Pearce targeted for under-21 role?

In the wake of the decision by Peter Taylor to step down from his position of manager of the England under-21 side, it seems that Stuart Pearce one of, if not the leading candidate to fill the role.

Taylor - who has held the position on a couple of occasions, has cited the pressures of the dual role for his decision, not necessarily personally but more from an outside perception. It is probably not without coincidence that this may have been more prevalent given the struggles at Crystal Palace this season, whereas at Hull he enjoyed continued success gaining successive promotions.

Pearce is a very patriotic person, saying 'any time your country approaches you about anything is a proud moment', and he believes that the role could be combined and indeed would be a benefit to City. Let's also not forget that he was once considered as a favourite to replace Sven Goran Eriksso, and was also tipped as a candidate to be part of Steve McLaren's coaching set-up.

At this stage it seems that contact has been nothing more than 'a brief conversation', but a couple of stories have appeared suggesting the board are less inclined to agree with him and are not overly keen on Pearce being involved in any potential set-up.

Personally, I am inclined to believe that it wouldn't be beneficial for City if Pearce took the role on. Yes, it would expose him to a different type of coaching and different players but this would take him away from the club whenever there was an international break.

Maybe at a club bristling with international players this wouldn't be a problem, as international week on the training ground resembles a ghost town but at City the vast majority of palyers would still be around and this would surely have a de-stabilising an detrimental effect on training sessions that Pearce (unlike some managers) plays an active role in.

I don't also buy the theory that working with the under-21's would make it easier to attract players to the club given the vastly over-inflated fees young English players move for.

At this stage it may be far from the deal being signed, sealed and delivered but given Pearce's nature he will want to take the role on if offered and do the board risk a confrontation over it, given that Pearce will be far from pleased should he be blocked over this.