Should he stay or should he go?

[Macky]

I wished I'd voted 'Go' now, I don't like being in the majority

 

[Matt_B]

There is a lot wrong at the minute:

Club captain training with kids.
Player with 70+ caps and has captained his country can't get a sniff.
2 international class central midfielders shipped out of the club.
Top scorer playing on the left wing.
Best centre half playing in midfield (poorly).
Our "star" striker looks on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
There are divisions within the playing staff.
The squad has a few players who will never play for the current manager but are on such high wages we won't be able to move them on.

Pearson, though not at fault for all of the problems is complicit in quite a few of them. His biggest problem is that he won't be able to dismantle this squad, he's going to have to find ways to get more out of them. If we are honest he has struggled to get a few players in this squad going.

That said, whoever took over is going to be stuck with a number of these issues and probably and entirely new set along with it. No Point in changing horses.

Bamba is not our best defender and, as we have no other midfielders, is the best alternative.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Bamba is not our best defender and, as we have no other midfielders, is the best alternative.

And he's not been that poor either, he's done a decent enough job, especially when you consider he was only there because the lack of centrals fit/not suspended central midfielders.

 

[Scotfox]

Pearson inherited a squad of players from Sven, who lacked leadership both on and off the field, Sven and his choice of Captain Matt Mills, must bear responsibility for this. It soon emerged, that there was discontent within the squad and overall the team behind the scenes was a shambles. Pearsons first job back at the club was to identify the cause of the difficulties and then find a solution, he hasn't completed this task yet, but he is definatley building a stronger more well balanced side. The major cause of the discontent appears to have been nullified with the removal of Mills not just as Captain but also as a player and I don't think he has a future at the club whilst Pearson remains in control, and I for one cannot see that changing nor do I want to. Our defence has been chaotic at best, a couple of matches are ok, then it falls apart, for once I don't think Mills can bear all the blame for this, though his sending offs clearly didn't help. Even at the stage in the season I still do not know what the best defensive line-up is, the players do not appear to compliment each other and I think Pearson will make changes over the coming months, only Kasper can be sure of his place in the defence, he is the one shining light in a defensive nightmare. Pearson has a massive job to do but midfield and the forward line he is spoilt for choice given the players returning from injury and those he has bought to the club, and to become the first choice player for any of those positions, is going to be take of hard work with no guarantee your place is secure.

 

[Ike O'Noclassed]

So Pearson should stay, the club should go.

 

[lanxfox jnr]

The defense is definitely an area of concern, Kasper is the only player in that part of the pitch I would want to hold onto for the rest of his career, the rest have been shit, quite frankly.

 

[Miles Away]

Bamba is not our best defender and, as we have no other midfielders, is the best alternative.

1. I think he is, in fact I think he is our best player.
2. Why don't we have other midfielders? We use to have loads of them laying about.

 

[Kingy_85]

Toilet Water.

 

[LeeCovFox]

1. I think he is, in fact I think he is our best player.

Whilst I agree that Bamba is a talented player and probably the best individual in the squad he must be a nightmare for any defensive partner. He has no positional discipline and I doubt he will fit into the rigid system that I reckon Pearson will try to implement ahead of next season. I think he'll leave in the summer. It's a shame because he entertains me greatly, but that's the way I see it.

 

[Leigh]

I think I'm in love with 94.55% of this forum.

 

[Richie]

Pearson is our best manager since MON.

 

[David Gwilliam]

There was an interesting comment about the current management team at the Leicester Legends evening. Both Gerry Taggart and the Birch went out of the way to say how "awesome" Steve Walsh Srs reading and understanding of the game was. They seemed more impressed with him than anyone in recent years.

So far the recruitment which is a major part of Walsh's job has brought in Morgan, Marshall and Drinkwater. I think most people would feel that they have improved the squad and in the case of the latter two are likely to improve further.It seems to me that his role is especially important in the close season and both close seasons under Pearson brought a significant improvement in personnel.

I am confident that Pearson and his staff will use the close season to get the club back on track.

 

[lazzer]

A lot was made of the indiscipline within the squad under Sven and also his lack of leadership. When Pearson came back a lot of posters commented on the fact that he wouldn't stand for any previous failings. I don't know what the issue is with Mills but one would assume it was not
based on performance. Then we had the Beckford incident which could be perceived as
petulance or as most who attended described as exhaustion. Then we get comments from the
fans regarding Pearsons attitude towards his players and how many more players is he going to upset. The point is if he is to manage then he has to lead and if that means upsetting a few
players then so be it.

 

[indierich06]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here, so bear with me...

There is a lot wrong at the minute:

Club captain training with kids.

We don't really know what's gone on behind the scenes here - there's been a lot of rumour and speculation but no solid facts. For all we know, Mills could be out of the team for good reason - surely it's better to deal with a disruptive player, even if he did cost a lot of money rather than playing him regardless?

Player with 70+ caps and has captained his country can't get a sniff.

I brought this up in another thread - just because he got 70 caps in the past, doesn't mean he's a good player now. For all we know, he could be well past his best now - he certainly looked ropey in the games that he has played for us. If he's not past his best, there must be another reason why he isn't playing. Pearson has given everyone else a chance in the side, even the players that he has allegedly fallen out with. Either he's not good enough, or there are reasons we don't know about as to why he isn't playing.

2 international class central midfielders shipped out of the club.

I take it you're talking about Abe and Fernandes? Abe was homesick and wanted to move back to Japan to be with his family, Fernandes didn't want to play for us after Sven left and wanted his loan ended early. Would you rather we forced them to stay? Or maybe you're talking about Johnson? From what I know, he's been unavailable for selection ever since Pearson turned up and now he seems to be back at Man City.

Top scorer playing on the left wing.

I agree that this is not ideal - it's come at a time when we've got a few injuries and suspensions and is obviously not a tactical move. People like to trot out the line that at the beginning of the season, we had a massive squad. We didn't. We had a too many players for too few positions. Without Lloyd Dyer, there isn't really another recognised first team left sided midfielder at the club. Unfortunately, until we can get some reinforcements in during the summer, players will occasionally have to be played out of position to cover injuries and suspension - this threadbare squad is Sven's legacy.

Best centre half playing in midfield (poorly).

I think it's debatable whether Bamba is our best central defender. I agree with Bocadillo's view on this one - Bamba is a talented player, but he is far too unpredictable to form a solid partnership with another central defender. Organising a defence is difficult anyway, but when one centre back decides he's going to go on a mazy 40 yard run with the ball and subsequently loses it, it's going to cause trouble. Again, it's not ideal that he's been playing in midfield, but see my previous point.

Our "star" striker looks on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Again, just playing devil's advocate, but I think people are reading too much into the Beckford incident on Saturday. His attitude when he first came here was terrible, but he has show marked improvement since then and his performances on the pitch have certainly improved. He should've listened to his manager's instructions on Saturday and listened to his players, but I'm sure we've all had times where we've been so frustrated that we lose focus and professionalism. Or we don't know if he was running on fumes, or if he'd picked up an injury. I think it's making a bit of a mountain out of a molehill and to say he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown is a bit bizarre.

There are divisions within the playing staff.

Who and why? The only thing I can think of is Mills and the so-called 'Manchester Mafia' which is only rumour. Even if it's true, it appears to have been dealt with internally. I don't see any other divisions within the playing staff, apart from that which I've just talked about where (if the rumours are true) the club captain thinks he can dictate to the manager which players should be in the side.

The squad has a few players who will never play for the current manager but are on such high wages we won't be able to move them on.

The only ones I can think of are Matt Mills and John Pantsil. Pearson will be able to move them on if he wants to - he's taken on bigger players than those two and won in the end - look at Jimmy Bullard at Hull! He was reportedly on about 45,000 a week and Pearson somehow managed to get shot of him.

Pearson, though not at fault for all of the problems is complicit in quite a few of them. His biggest problem is that he won't be able to dismantle this squad, he's going to have to find ways to get more out of them. If we are honest he has struggled to get a few players in this squad going.

The only thing that looks bad on Pearson is his rift with Mills, no-one really know what happened between the two of them, but I back Pearson on this one. IF the rumours are true and it's a case of the player thinking he's bigger than the club and knows better than his manager, then I'm glad that he's been dealt with in this fashion and I think Pearson has been very professional in keeping it all in-house rather than washing our dirty laundry in public.

As I've stated, I think he will be able to dismantle this squad if he wants, he might face a bit of a battle with Mills, but I think he should have no problems moving on any other players he might want to get rid of.

I also think it's untrue that he's failed to get some players going. He's gotten the best performances out of Danns, Beckford, Nugent, St Ledger, Konchesky... I just don't see which players in the sqaud he hasn't gotten motivated.

That said, whoever took over is going to be stuck with a number of these issues and probably and entirely new set along with it. No Point in changing horses.

So, in conclusion: PEARSON OUT!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL, JOKES.

 

[H T B]

Pearson out? To be replaced by whom? (not hume!)

 

[The Old Fox]

May I ask a question of those with more faith in Nigel Pearson?

Believe it or not, I should be delighted to be proved wrong and for NP to build a team that takes us to the Premier League and, I shall happily eat humble pie if we take the Championship by storm next season. Clearly, if we sit in the top six NP is right and I am wrong, promotion would just rub it in but, taking a worse case scenario, when would people 's attitude change? Should we be in the same position in November, would that be the time to say enough... the end of next season?

Naturally, the decision will be made by the owners but when would you feel that a change is needed?

 

[Biffa Bacon]

May I ask a question of those with more faith in Nigel Pearson?

Believe it or not, I should be delighted to be proved wrong and for NP to build a team that takes us to the Premier League and, I shall happily eat humble pie if we take the Championship by storm next season. Clearly, if we sit in the top six NP is right and I am wrong, promotion would just rub it in but, taking a worse case scenario, when would people 's attitude change? Should we be in the same position in November, would that be the time to say enough... the end of next season?

Naturally, the decision will be made by the owners but when would you feel that a change is needed?

I'd say that to move forward we need to stick with one manager for a minimum of a whole season including pre-season,if the owners don't sack NP before the end of this season they should hold their nerve and keep him. Mid season changes are costing the club a fortune and wrecking any momentum.

 

[Matt_B]

I'd say that to move forward we need to stick with one manager for a minimum of a whole season including pre-season,if the owners don't sack NP before the end of this season they should hold their nerve and keep him. Mid season changes are costing the club a fortune and wrecking any momentum.

I'd up that to two seasons to really build.

 

[The Old Fox]

I'd up that to two seasons to really build.

I am not saying that you are right, or wrong; I would just like to be clear: would you give a manager/Nigel Pearson two seasons, even if things got worse,stayed the same or only if some improvement could be seen?

 

[Matt_B]

I am not saying that you are right, or wrong; I would just like to be clear: would you give a manager/Nigel Pearson two seasons, even if things got worse,stayed the same or only if some improvement could be seen?

If things got worse and it looked like we were heading down then no. If we didn't make any obvious progress in one season then yes. To be honest, I am fed up of the constant up/down emotions surrounding the club and the fans and I'd sooner have a couple of seasons of stability. I appreciate this would strain the patience and pockets of the owners and is unlikely.