He may have referred to a member of the press as being an “ostrich”, strangled James McArthur of Crystal Palace and regularly made a fool of himself, but one thing Nigel Pearson did was to lead Leicester on the road to success.
It was Pearson, after all, who put the belief into this Foxes side. When they were down and out last December, he hauled them up to an eventual 14th. It was Pearson who bought in the talented player that is Riyad Mahrez, as well as Esteban Cambiasso (who was quality) and Marc Albrighton – who has repaid the faith in getting so much game time.
Unlike David Moyes when he walked in at Manchester United, Claudio Ranieri received an excellent Leicester squad which could easily be motivated. Although Ranieri has helped to make Leicester better, it is mainly down to Pearson.
Pearson was the one who helped pull Leicester up the leagues and into the Premier League. He was perhaps the closest type manager, other than Jose Mourinho, to a modern day Brian Clough. If his son had behaved himself on tour, then Pearson would still probably be in charge of Leicester.
However you feel that he only really put the groundwork down for Leicester to do well, and Ranieri used it to take them that one step further. This season has been the one where Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have stepped up to the plate, and proved themselves in the Premier League. Add in Ranieri’s signings of Christian Fuchs, Robert Huth, Shinji Okazaki, N’Golo Kante and Demarai Gray and Leicester now look to have done the impossible and ruffled the feathers of the top clubs.
Currently sitting top, it is looking likely that even if the Foxes don’t win the Premier League they will still be playing European football. An unthinkable achievement before a ball was kicked.
Whether Nigel Pearson is truly behind this success can only be known by the players themselves, but one thing for certain is Pearson started Leicester on this unbelievable run. It was he who escaped the sack midway through last season, and, like Clough, gave the squad the belief that they could achieve.
Now with the same mentality, this Leicester team are on the cusp of greatness.
[ad_pod id=’football-survey’ align=’center’]
[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]