Freeman's Wharfer Posted 15 March 2015 Posted 15 March 2015 Just written a blog on Pearson's position, thought I'd share for those who fancy some Sunday reading... http://theposthorngallop.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/the-man-in-glass.html 'The Man In The Glass' Just a couple of months prior to his sacking at Southampton, in a routine interview Nigel Adkins began to recite Dale Wimbrow’s 1934 poem ‘The Man in the Glass’. The intention was to present an air of calm assuredness in response to questions about his job; the actual effect was more questions raised about his ability to cope than had been answered. In a world where blaming others is a natural reflex, eyebrows lifted. Integrity is seldom acclaimed in the cutthroat environment of The Premier League where everyone wants a piece of you and judgement is so readily passed. Almost two and a half years later, Adkins reflection has faded fast and struggling with his own mirror image is Nigel Pearson at Leicester City. If much has changed for Adkins in two and half years, it could be argued that almost as much has changed in just ten months for Pearson. The confetti that smattered the streets of Leicester in celebration of a title-winning season has blown away, any champagne that remained (unlikely given that lips had waited a decade to savour the sweet taste of success) has long gone flat and everything that brought hope now delivers only despair. There are few certainties in football but that Leicester City will be back plying their trade in The Championship next season is one, following a dismal draw at home to Hull City. Nigel Pearson is experiencing an identity crisis. With twenty minutes remaining in an encounter Pearson himself had, with an uncharacteristic admission, termed ‘must-win’, Leicester were given a lifeline as Tom Huddlestone’s clumsiness saw him dismissed for a second bookable offence. Here were Leicester presented with a jugular that last season they would not have even required an invitation to go for. They ambled. Pearson waited. As 28,000 onlookers urged Pearson to seize the initiative and relent from a 5-man defence at home, the most he could venture was a winger substituted on in place for a right wingback. That the winger was Tom Lawrence - a young player of possible potential but who has only ever looked like a child amongst men in a Leicester shirt - meant that not a lot was gained. With ten minutes of the lifeline whittled away, finally came the throw of the dice as David Nugent came on for Wes Morgan (captain of the sinking ship who has been crying out for his own lifeline for the past three months). It beggared belief. Everything that made Leicester great just last season – and with a 102-point campaign they were undoubtedly great - was sorely absent. In place of pace, vitality, intensity and desire, the experience that Pearson has desperately crammed into his side in the hope of salvaging something from a disastrous season looked like it didn’t have the energy to raise the tempo to one that even a poor, ten-men Hull side wouldn’t be able to resist. Upson staggered, Schwarzer dallied and Cambiasso tired. Outside the club shop the stars of last season (Drinkwater, Schmeichel, Morgan and Moore) are plastered imposing and eminent. Rather ironically, alongside their images a slogan of ‘#fearless’ resides. None have made a positive impact this season and none have been intrepid. But how could they now be when they are lead by a man who has become scared to lose? The answer for Pearson as to where the blame lies for the insipid culmination to a season that promised so much does not start and end with ‘The Man in the Glass’. He understandably initially kept faith with the players who delivered success and opted to give them the opportunity that their performances last season suggested that they deserved. Until now, no team promoted with over 100 points has looked like being anywhere near close to relegation. Perversely however, the players have rarely failed Pearson or betrayed his trust. Leicester are yet to take one of the thrashings that seem to come with the territory of being The Premier League’s basement boys. They have been in almost every game they have played but, time and again, they have come up short through a lack of quality or simple, unforeseen individual errors. January provided a second chance to rectify a lack of recruitment. In keeping with what has happened on the pitch, it was another chance missed. When Leicester needed players coming in as soon as the window opened, it was creaking shut as they did their most crucial business. Even as the latch clicked, the feeling was that not enough had been incoming to cover frailties exposed by unforgiving opponents up until the turn of the year. Pearson has, on too many occasions, failed his players. After the euphoria of the 5-3 victory over Manchester United – a straw that has become tattered from the frequency with which it has been clutched at by Leicester fans – he tried to become too astute. Leicester were set-up to counter their opposition rather than to stay true to everything that had got them to the top of that cloud on which they sat as Leonardo Ulloa stroked home the fifth against United. At times this meant that Riyad Mahrez, a gem of player who will undoubtedly grace the upper echelons of European football next season even if Leicester City do not, was inexplicably omitted despite being the team’s main creative outlet. At other times the absence of Marc Albrighton and Anthony Knockaert has proved just as bewildering as the ever-presence of Wes Morgan whilst Leicester’s best defender this season Marcin Wasilewski sits on the bench. Away from the football field, some of the decisions Pearson has taken have been bizarre. There was the incident where he swore at a fan which, whilst somewhat deserved, showed a lack of composure and self-control in testing times. Next there was the infamous McArthur incident which clearly started as a joke but then distorted into something more both in terms of how it was perceived by the player himself and in which it was then reported by the media (not helped by Pearson’s face-saving attempts). Finally, we have arrived at a post-match press conference in which Pearson has sworn at a journalist for pernickety questions – yet again allied with the territory. In the intense, scrutiny-filled world of The Premier League, Pearson has seemingly failed to acknowledge that the judgemental eyes cast over him are more than just those staring back at him in the mirror. Away from the camera and microphones those who know him speak of a likeable, jovial man. Those holding them experience a different person and his conduct has belied the gracious, considered, assured persona of last season. Better managers have belligerently taken on the press pack and it is simply an additional battle that Pearson shouldn’t need this season and yet another that he will not win. There is an air of resignation about Nigel Pearson currently. The figure he cuts is of a man eroded by the pressure of a nightmare first season managing in The Premier League and, with that, a careless abandon of a man answerable only to himself. Unfortunately for him, questions will soon be demanded by both the Leicester fans and Thai owners who have shown a commendable and admirable patience this season in an era when managerial changes occur with the transient weather. Despite being in many ways old-fashioned – one suspects that the lack of recruitment in January may have been due to his reluctance to pander to the whims of modern players and agents - Nigel Pearson is a progressive manager. The scouting set-up and performance analysis team that accompanies him everywhere he goes is testament to that and Pearson is open to learning (see his positioning of himself in the stand for the majority of both this season and last). With every difficulty he has faced at Leicester, he has overcome adversity and learned, making the changes necessary to allow the team to be a success. There is no doubt that Pearson will learn his biggest lesson from this season. Given time to step back and evaluate everything that has gone before he will become a better manager (and this season has not made him a bad one). Whether that is for the benefit of Leicester City or another club remains to be seen - time and patience at The King Power Stadium is wearing thin. One thing that is however for sure is that that lesson has to begin with the man in the mirror. In the confines of his own home, if Nigel Pearson were to honestly evaluate the man staring back at himself currently, he may find that the very guy looking back towards him has deviated so far from what he once was that he now resembles foe rather than friend. And, as Wimbrow wrote, it is that man’s judgement that he must satisfy first. For it isn't your Father, or Mother, or Wife, Who judgement upon you must pass. The feller whose verdict counts most in your life Is the guy staring back from the glass. He's the feller to please, never mind all the rest, For he's with you clear up to the end, And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test If the guy in the glass is your friend. (Extract from ‘The Man in the Glass’ by Dale Wimbrow, 1934)
Buzzell Posted 15 March 2015 Posted 15 March 2015 If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream—and not make dreams your master; If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’ If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch, If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! Ladies and gentleman, Leicester will be playing four, four, ****ing two!
shade Posted 15 March 2015 Posted 15 March 2015 top quality, perfect summary of the situation. best thing I've read for time.
STUHILL Posted 15 March 2015 Posted 15 March 2015 Great read and sums up my thoughts exactly. I really do hate changing the Manager. I have really enjoyed this period of stability but I can no longer see a long-term future for Pearson here. I think as you said, he will learn some massive lessons from this season and potentially become a better manager because of it. Whether he will ever become a Premiership Manager again, only time will tell, but surely even after this season's disaster on his CV, he will still be courted by some of the top Championship clubs pushing for promotion. Unfortunately, he has lost the faith of most the fans now, and even if we keep him and start the championship season well, fans will always doubt he can do any better if we get promoted again and so he will never get the full backing he once had. I also think that the players we have will be scarred from this season and surely lost confidence in their ability to play at the top level, and that may have an impact on their desire for an instant return. I am a big fan of Pearson and I will not forget how great he has been for us but even I must admit, that a fresh start is probably needed. I don't think there is any point rushing through a replacement now, but i think our owners should be actively searching for someone to start as soon as the season is over and Pearson is relieved of his duties. With our squad and a fresh start with a new management team, we will have a great chance of getting promoted again, although Fulham probably thought that too.... Key thing is to get the appointment spot on, which judging by the available names out there, is quite concerning! I admire our club for sticking with Pearson all this time and we can look back and say we gave him every possible chance (including the dysmal run in the championship), and although people are understandably angry, hopefully in time, they can look back and see that Pearson did a lot of good for this club. Hopefully, we go down with some kind of fight and not a wimper which is currently happening and we also manage to hold on to our better players
Out Foxed Posted 15 March 2015 Posted 15 March 2015 There are few certainties in football but that Leicester City will be back plying their trade in The Championship next season is one, following a dismal draw at home to Hull City. Nigel Pearson is experiencing an identity crisis. I must have missed the memo telling me that we were relegated this weekend.
Foxhateram Posted 15 March 2015 Posted 15 March 2015 So you have pretty much written the same negative post as everyone else on this forum, but you have now done it in a more creative way. It is not a certainty that we are relegated, yes performances over the last few games have been of lesser standard than one might expect but, and here it is, it is a big but... What are the players supposed to do? The pressure is huge! The atmosphere is 'poisonous' the boos are cutting and the luck just isn't there. Name one team that hasn't played with fear when they are bottom at this point of the season. Wouldn't you be 'afraid to lose' given the circumstances? If hull had beaten us it would have been even less likely we would stay up. You forget also that hull have been in good form in recent weeks. Put forward a scenario where he plays 4-4 fecking 2 and we lose 2-1 to Hull. Then people would be even more angry and we lose ground on the opposition. As it is we're no better off, which is really a kick in the teeth right now, but we're not any further behind. A 7point gap with a game in hand remains. As for the calling for an attacking player, going to 4 at the back and adding a winger is giving more attacking intent, tell me if I'm wrong? Lawrence actually made a positive impact. Yet again we made chances, we attacked them, played some ok periods of football. But the fact remains that missed chances is what is killing us off. How missed chances is supposed to be the managers fault I will never know. People keep presenting the Pearson is 'negative' card as if we have created nothing in this formation. Which is quite simply not true. We just haven't finished the chances that we have had. A winnable game coming up and I would honestly play the same formation again. 5-3-2. With Cambi a little deeper than Mahrez and james and Vardes with Krammy up top. We look strong at the back with this formation and we have created chances. We just need Vardes or krammy to find the bloody net!
Collymore Posted 15 March 2015 Posted 15 March 2015 Nigel's mental health. It's been mentioned a few times on here and I think it deserves its own thread. Now I'm not saying that Nige is out of control, and if he was, it's nothing to be ashamed of..... I think most of us suffer from, has or will suffer from some form of a problem with our mind, whether it be mild or severe. I personally love Nige and I'll stick with him to the end but I'm intrigued by his behavior this season. It's like he's been fed to the sharks. That honest side to him that "calls a spade a spade" has totally got lost in translation and has made a mockery of him. It's disturbing to read other fans "That Nigel Pearson of Leicester is a right thug, the quicker he's gone from the prem the better" This isn't the Nige we (I) know. I wonder how much pressure this season Nigel has put himself under personally and with his family? Nigel isn't a loser and his track record is exemplary in football. He's swam into darkened water but he must know that even if there's a lot of fans that'll feed him to the sharks, there's many that will still swim by his side, no matter what. Love you Nige x
Dan Posted 16 March 2015 Posted 16 March 2015 Another enjoyable read. He has come out stronger every time but I think this season is a step too far for him. I would honestly like him to turn it around even if it isn't at Leicester but I'm not convinced he will. In terms of the Premier League, he's in a category with the likes of Dowie and Boothroyd, and that disappoints me a lot.
PaulW Posted 16 March 2015 Posted 16 March 2015 Nigel's mental health. It's been mentioned a few times on here and I think it deserves its own thread. Now I'm not saying that Nige is out of control, and if he was, it's nothing to be ashamed of..... I think most of us suffer from, has or will suffer from some form of a problem with our mind, whether it be mild or severe. I personally love Nige and I'll stick with him to the end but I'm intrigued by his behavior this season. It's like he's been fed to the sharks. That honest side to him that "calls a spade a spade" has totally got lost in translation and has made a mockery of him. It's disturbing to read other fans "That Nigel Pearson of Leicester is a right thug, the quicker he's gone from the prem the better" This isn't the Nige we (I) know. I wonder how much pressure this season Nigel has put himself under personally and with his family? Nigel isn't a loser and his track record is exemplary in football. He's swam into darkened water but he must know that even if there's a lot of fans that'll feed him to the sharks, there's many that will still swim by his side, no matter what. Love you Nige x I don't mind Nigel calling a spade a spade.......just wish he wouldn't call it a f*****g shovel in public!
Freeman's Wharfer Posted 16 March 2015 Author Posted 16 March 2015 Nigel's mental health. It's been mentioned a few times on here and I think it deserves its own thread. Now I'm not saying that Nige is out of control, and if he was, it's nothing to be ashamed of..... I think most of us suffer from, has or will suffer from some form of a problem with our mind, whether it be mild or severe. I personally love Nige and I'll stick with him to the end but I'm intrigued by his behavior this season. It's like he's been fed to the sharks. That honest side to him that "calls a spade a spade" has totally got lost in translation and has made a mockery of him. It's disturbing to read other fans "That Nigel Pearson of Leicester is a right thug, the quicker he's gone from the prem the better" This isn't the Nige we (I) know. I wonder how much pressure this season Nigel has put himself under personally and with his family? Nigel isn't a loser and his track record is exemplary in football. He's swam into darkened water but he must know that even if there's a lot of fans that'll feed him to the sharks, there's many that will still swim by his side, no matter what. Love you Nige x You get it 100% And I suppose you've summed up what I was trying to say but far more succinctly. I genuinely think that Nigel is having some sort of mental breakdown due to the pressure of this season. Some of the mistakes that Nigel has made I think are understandable. Yes, the recruitment wasn't right in the summer but looking at that team last year you'd have thought that several would be able to make the step up (Drinkwater, Vardy and Moore in particular for me) even if not being outstanding Premier League players to at least be effective at this level. That's not to say that missing the chance to put things right in January was acceptable. All of the off-field stuff points to someone not coping with the pressure. Although the fan he swore at deserved what he got to a certain extent it was almost as if there was no-one around him with the kind of relationship to have a word with him about how best to handle the aftermath. Similarly with the McArthur incident, things blew up bigger because of his justification for it. Then the Lineker spat. Now this incident with the journalist. Who is there to tell Nigel that his "spade is a spade" attitude is only going to make things worse and that he's creating battles he cannot win? Some of the decisions he is making with regards to the team are not those of a man thinking clearly. I think he's so wrapped up in the current situation, so completely and utterly exhausted of trying his best and it not quite being good enough, that he's almost resigned himself to what's coming (relegation and the sack). The problem for us is that rather than go down fighting he's almost trying to be too conservative, being scared to lose any more. The ideal solution for me is one that is completely and utterly improbable in football, but the best scenario for me would be if we could send Nigel away on holiday, let someone else take the team for the rest of this campaign and have him come back refreshed and having had time to reflect on what's gone on this season. It would never happen but I think that would be for the best in allowing us to keep a man who, given time, I believe can be another huge success for us. He just needs to take a step back from the current situation.
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