with the resources he has had at his disposal this season, to fail to even make the playoffs this time is not good enough.. and he knows it, he is getting worse not better.. he has reached his level..

[MC Prussian]

Without wishing to sound patronising, I think you justify that point very well.

I'd just like to debate a couple of things. Firstly, only one of those six managers I mentioned were fired within two years, so I'm not sure you can say the majority of them were. Secondly, I think it's worth pointing out that Pearson inherited the most expensively-assembled side in this league, then proceeded to spend more on it than Hull, Watford, Palace or Bolton have on theirs. He hasn't exactly struggled on the financial front.

Do you really think Knockaert looks better now than he did in the first three months of the season?

I said "many", not the "majority". Alright, only Kelly really fits the description and Adams resigned himself after three years. Looking back at our entire managerial history in the past, say, ten years, the amount of managers we've had is mind-boggling. I can't think of any other Championship team that went through so many names like we did. And I think it's had a negative effect for too long. We need to break this spell and the only antidote to it that I can see right now is us sticking with Pearson. For at least one additional full season.

As for Knockaert, over the course of the entire season, I do think he has improved. Maybe the amount of games has taken its toll on him or he's lacking the right attitude. He has shown glimpses of his former Leicester City past from a few months ago in the games that I have seen him. Obviously, all players have gone through a terrible spell of form lately, not just Knockaert.

[inckley fox]

He needs to sign more experienced players.

We have the third youngest squad in the whole of the football league, they just don't have the mental strength when it comes to the crunch. Wrong formation and Wrong signings, you can't play 4-4-2 anymore on a consistent basis it just don't work, 4-3-3 is a terrible formation to play as well as it always turns into 4-5-1, we need to set our stall out like Birmingham did when they came down here, especially when it comes to the midfield, they let Redmond and Morrison roam and play the free roles, we don't let our players do that, we stick Knockaert, Dyer and Marshall out wide and keep them there, just don't work. A lot of his signings have been a waste as well, Futacs, Whitbread, Kane and Vardy in particular were pointless, while De Laet and Drinkwater have flaws.

You need balance to get out this league, we simply don't have it.

I have to disagree. Experience? We had two ex-England internationals, a Danish international, a Welsh international, a Ghanian international and a Welsh international out there tonight. Our keeper and back four only had one under-25 among them (and he's not our player), we had Dyer and King in midfield, then introduced Nugent in attack. When we played Derby our side's average age was over a year greater than theirs, and it hardly mattered. We haven't brought along a single youth team player all season. Few sides have that experience - what with Wellens, Gallagher and Whitbread among those waiting in the wings. And Beckford, St Ledger and Danns loaned out.

In fact, I think the 24+ players have been the ones to let us down: Konchesky, King, Vardy (while not experienced, he's still 26) and Whitbread have had very poor seasons. Then look at the players who let us down badly under Sven - very, very experienced players. On the other hand Matty James has, for me, been the season's brightest light at 21.

[inckley fox]

I said "many", not the "majority". Alright, only Kelly really fits the description and Adams resigned himself after three years. Looking back at our entire managerial history in the past, say, ten years, the amount of managers we've had is mind-boggling. I can't think of any other Championship team that went through so many names like we did. And I think it's had a negative effect for too long. We need to break this spell and the only antidote to it that I can see right now is us sticking with Pearson. For at least one additional full season.

I see your point of view, but Pearson has had longer in his job than the average Championship manager does - three months less than Mackay, eight more than Bruce, eight more than Zola, a year more than Holloway and Freedman, fifteen months more than Davies. He's had longer than Sven and there is no manager, as far as I can go back, in the last thirty or forty years who has gone on to be successful with us without doing well after eighteen months in charge. I honestly don't think he could have any argument, or we could offer him any reasonable defence, if he were fired.

It's a great shame. My hope is that we go up under another manager next year with many of these players intact, and can look back on Pearson as still a pretty damn good Leicester manager. Right now it's hard to be so kind to him.

[Leicesterpool]

Pearson as had long enough, to be fair he's had two seasons really he came here in November 2011 and at the end of the day Sven left behind some good players that showed potential all that was needed was for manager to come in and get them to work as a team, Pearson came in and decided to start from scratch. It was Pearson's decision to the change the team and play a team full of young players. Sven spend cash but did he have a run like this. The Pearson return hasn't been a disaster it's just been the wrong turn. Time to get back to the drawing board, and see if the new manager gives players like Beckford, Danns, St Ledger, Moore, Whitbread, Hopper and one or two the others that out on loan or sitting on the bench,

The owners have been fair to pearson.

[johnny the fox]

The man is a myth, why an earth our fans are happy to have second best is beyond me, tonight you saw what can be done in a short space of time by a bloke who actually knows what he is doing. Mr.pearson does not, and will not have the capacity to take this club where it desperately needs to be. one more time for "old times sake" is just putting off the inevitable.