Favourite
There’s something of a Marmite reaction to Nigel Pearson, the leading contender for the vacant Villa’s manager job. Some believe him to be the wild and thuggish caricature that has been built up in the media; a persona perhaps not helped by Pearson’s strangling of a Palace player, his Ostrich comments or telling a supporter to “f**k off and die”. But if that’s all your basing your views on him with, you’re perhaps missing the essence of what the ex-Leicester boss brings to the table.
Currently the ex-Leicester City boss is the bookies favourite for the vacant Aston Villa manager’s position, after David Moyes has slipped back in the running to 5/1. With second and third favourites Mick McCarthy and Steve Bruce currently in employment (and both journey men in MOMS’ book), Pearson is the clear favourite, especially after Villa director David Bernstein said in a live BT Sport TV interview before last week’s Chelsea game, the club would be selecting an English manager. For latest odds check Football betting news at BetHut.com
There’s no doubt the club won’t rush into making an official announcement about the new Villa manager, as the new boss won’t want to be associated with this relegation season or have it on their CV. Thus, they’ll be working away and preparing for next season in the background, while Eric Black leads what is left of this sorry season.
Merits
If Pearson gets the job, it is to some extent a case of the Aston Villa’s players and squad reaping what they have sown. If you had to choose one potential manager to sort out this sorry bunch with their poor attitudes and lack of effort, then Pearson would be the man for the job.
At Leicester City, Pearson was noted for banding together a group of players with a real team spirit; he had an eye for players that on top of their ability had a real work ethic. Players that were willing to scrap. It made the Foxes Championship winners and then prompted a great relegation escape, not to mention providing the foundations for this season’s potential title win.
In a football world of overpaid prima donnas who are more concerned with #lifestyle and what new car they have than playing football, a team rallied by the likes of Pearson will always have a chance of punching above the merits of the squad list on paper.
After all, if Pearson can deal with a pack of wild dogs then he should be able to sort out the likes of Gabby & co.
Misunderstood?
Regarding Pearson’s supposed strange behaviour of last season, I’ve personally spent over a decade interviewing pretty much every known actress and actor. Of course, there were ones that in the press were regarded as ‘mavericks’, ‘wild’, ‘crazy’, ‘mad’ or ‘a character’, but those same people if you spoke to them straight-up and got their respect, were the most genuine and interesting. Often they were victims to headline hunters who care very little for the reality of the person (or the story).
Going back to Pearson’s supposed misdemeanors, look at the video of the strangulation incident during Leicester vs Palace, it doesn’t seem to be a sinister clash. The Ostrich comment to the journalist came after Pearson was constantly defending his players to the press (part of the togetherness Pearson puts at the core of his team-building) and his reaction to that Foxes supporter was no doubt provoked and deserved.
We live in increasingly political correct times where an every increasingly rabid football media will exaggerate a story to take advantage of the social media age. And that’s before even mentioning the social justice warriors that populate it.
Pearson took the bullet for his son’s transgressions in Thailand and probably rightly so, considering the situation he’d have to work in going forward, after the insult to the owners (although no one knows the full story, were the girls in the incident with Pearson’s son, laid on for him during their ‘goodwill’ post-season tour Thailand?).
Football is football and largely populated by and played by men that you wouldn’t exactly class as renaissance men. Villa ‘legends’ Ron Atkinson and Andy Gray have been involved in well-publicised cases of social transgression and MOMS has been privy to several examples of Villa players making fools of themselves chasing girls on social media.
Speaking pragmatically, it is what it is. This is the world that football exists in. For better or for worse.
With Pearson, when you break it down, he’s not really responsible for anything negative that should influence the consideration of him for the Villa job. Another time and situation, he might not have even been a candidate for the job, but for what is about to come next season, he might just be the right man for the job.
UTV
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To the douchebag that left a comment that conveniently quoted only a section of a paragraph to suit their own agenda (read the first bit of the paragraph, that explains the actual thoughts on the matter), then insulted the writer, don’t wonder too hard why your comment wasn’t published.
personally i’d prefer someone who is a lover of the club , not a trophyless media promoted individual who to many is a one club wonder. i’d go for someone with promotion from the second tier sucess and who is a knowlagable student of all things aston villa, he’s done it once, on and off the field, i’d ask brian little if he fancies another bash, he was the pioneer of the 3-5-2 formation that martin o’neil took up and turned the team, into a real force.pearson? too confrontational, moyes?man united.. fail real sociadad… fail the rest al pretty much the same, i don’t think many are up for ‘mission impossible’villa have tried and failed with ex birmingham city connections before, they mustn’t do it again this appointment could be the most important one to get right for the next 20 years or so GET IT RIGHT!
old codgers like me will recall another west Bromwich legend who no one ever talks about today, great talent though he was – Don Howe. Wonderful international, great coach, the man behind Arsenal’s double winning team of 1971.
Then they made him manager. End of story. ANd who remembers his achievements now?
Pearson is a great coach, but a lousy manager. And even more of a Jekyll and hyde than Don Howe. Great number two. And that reminds me of when our former manager Joe Mercer went to Man City and won the league with some character called Malcolm Allison who was a great coach and then…..
If you could team Pearson with someone like Uncle Joe, great.
But otherwise, no thanks. A manager has to manage himself first and foremost, and there is the rub
Trevor FIsher
My son was at the West Brom Academy when Pearson was at the club with Bryan Robson and found him a great coach and helped him settle in unfortunately Robson got the sack and shortly after Pearson lest.
My son spoke highly of Pearson and he seemed like a nice bloke obviously a complex character when dealing with the press.I think he would be a good appointment especially as we may have to rely on academy players to form the basis of our team
You can take at least Four from that list ….its not great quality but NP in my mind with his no nonsense approach would bring in a discipline that would get rid of the shirkers and bring in a more aggressive and smarter approach. His championship acumen is second to none. Look at Leicester now, he set the foundations for their success. NP would tear into those that don’t wear the shirt with pride. He would get rid of any cheese eating surrender monkeys and show grit and determination. I have belief in his ways of management. Why is Paddy Reilly still at the club ??????????????
true, there is no value to bookies They only reflect t someone has put money down. If I put down £10k on Trevor Fisher to be the next manager, I get onto the list. So someone has put some money onRyan Gigs? A fool and his money are soon parted, as our current owner is proving.
On Pearson, its interesting he never mentioned for the baggieies job though he was part of the great escape
I woiuld love to know what baggies fans make of him
Trevor FIsher
The bookies are no mugs and overall they don’t lose.
This is a joke list, the bookies are not helping the situation by publishing such rubbish. Let’s hope common sense prevails and we appoint a manager who will be in it for the long haul, will not embarrass us and will provide a steadying influence on the players. How on earth can Ryan Giggs even be mentioned?
You should see the rest of the bookies list! I cut it off at the point it went crazy.
Please print the full list. This is a grim period Dave, we could do with a laugh. Has anyone put any money
on Tim Sherwood to come back? And I gather Paul Lambert is unhappy at Blackburn. Some folk will bet on two flies climbing up a wall.
So the full field please. If only for the record.
Trevor FIsher