Will NP?

[Freesolo]

The biggest difference between MON and Nige, is where they started from. When MON took over we were already a top half second tire team. He then improved the team without much money. Nige took over from a worse position the first time and the second time you could say an even worse position in a lot of ways. Getting rid of those over paid Sven player was a huge task. I know we have more money now, but I don't think Nige spent more than MON, when you take into account the inflated price of players these days. I think we have to wait for a few more years to compare their achievements though.

 

MON didnt spend much TBh he brough in Claridge, Muzzy on loan lennon and Jullian watts when we got promoted he bought Kasey Keller and Spencer Prior and after he brought in a few other players through the seasons like Matty Elliot Guppy all bargins really considering what we sold lennon for and Elliot was on the brink of making the England Squad Guppy got 1 game for England. But he understood that are team that won promotion was not strong enough for the Prem the only player i hated that MON bought was Robbie savage i used to think he was a headless chicken alot of fans liked him but i could never understand why

[gibbin82]

Seems a lot of people think we won't hold onto Pearson long enough for him to become a legend, but why not? Unlike the time when MON was here we now have people behind us with money and we have a good ground with potential to increase it's capacity. Thinking he will go to another club seems to be a bit of a small club mentality, why shouldn't we given time and the undoubted ability of Pearson go on to be a genuine contender as one of the big clubs in the Premiership? Also he has built a team and continues to develop it here, anywhere else he will have to start all over again and possibly not be allowed the time and patience that the Thais have given him. He also seems to love the club, returning after being treated shoddily to continue unfinished business and I am sure he doesn't still consider it finished. He may very well go onto spend the rest of his career at this club until he eventually retires, much as Alex Ferguson did at Man U. I also believe that Pearson is no fool and must look at other managers who have jumped ship after doing well and found things didn't go as they hoped, even the great Brian Clough found out that bigger clubs were not always better for him.

The biggest danger we might face is when the inevitable happens and England want a new manager, the men in suits might turn to a tactically aware and inspirational English manager and try to lure him away, and after turning an unfashionable underachieving club like Leicester into one of the top Premiership teams might be a brand new challenge too good to turn down

[Littletoe]

Nigel has a long way to go yet, to eclipse Martin O'Neil. In the meantime, I think we are all enjoying the journey!

[Clever Fox]

I think he'll be here until England calls and that will probably be after Hodgson. He put in a lot of work to get us where we are.

He convinced the Thai owners that real progress takes time and not necessarily money. They in turn bought into that and have backed him all the way. He promised to get us to the prem in 2 to 3 years and he has delivered.

There's a huge level of respect and trust between them. For that reason I don't believe he'ed leave for anyone except maybe Man Utd. But he is destined to manage England. You can put your money on that, I wonder what odds you'd get now.

[ousefox]

NP's equivalent to that Sheff Utd game must have been Barnsley away. I've never seen our fans look so disgustingly cringeworthy with the abuse he was getting albeit after a terrible performance.

 

It would be interesting to see what sort of club would be able to prize him away from us. Can't see him going to Newcastle with their owner despite them being a huge team. Not sure too many teams could tempt him away tbh. We're a big club with immense potential and owners he gets on with. Seems very settled in Sheffield too.

 

If I was him I don't think I'd even want the England job right now.

[Hungry Hungry Fox]

He's won 2 league Championships with us, which MON never did

I believe this current squad is better than the squad we had under MON so certainly has potential to eclipse those heady days

[Sampson]

It's a difficult comparison.

 

We were 2nd in the 2nd tier when O'Neill took over with a squad that was easily good enough to finish in the top 2, we fell away a bit when he began to change the squad and got us promoted, but I don't really think he can take much credit for promotion. (It was a similar situation to Holloway at Palace 2 years back).

 

Although there was some discontent from the way McGhee left, O'Neill took us over in a very healthy position really with an already cohesive squad. Pearson took us from a lot lower over both spells with disjointed squads of overpaid and overrated egos and had to get rid of the bad eggs before we could progress.

 

In many ways, it's also more difficult to sustain a top 10 team these days, there was no real top 7 which could outspend pretty much anyone else back in the day and pretty much impossible to catch. Finishing 13th this season would be a similar achievement to finishing 9th in 1997 imo.

 

But anyways, Pearson has already earnt his place amongst the second tier of great Leicester managers, but you've got to give Pearson a chance to prove himself at the top tier first before you can put him amongst the top tier of Leicester managers. Gillies, Bloomfield and O'Neill all had competitive squads in the top flight.

[Callabinho]

I can see NP, staying with us for a long time, years in fact. Why should he leave? We have ambitions, the cash is there, he can pretty much do as he pleases and he clearly has one eye on the future of the football club with all of these development signings. I think he will go on to eclipse MON, I'm predicting that in the next two years we shall win the FA Cup. And achieve a top 6 finish in the PL.

[benpicko]

Pearson and the owners have a massive understanding of one and other and want to make us a big club. Pearson doesn't seem like the kind of person to be prised away from a club before finishing his job, nor does he seem like the kind of manager to be offered large money from a team without a ton of patience. 

[Oxfordfox83]

I love NP and think the potential is there to do amazing things with this squad, but we have to be careful not to sell MON short. To consistently finish in the top 10 was as hard in the 90s/00s as it is now, and there were very few teams who fancied us at Filbert St (ManU aside, ironically).

Arguably, MON's greatest achievement was that we didn't sell anyone we wanted to keep, until Emile just before he left. Our best players wanted to be there and consistently stayed. If NP can achieve the same, hang onto the likes of Mahrez, Vardy, DD, James, Moore and Kasper in the face of bigger club interest, then I think we'll be heading somewhere very special indeed, and then MON could be overhauled...

[LanguedocFox]

I think it's all to do with context.

 

In the 1960s, Matt Gillies was a marvellous manager and made us into one of the top teams in the country. In the 70s, Jimmy Bloomfield created an exciting team with three internationals. And in the 90s, Martin O'Neill built a top-ten team that won trophies. But that was then and this is now. Standards have changed radically, and I don't know whether those managers (MON included) could have built a squad like Pearson's on so little money, but with so much talent.  

 

Comparisons are largely pointless. We've had some great managers, and Pearson is up there among them. Personally, I've never been as confident in a City squad as I am in our current crop. But what do I know.

[ithuriel]

He has a lot of work to do yet to eclipse the greatest manager at LCFC during my lifetime but he could do it, time will tell.

[Babylon]

He's won 2 league Championships with us, which MON never did

I believe this current squad is better than the squad we had under MON so certainly has potential to eclipse those heady days

How on earth could you say this squad is better after 5 games?

[Richard]

All it takes is the Thai's to sell up to a nutcase

[Haydos]

I can't see him being tempted by anyone outside the big 7. We have just as much potential as any of the teams outside them plus he seems to have a great relationship with out owners and the club and he's settled fairly locally. Everton and Tottenham would require relocation. I genuinely can't see any major steps up outside those 7 and Nige seems a pretty simple bloke, has never sounded like he's motivated primarily by money and besides, I think we'd be able to compete with any contract the likes of West Ham, Southampton, Newcastle, Swansea etc would be able to offer him.

[Corky]

NP's equivalent to that Sheff Utd game must have been Barnsley away. I've never seen our fans look so disgustingly cringeworthy with the abuse he was getting albeit after a terrible performance.

 

 

It was, our league record since that game is Played 57, Won 35, Drawn 14, Lost 8.

[Silverdaz]

In my mind he has already eclipsed MON, to win two leagues (yes one was League one) and both convincinly eclipses cup wins in minds eyes because how many players can say they have won a league title.

[Bayfox]

really interested to see how split this is.

I expected those 2 wembley wins plus the replay win to really cement mon as no.1

surprised how many already think np has done more.

for me I would think a top 6 or an fa cup would be needed to shave it for np.

In my mind he has already eclipsed MON, to win two leagues (yes one was League one) and both convincinly eclipses cup wins in minds eyes because how many players can say they have won a league title.

more than can say they won a cup?

4 divisions 2 cups?

[Mark_w]

How on earth could you say this squad is better after 5 games?

 

Because the majority of this squad has been here for two years rather than 5 games.

[LCFC FOX]

He's more likely to get sacked than leave IMO, maybe not this season but if we don't do as well next season the pressure will be on him...

The Thais will no doubt be expecting to become better as seasons go on

[5waller5]

It's a long way to go, but I genuinely think he can.

[Carl the Llama]

He's more likely to get sacked than leave IMO, maybe not this season but if we don't do as well next season the pressure will be on him...

The Thais will no doubt be expecting to become better as seasons go on

Pearson's steadily improved our standing in each successive season with us, who's to say he won't continue?  Personally I think we're incredibly fortunate to have him:  He's a tactician; he's committed us to one of the highest standards in sports science programs in the entire sport; it seems he's a great selector of back-room staff; by all genuine accounts he gets on well with the players; the level of class he demonstrates during interviews is nigh-unmatchable - none of that trying to unsettle other teams players dickery; he's had one properly bad spell in his entire time with us, and even then we still made the playoffs.

What I'm trying to say is: Potential.

[Dan]

He could, but as a couple have said I have a bad feeling we aren't going to be able to keep hold of him for too long, Liverpool took a chance on Rodgers after doing something similar at Swansea to what it appears Nigel will do here. I honestly think he'll be on the radar of the clubs around 5th-7th in this division come the end of the season.

 

Let's just enjoy him while he is here.

 

 

Easily, an FA Cup win is something I've always wanted. He would surpass everyone in history were he to bring it here along with what he has done.

 

I know it might sound ridiculous, but if Van Gaal was to seriously blow it this year and he got the boot, do you reckon he'd go there?

 

Ironically I think given time he'd actually fit the bill for them. I'm not saying he's at the same level - but he's got a lot of traits that Fergie had in my opinion.

[Dan]

Seems a lot of people think we won't hold onto Pearson long enough for him to become a legend, but why not? Unlike the time when MON was here we now have people behind us with money and we have a good ground with potential to increase it's capacity. Thinking he will go to another club seems to be a bit of a small club mentality, why shouldn't we given time and the undoubted ability of Pearson go on to be a genuine contender as one of the big clubs in the Premiership? Also he has built a team and continues to develop it here, anywhere else he will have to start all over again and possibly not be allowed the time and patience that the Thais have given him. He also seems to love the club, returning after being treated shoddily to continue unfinished business and I am sure he doesn't still consider it finished. He may very well go onto spend the rest of his career at this club until he eventually retires, much as Alex Ferguson did at Man U. I also believe that Pearson is no fool and must look at other managers who have jumped ship after doing well and found things didn't go as they hoped, even the great Brian Clough found out that bigger clubs were not always better for him.

The biggest danger we might face is when the inevitable happens and England want a new manager, the men in suits might turn to a tactically aware and inspirational English manager and try to lure him away, and after turning an unfashionable underachieving club like Leicester into one of the top Premiership teams might be a brand new challenge too good to turn down

 

I would absolutely hate it if he went to England. That job is a complete and utter poisoned chalice in every single sense of the word and I'd hope to see dramatic change from the FA before I'd be happy to see him take the role. I cannot remember the last manager who has come out of that job better than when they went in.

[MattGamble92]

I remember the days where he was accused of not having a clue tactically. Now he's a tactician and a messiah.

Love the fickleness of our fans.

Always backed him and always will. Love you Nige