Manager for next season

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Pearson just looks like he wants to lamp murphy in that press conference. Understandable, inexperierienced manager getting knocked down a peg or two, by experienced and well regarded local reporter. I'd be the same. Whoever comes in just needs to focus on results.

Inexperienced? Pearson's first manager role was nearly 20 years ago. He's hardly been without a job from 2007 until Leicester sacked him.

On almost all the interviews I've watched, he comes across as having a real chip on his shoulder. He always reminds me of somebody that would look happier policing a miners picket line back in the mid 80s. To his credit, he was always sharing the credit with his backroom staff, he's no egomaniac.

What's more important is how he communicates with his players and on that level he doesn't seem to have a problem. I can handle his awkwardness for a season providing he takes us up.

[SteveN]

I'm just totally unenthused. His record is actually unspectacular, the things which people say are positive about him don't strike me as my kind of positive, shall we say, and I can just see the whole thing blowing up.

He may well even get us promoted. I just can't get myself to be really excited about a stage in Villa's career where the great saviour of the club is Nigel sodding Pearson.

I'm with Monty on this, my problem is I am struggling to suggest a realistic target that does enthuse me.  There's talk of Quique Sánchez Flores not yet having signed a new contract at Watford.  He at least appears to have something about him rather than the dour others we are linked with.

[conman]

Pearsons managerial record


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Pearson#Managerial_statistics

Overall 43.21% win rate over 405 games

what was sherwoods win ratio before this season

[ClaretAndBlueBlood]

I'm just totally unenthused. His record is actually unspectacular, the things which people say are positive about him don't strike me as my kind of positive, shall we say, and I can just see the whole thing blowing up.

He may well even get us promoted. I just can't get myself to be really excited about a stage in Villa's career where the great saviour of the club is Nigel sodding Pearson.

I'm with Monty on this, my problem is I am struggling to suggest a realistic target that does enthuse me.  There's talk of Quique Sánchez Flores not yet having signed a new contract at Watford.  He at least appears to have something about him rather than the dour others we are linked with.

Flores seems decent to me, did a great job at Athletico. Not sure he would take a job in division 2 though and surprised bigger clubs than Watford aren't in for him

[Damo70]

I'm just totally unenthused. His record is actually unspectacular, the things which people say are positive about him don't strike me as my kind of positive, shall we say, and I can just see the whole thing blowing up.

He may well even get us promoted. I just can't get myself to be really excited about a stage in Villa's career where the great saviour of the club is Nigel sodding Pearson.

I'm with Monty on this, my problem is I am struggling to suggest a realistic target that does enthuse me.  There's talk of Quique Sánchez Flores not yet having signed a new contract at Watford.  He at least appears to have something about him rather than the dour others we are linked with.

Trust some bloke who manages Watford to turn the club around? That will never work.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I'm just totally unenthused. His record is actually unspectacular, the things which people say are positive about him don't strike me as my kind of positive, shall we say, and I can just see the whole thing blowing up.

He may well even get us promoted. I just can't get myself to be really excited about a stage in Villa's career where the great saviour of the club is Nigel sodding Pearson.

I'm with Monty on this, my problem is I am struggling to suggest a realistic target that does enthuse me.  There's talk of Quique Sánchez Flores not yet having signed a new contract at Watford.  He at least appears to have something about him rather than the dour others we are linked with.

Trust some bloke who manages Watford to turn the club around? That will never work.

It was actually a Serb that got them promoted last season. Not sure how much experience he had of the Championship but I have a feeling it was none.

[Jimbo]

Ferguson would probably have pulled Murphy's tongue out with his bare hands and beaten him to death with it.

Ferguson was more likely to say something unintelligible to him and then either get up and walk out or ask the press officer to remove him. At least Murphy is prepared to challenge people and not toe the party line, how often did you see anybody challenge Ferguson? Anybody questioning him would find themselves unable to gain access to any of the players for interviews, Ferguson was a bully and for some reason the hierarchy at the club still seem to march to his drum which is great as whilst he's still hanging about they're getting progressively worse.

Agreed, Ferguson was a special kind of bully who had all kinds of weapons in his locker. Murphy wouldn't dare stand up to him, and neither did the vast majority of his peers. Pearson was an easy target, and didn't Murphy know it. 

[Dave P]

What has Grayson and Hughton done in football that Pearson hasn't?
How many clubs Simon Grayson got promoted?
How did Chris Hughton not get blues promoted when he probably had the best squad in the league?
How many of the Sunderlands, Newcastle's etc have gone for Grayson or Hughton?

1. They've done about the same.
2. All 4 clubs who he has managed - Blackpool, Leeds, Huddersfield and Preston.
3. Because they're Blues.
4. 1 - Newcastle.

Grayson is probably the only manager who has had any sort of success at the shitstorm in Leeds in the past 12 years. 

[Ads]

Ferguson would probably have pulled Murphy's tongue out with his bare hands and beaten him to death with it.

Ferguson was more likely to say something unintelligible to him and then either get up and walk out or ask the press officer to remove him. At least Murphy is prepared to challenge people and not toe the party line, how often did you see anybody challenge Ferguson? Anybody questioning him would find themselves unable to gain access to any of the players for interviews, Ferguson was a bully and for some reason the hierarchy at the club still seem to march to his drum which is great as whilst he's still hanging about they're getting progressively worse.

Agreed, Ferguson was a special kind of bully who had all kinds of weapons in his locker. Murphy wouldn't dare stand up to him, and neither did the vast majority of his peers. Pearson was an easy target, and didn't Murphy know it. 

I don't know, nobody really remembers what the interview was about, more that Pearson got shirty.

He's protected his players then, which was the intention of Fergie, Mourinho et al, to ultimately deflect attention and reduce external pressures.

[Chris Smith]

I am getting this sinking feeling that I am going to have to find a way of accepting that Pearson is our manager. Then within months a video will appear showing him singing Nazi songs dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz while biting the heads off live chickens.

[Monty]

I am getting this sinking feeling that I am going to have to find a way of accepting that Pearson is our manager. Then within months a video will appear showing him singing Nazi songs dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz while biting the heads off live chickens.

You could at least interpret that as an anti-homophobia gesture.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

I am getting this sinking feeling that I am going to have to find a way of accepting that Pearson is our manager. Then within months a video will appear showing him singing Nazi songs dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz while biting the heads off live chickens.

You could at least interpret that as an anti-homophobia gesture.

And as a tribute to one of Aston's most famous sons...

[peter w]

I get the anti-pearson stance and he was easily dislikeable thanks to his rants and bizarre behaviour. But it was nothing more than a passing "I'm glad he's not our manager" when seeing his 'episodes' rather than any critique of his ability to do the job.

I don't know where we go from here and although I like the cut of Eric Black's gib we need to just start again with a manager who has had some sort of success in the division we're going into. Pearson could blow up in our faces and this could be just the latest in that line. However, I doubt it. More because of the people doing the recruiting this time and the due diligence that has gone into it.

[AVH87]

I have 3 big concerns re. Pearson:

1) His bizarre and aggressive personality, as seen last season on several occasions, will the players take to him?
2) Shakespeare and Walsh, his 2 long-time assistants, are still at Leicester
3) If he was that good, why hasn't any other team in the mire over the last 9 months decided to employ him?

[curiousorange]

I feel the same way about Pearson that I do when I see a letter from HM Revenue and Customs on the doormat. There could be great news inside it, but experience and gut feeling tells you that's unlikely.