Pearce picks wrong 'un with poor cricket analogy

Former Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce says he
performed the role of a "night-watchman" for the club.
City's New owner
Thaksin Shinawatra has backed Pearce's successor Sven-Goran Eriksson, who has
seen his side win their opening two Premier League games.
Pearce, who was
City's boss for two years, said: "I was probably the first of the footballing
night-watchman.
"I was sent in to bat through the night until some money was
available - I knew that when I took the club over."

-BBC Sport.

I've played (and watched) a fair bit of cricket over the years and I wouldn't agree that a mangerial reign over around two and a quarter seasons (with a longer contract in place before it was terminated) was akin to the role of a nightwatchman. Thinking both over recent history, someone like Phil Neal or Asa Hartford could justifiably claim it, but Stuart Pearce? I don't think so.

I'm not for one moment denying Pearce under far tougher times than his successor is enjoying but there was no indication when he took the job it was for a limited period only and he always (in public anyway) enjoyed the backing of the board.

Ultimately, it was his performance in the role that lost him the job, not before he had the lost the fans and despite the resources given to him the differences between Pearce and Eriksson are telling already.

Maybe if during his time at the club (crease?) he had performed like this guy did then he may well have been moved up the order as opposed to being dropped to the second XI.

It isn't for one minute a pop at Pearce as despite results (and performances) he always enjoyed backing to a certain degree from fans for his approach and how he went about things - and it is clear the club meant a great deal to him during his time here; "I've got a lot of time for the club and I'm pleased to see there's some financial input to help push the club forward."

Pearce could quite easily have come out and had a bitch about his treatment, and bemoaned the general lack of finance afforded to him but to his credit he hasn't and this is a major factor in why he will have the best wishes of the majority of fans as he begins his new full-time role as manager of the under-21's - picking three City players in the first squad.

It is in contrast to the story earlier this week regarding Dennis Tueart's 'treatment' by the club, something that does seem to have backfired on him after his comments this week which were undoubtedly timed to generate maximum exposure and cause maximum damage - a move though which has hardly endeared him to fans judging by the concensus reaction.

Regardless of how justified he was in his opinion, the fact that he seems to have completely misread what the opinion would be has only served to have him portrayed as a sour individual with a very large axe to grind.

Pearce appointed as under-21 boss

Former Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce has been named
as full-time coach of the England Under-21 side.
The 45-year-old has signed
a two-year contract running until 2009.
Pearce was put in part-time control
in January and guided England to the semi-finals of the European Under-21
championships in June.

-BBC Sport.

The role, on a full-time basis - a move away from the recent trend of a part-time manager (which Pearce of course initially operated as) was seemingly Pearce's after a European Championships in which he drew widespread praise from the squad and officials alike after reaching the semi-final stage.

In a full-time capacity it may well be that Pearce operates more as a bridge between the youth levels immediately below the under-21 level and to the senior side - something Pearce has mentioned previously and again yesterday in his interview.

Whilst his tenure at City will probably be remembered for his shortcomings as a manager, it cannot be doubted though that (maybe more out of necessity given the financial constraints he worked under) he was succesful in bringing through and integrating young players into the side.

It is therefore likely then Pearce will enjoy more success as manager with the under-21's than at City.

Personally, I believe his style of management and coaching is more suited to the international game where being more of a 'motivator' than a 'pure' coach has a better effect in an environment where you have the players for several short periods as opposed to a continuous full season where his animated style can (and certainly did) wear thin after a period of time.

Working with the young players at this level, undoubtedly he will command respect from a group of players who would have grown up when he was in his prime as a player at international level, and all the noises coming out of the England camp at the European Championships were positive in relation to Pearce being in charge.

I do feel that this is a good move for him, enjoying what looks to be a reasonably talented crop of young players at his disposal - and also that it is unlikely that his City record will see a host of tops clubs queueing up to employ him, so he may struggle to get a club job that he truly sees as one to challenge him.

I think Pearce has every chance of being a success, and one angle he may look at is this is a chance to redeem himself a little and restore a reputation that took a bit of a beating over the final few months in charge at the club.

Stuart Pearce Sacked

well contract terminated , same thing !!

adios

Lets see who's next on the merry go-round !

Sinclair and Jordan released

The club announced over the past couple of days that both Trevor Sinclair and Stephen Jordan were to be released at the end of the season.

Whilst both moves were widely expected, there were stories that suggested Jordan may have been offered a new deal but perhaps Stuart Pearce felt that either Jordan's progress had stalled permanently or young Shaleum Logan was ready to assume more of a senior role behind Michael Ball next season.

What is perhaps a little interesting in this is that despite stories regarding his future at the club Pearce is already beginning to shape the squad for next season and has talked about the Chairman indicating the level of funds available.

The MEN reported yesterday that the board would have to 'act fast' in order to land Sam Allardyce, indicating that he would be prepared to take the Newcastle job (despite a preference for City).

Pearce has always been bullish regarding his role and that he would be in charge next season, despite the board keeping their cards far closer to their chests. One problem for the current board is that although there would be no compensation involved for dismissing Pearce, Allardyce (or another big name) would command a hefty, long-term contract in addition to significant funds being made available.

Whilst this may not be a problem to any new owners who come in, whilst the current board remain in charge, it could be more likely that Pearce remains in charge at the club.

City dressing room divided?

On-loan French player Djamel Abdoun, has hit out at Joey Barton today over the recent training ground incident.

From eurosport.co.uk:

Manchester City midfielder Djamel Abdoun has
blasted Joey Barton following his training-ground fight with Ousmane Dabo. He
said Barton picked on Dabo because he would not fight back, and claimed the
midfielder acts like "he is the Zidane of Manchester City".
"Joey Barton is a
coward. The marks he left on Dabo's face were shocking. Ousmane was unlucky to
be caught up in it," said Abdoun.
"He would not hurt a fly, and Barton knew
it - he would never have picked on someone like Sylvain Distin, Hatem Trabelsi
or Bernardo Corradi.
"Ousmane just pushed him and did not aim a blow, but
Barton hit him with punch after punch.
"Barton simply does what he likes. He
acts the big star - he thinks he is the Zidane of Manchester City, but he is
just a player like any other.
"He is an over-inflated footballer. He is way,
way off from being a Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard.
"Manchester City is a
great club but the problem is that they have foreigners on one side and English
players on the other.
"If the two halves manage to bond together City can
finish in the top six - but that good mentality does not exist.
"In the
dressing room the foreign players will sit on one bench, and the English players
on the other side. I noticed it straight away when I arrived.
"It's time
City's people realise football is a team sport, and stop telling the papers the
foreigners are to blame for their position.
"The clash between Barton and
Dabo symbolises the two factions at the club.
"And the guy who started it is
the one who is always creating havoc - this is not the first time he has been
involved in something like this."

You wonder what role Stuart Pearce plays in this as we have seen Barton question the foreign signings and Richard Dunne went on the offensive before the Blackburn defeat, as the likes of Hamman, Beasley, Trabelsi, Corradi and Samaras have either struggled or been slow to assimilate into the side and show anything resembling decent form.

Yes, I know players are over-pampered and soft these days, but is it a fact that Pearce - generally considered one of the 'old school', does struggle to communicate and integrate the foreign elements into the side?

There is clearly a problem that persists, and if Pearce (or his coaching staff) are failing to spot it, or worse, turning a blind eye to it, then surely this is something else that can be added to the list of reasons stacking up to support a change in manager.

Allardyce rumours causing problems

Of course, all of this may simply be the result of a number of journos putting two and two together, but the early morning rumours that Sam Allardyce was to quit his position at Bolton at the end of the season certainly sparked a chain of events that left a lot of people none too happy.

As well as quitting Bolton, the story was that Allardyce had some sort of principle agreement in place to take over at City in the summer, and had been given the nod by Ray Ranson that the job if/when his takeover was completed.

Bolton chairman Phil Gartside, who undertandably was irked as that it appears as though his highly successful manager was set to move onto pastures new - and to a club he has previously described as not being bigger than Bolton. This has apparantly led to Gartside making a complaint with the current City board over Ranson's actions. The current City board are believed to be unhappy that there name is being dragged into all of this.

Stuart Pearce meanwhile came out fighting in his post match interview, stating that he was the best man for the job and the board were right behind him and he was looking to build further in the summer. Interestingly, in addition he believed that there were 'seven or eight' managers who would go before him.

This could lead to problems for Ray Ranson. It is believed that his bid and plans for the club do not meet with unanimous approval at board level (who seemingly favour one of the American consortiums), and this potential negative press may not endear him to those doubters. Whilst not publicly commenting, stories appeared yesterday which suggested Ranson had not contacted Allardyce regarding the managers post.

On the back of all of this - adding a further twist, there were reports yesterday that the former-Thai PM, Thaksin Shinawatra was set to make a £108 million bid for the club after all, having previously suggesting stories linking him to the club were 'rumours'.

Interestingly, one man who has remained quiet on all of this is Allardyce himself. He did not speak to the press following Bolton's 2-2 draw at Chelsea. If he indeed has told Bolton he will leave at the end of the season then there will certainly be a number of sides interested in his services.

After establishing Bolton in the Premiership and now having them consistently challenge for the European places perhaps he feels he cannot take the side any further, and is ready to take step up in terms of the job challenge and also the potential involved at another club.

I believe we could be the front-runners, although even a quick look at the Premiership table suggests the likes of Newcastle, perhaps even Tottenham as well would be interested.

I remember back to a couple of seasons ago when the first Allardyce rumours surfaced, I was against the idea of Allardyce being in charge - dismissing him as a 'long ball merchant', but for what he has achieved the past couple of seasons shows he is one of the top managers around and crucially, he is able to get the best out of the players he has and can implement a sound game plan. I also believe that as time has progressed and he has brought more quality into Bolton, he has refined their approach a little and they are less reliant on the direct approach.

Whilst it may be all speculation at this point, it does seem there is some substance at least to this story. For me, if Allardyce is available, then regardless of who the ownership group is we should pull out all the stops to get him.

Barton escapes punishment

From the MEN:

JOEY Barton will not face internal club discipline for
his impassioned outburst at Watford last weekend.The England international will,
however, be called in for a chat with boss Stuart Pearce to explain his
views......But the manager indicated he would stop short of slapping a fine
on the player.
"You will have to ask Joey about his emotions and the
words he used. He had plenty to say for himself after the game so he is probably
the best one to talk to," was the manager's guarded response to his feelings on
the subject. Let us hope what he had to say came from a care for the club. "He
doesn't face internal discipline but I will speak to him in respect of my
thoughts about what he said. The reason I cannot go into detail in respect of
what Joey said is that there is so much of it I would be here all
day!"

Looking forward

From Sky Sports:

"In the summer, there may be a takeover and they might
say they need a new man at the helm," Pearce told the Manchester Evening
News.
"It is physically impossible to feel secure as a football manager but I
don't see the rest of the season as an audition for my own job.
"I know my
job, what is coming through the academy system and what areas we need to
strengthen.
"I have a list of targets to give to the chief executive. I will
tell him that's what I want and that he has to deliver it for me if he
can".

As I mentioned in the Fulham review, it is amazing what a few positive results can do - and all talk of Pearce being shown the P45 has pretty much evaporated.

Has the recent spell just papered over the cracks, or is their genuine signs of optimism for a long-term Pearce regime?

Corradi set to return home

Jettisoned from the side in recent weeks as one of the culprits behind the woeful 'goals for' column this season, Bernardo Corradi has hardly done his chances of forcing his way back into the side with a critique of both manager Stuart Pearce and captain Richard Dunne:

"Pearce is a pure English coach. He never knows how the
opposition plays because they do not sit here and study their next opponents.
"If that was not enough, the morning before the Cup quarterfinals I read in
a newspaper that (Richard) Dunne, the captain, had attacked the foreign players
here."

The MEN described Corradi this week as the 'Italian hitman' - something which alone should have seen them subject to libel action, and it has been apparant that Corradi has struggled to adapt to the Premiership this season after enjoying a (relatively) succesful Serie A career and appears likely that he may return back to Italy (with former club Lazio reportedly keen) just one season into a (at least a season too long) three year deal.

Whilst it may be dismissed as ramblings of a failing 'johnny foreigner', his comments regarding Pearce perhaps expose a worrying lack of preparation by Pearce and the coaching staff when it comes to analysing and assessing forthcoming opponents.

In Italy, this is an area that is still ahead of the Premiership in general terms (although Benitez and Mourinho are probably on par), but added to critcisms of the training methods at the club it does paint a worrying picture of what goes on at the club when preparing for games, and, is perhaps easy to see why some of the foreign players are somewhat disillusioned.

Chelsea preview

Wednesday March 14th 2007, City of Manchester Stadium. Live on Sky Sports.

Probably the last thing Stuart Pearce needed this week following a disastrous FA Cup exit was a re-arranged midweek game. Not only that but it sees a visit by the current Champions who are desperately clinging onto their title and need all the points they can get.

Added to this mix is the Sky cameras are present at the match along with the media hordes, sharpening their pencils and ready to read the last rites in anticipation of the axe falling on Pearce after another defeat.

The fall-out from Sunday has not been pretty, with Pearce (again) forced to defend himself amidst reports he has two games (Chelsea and Middlesbrough) to save his job - although other reports suggest it is irrelevant how the rest of the season pans out.

The comments from Richard Dunne ahead of the Blackburn have now been seized upon, with reports suggesting cracks in the camp, and that Pearce has 'lost' the dressing room. One suggestion was that an unnamed player called training at City a 'joke', and I know that one summer signing was dismayed at the training set-up in comparison to his previous club.

The players who did attempt to applaud the fans at the end of the game were given short shrift - with Chris Bailey pointing out this could have a detrimental long-term effect.

Pearce has likened the current situation to the Alamo, but perhaps a more fitting comparison would be to portray Pearce as King Canute, desperately trying to turn back the tide that is closing in on him.

The board have remained steadfastly silent thus far, offering neither support nor the poisoned 'vote of confidence', but it may well be that they are a little tied by the current takeover situation and could just be hoping to scrape through the rest of the season before bolting out of town, with at least Premiership status secured.

The worry for Pearce is that it appears he has lost the support of the crowd (who incidentally played a large part in him being appointed), and history shows that whilst fans do not run the club, once they turn against a manager it is inevitable that they will be shown the door.

The problem is excasperated for Pearce by the fact that the very problem with the side - goalscoring, is firmly laid at Pearce's door. The current striking options - Samaras, Corradi, Vassell and Dickov (the jury is still out on Mpenza) were all brought into the club by Pearce at a cost of around £10 million and have failed to deliver.

The defence has been strong on the whole (although more error prone than last year), the 'keepers have not really put a foot wrong and the midfield have been effective enough without the support of forward line.

It is the strikers who are the problem, and Pearce must be held accountable.

Corradi - who I described as a 'poor mans Luca Toni' when he signed, has proved anything but. Vassell is a confidence player who has failed to show any apart from short spurts. Dickov has been a wash-out and Samaras - the brunt of fans derision, has gone from a 'prospect' (albeit an expensive one) to a young player who is hiding from the ball.

bbcsport ran a lengthy feature today looking at the City career of Pearce thus far, and had the following graph to look at his season by season comparison - which does not appear to favourable:



Lest we forget there is actually a game taking place tomorrow then, and it is difficult to see anything but a Chelsea victory. I am interested to see what side Pearce selects, as he may roll the dice and gamble on a Mpenza-Sturridge partnership to shake things up. More likely though I expect Pearce to try and keep it tight for as long as possible against a Chelsea side who are suffering through injuries, but still grinding out results.

Pearce will be delighted to somehow come away with a point from this game to stretch the cushion to the bottom three just that bit further, and a 0-0 would suit just fine but Chelsea should have too much for a side whose confidence and morale are badly damaged.

Prediction:
City 0 Chelsea 2

Fancy a flutter?

From William Hill:

Under pressure Manchester City boss Stuart Pearce is
8/1 with William Hill no longer to be City boss by kick-off time of their
weekend game against Middlesbro.Pearce is already odds-on favourite to be the
next Premiership manager to leave his club this season following Manchester
City's Cup defeat by Blackburn, withWilliam Hill making him 5/6 to be the next
to go this campaign and also offering7/1 Curbishley; 25/1Pardew; 40/1 Boothroyd.
They also offer 11/10 that no more managers will leave their club this
season.But with City facing Chelsea in midweek, a game which they are 11/2
outsiders to win, with Chelsea 4/9 and the draw 13/5, Hills are offering 8/1
that the City manager will have departed before they play Boro. 'Pearce is a
proud man and a heavy defeat at home, even to the champions, would be bound to
produce critical crowd reaction which could make him decide to walk away or
prompt his sacking' said Hill's spokesman Graham Sharpe.City are currently 11/2
with Hills to be relegated this season.

Pearce comes out in bullish mood

Perhaps stung by recent displays on the pitch, and increasing unrest off it, Stuart Pearce has come out fighting over the past day or so to state whilst he acknowledges the 'sack talk' currently going on, he has no fear of the axe and equally so, no intention of quitting as manager of the club.

It was believed that Pearce may get his P45 this week, but talk of a new managerial appointment may have been slightly exaggerated and resulted in the appointment of Kenny Jackett, although according to the MEN:

".....rumbling of discontent has been mirrored in the
board room and a lengthy Monday meeting is believed to have discussed the
manager's position before deciding to stick with the former England
skipper."

Pearce was in confident mood in the interview and believed that he is still in charge because the board want him to be - not because of any 'ulterior motive':

"I hark back to before Christmas when we lost at Wigan
in a very poor game and come the Monday morning everyone was there ready to
work, even those who had opportunities to pull out with injuries or one thing
and another. From that moment on I knew I was working with a very genuine squad
we have been given a bit of a nosebleed last weekend.

We have had a bad result in front of our own fans, one
or two people have had a moan and, if you like, the pressure has cranked up on
me. That's fine."I know the players will respond. They will turn around and say
they want to work hard on the training pitch. Once you have got that, and when
you have always got that, then you are home and dry."

At this club over the last two years there have been a
lot of things right and a few things wrong. We know what the short-comings are.
This season they are there for all to see. It is important that - no matter what
my future is at City - the baby doesn't go out with the bath
water."

I still feel as though there is a hell of lot right at
this club, that we get a few wins together, learn from what has happened this
season and we approach next season in a different vein to improve what we have
already done.

"The most disappointing thing about last Saturday was
that if we had put three points to bed then all talk of relegation from people
outside the club would have diminished. What we did was give a leg-up to a team
that were looking over their shoulder. That's the most disappointing
thing."

There is still a third of the season to go and it is
important that people keep an eye on that. "We know what we have got to do and
the bottom line is that our own fate is in our own hands. There are three teams
below us who would swap places and we know that one win will vault us up the
table."

It is all but two years since Pearce first took on the job amidst the wave of optimism and clamour for his appointment (remember that?) and one thing he has always seemed to do is when the pressure begins to build on him is pull out a result to ease it off for a few more games.

However, it now seems that patience has run out and a small ripple of vocal displeasure could soon begin to build if the next month continues as recent weeks have done.

With the number of fans and build up to the Cup game at Blackburn, I feel that there will be nothing but total support for Pearce and the team on Sunday. However, if we do go out of the Cup and things do not go well next Wednesday against Chelsea he may well be in for a rocky ride.

Pearce grabs his Jackett

Not quite as I expected it to pan out, but it seems that one of the issues on the agenda at Monday's 'lengthy' board meeting was to ratify the appointment of Kenny Jackett as reserve-team manager, although Stuart Pearce was quick to point out his role/duties would not be restricted solely to reserve team matters:

"He’ll take our reserves, but because of the squad and the nature of how we operate he will be working with the first team for a fair proportion of the week and will be involved on match days at the weekend.He’s enthusiastic, he’s a good man and I think he’ll be a major asset to this football club.

"I have two assistants now that have both managed and that in some ways is invaluable. Steve Wigley has been a fantastic help to me and Kenny will fit in well.

"Maybe at the end of the changes I now have a better staff than I did two weeks ago."

Jackett seemed to be doing a good job with Swansea until the end of last season, and was perhaps unlucky not to take them up into the Championship, but the wheels came off a little this campaign and he left the club by 'mutual consent'. Still, Pearce appears confident in him and following the departures of Flowers and Bunn the coaching staff needed padding out again.

So it seems that Pearce's position is safe for now, or certainly until the end of the season, and whilst it may not be on the scale of a new appointment to the managers position, maybe Jackett's appointment will give the playing staff a lift over the coming weeks.

Has Pearce run out of time?

Following on a little from Mr Banks review of Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Wigan, the comments section was filled by many of you calling for Pearce to go - with you naming (surprisingly?) Bobby Robson named as a favourite to take over (albeit in a short term capacity).

It now seems that fans patience has finally worn thin with Pearce, with a depressing last few months punctuated only by the glimmer of a Wembley appearance on the horizon, something which until the last couple of weeks has certainly deflected away from the miserable league form.

The normally reflective Pearce has also come out today to bemoan the 'lack of investment' over the past three seasons - something he does not normally criticise outright despite the obvious frustration it must cause:

"Over the last two or three years, the fact we have not
speculated as well as we should have done financially is probably catching up
with us a little bit."

He has also suffered the blow of losing two talented and trusted members of the coaching staff in Tim Flowers and Frank Bunn over the past week or so, and it is no great secret that he did not endear himself to his employers with the mess created over his appointment to the England under-21 managers position.

Do not now be surprised then if Pearce is now gone sooner rather than later.

The timing of making such a move is now crucial given the impending Blackburn cup game followed by the league games against Chelsea and Middlesbrough. I think it is a racing certainty he will be gone in the summer - heading off to the under-21 position full-time, but I believe that the board may be thinking of acting now to give the club a jolt to shake it out of the current malaise it is in, with the hope of safeguarding Premier league status and maybe, just maybe getting to the FA Cup final.

The danger is by making a move at this stage, you run the risk of causing unrest within the squad, and then having a situation where the new man comes in and has so little time to impose himself and methods on a squad. Conversely, a short-term boost of a couple would be all that is needed to virtually ensure survival.

It is inconceivable that we will be able to prise a manager away from another club at this stage of the season so it would be a caretaker who comes in until mid-May (and it won't be Steve Wigley) before targeting the next 'full-time' manager. The list of potential candidates out there is by far from exhaustive and I don't see any of the 'big names' risking damage to their reputations by actually taking us down.

By the process of elimination this means that a caretaker apointment would probably not be the sort of name that fans would be happy with and would also represent a huge risk undertaken by the board for whom it would be a financial disaster if we were to be relegated given the inevitable fall in value to the club in the midst of takeover talks.

A lot can happen in a week - whether it politics or football, and by this time next Sunday we could have given ourselves a real shot in the arm for the rest of the season by beating Blackburn in the FA Cup.

It remains to be seen though as to whether Stuart Pearce will still be in charge to oversee proceedings.

City And Two Jobs Pearce On The Brink

City -0 Wigan - 1 (Folan 18)

The storm clouds gather over Eastlands after city's 4th straight premier league defeat, brought about by Caleb Folans (another player we supposedly looked at) header in the 18th minute which in truth could have been Wigans third as city left their legs (and minds) in Dubai with an opening 20-30 minutes that brought two words to mind .... Frank Clark...
The man charged with motivating our players of course is the man who replaced Clark at Forest, Our very own England patriot Mr kick every ball Stuart ' psycho' Pearce.


To todays game first , as already stated Wigan could quite easily have been 2 or 3 up by the time Folan took advantage of Nicky Weavers hesitation to loop in an unchallenged header after 18 mins of wigan of domination. You can blame the players for not tracking Folan after the initial header looped up in the box but Weavers one step forward one step back indecisiveness was the killer had he come he would have got a block , had he stayed would have been a routine catch on the line.

To lay the blame for the defeat at Weavers door would be harsh as nobody except Michael Ball emerged with any credit. Stuart Pearce described it in his post match interview as been bullied, I call it a complete unwilling less to compete aligned with the fact that players seemed to be totally clueless as to what formation , who was picking up who and what the game plan was. Either that or they are playing to get Pearce sacked.

You could point to the fact that after the opening half hour we gave it a good go, but in truth we created nothing , despite Filan dropping everything that came his way in the first half. Which pretty much sums up the whole season , OK at the back but if we concede first we are F****d.

Heard a few Pearce out chants after the game outside the glass frontage on the Colin Bell Stand, I would make him stay until the end of the season, he got us into this mess there is no way he is slinking of to the U21's without another major black mark on his managerial record. We should however be looking to replace him in the summer whatever happens, quite simply the guy has been measured and come up short.

The relegation battle starts here.

Wigan Preview

Sat 3rd March - 3pm - Eastlands

Just a point separates 15th placed City and 17th Placed Wigan as we head into what has surprisingly not been dubbed a six pointer. A win for City would all but ease the relegation spectre lurking in the background, while a win for Wigan would put a 3 game cushion between themselves and Charlton.

Of course Wigans fall from grace has hardly been there own fault as whining scouse Paul Jewell has stated every week its the refs , a conspiracy to get them relegated or more likely the alignment of reality with Uranus. A win against Newcastle last week had Jewell state with probably no understanding of the word irony that 'he didn't want to talk about referees' , given he spent the last 2 months doing nothing but some might say about fucking time. While Stuart Pearce has his critics in the club for not saying anything about referees I would much prefer he said nothing than make a complete fool out of himself like Jewell has done.

Onto todays game , Wigan have Fitz Hall missing through suspension (not his fault though, Paul Jewell) probably more of a blow for Wigan is Henri Camara is missing after aggravating his previous injury in training this week. City have long term injuries Sinclair , Onohua and Vassell missing. New signing Emile Mpenza is in the squad but not expected to figure.

Prediction :

1-1 - neither side hauling themselves clear.

Club versus Country

As Mr Banks noted in a post last week, it seems that the club were far from happy at allowing Pearce to take the job - but having reluctantly done so, they at least imposed some strict conditions on Pearce. Namely that he will not be involved in any other Football Association duties, including scouting, and any prospective friendly match in March prior to him taking charge for the summer European Championships.

This will now though see the near farcical situation of Pearce being the manager of the side or the friendly against Italy but merely allowed to sit in the stands for the game with no contact with the players. This is something Pearce will possibly be hoping to change, although Trevor Brooking has moved quickly to dispel that suggestion.

Although Pearce gave his word to Wardle that he would not apply for the job should it be available on a full-time basis, he did leave the door slightly ajar with his following comments:

"Part of taking the job now was giving my word to the
chairman that I'll be the Manchester City manager now, at the end of the summer,
and hopefully into next season – simple as that."
"The England Under-21s need a full-time manager – full
stop, without a doubt. I don't think it will be me in the summer, as I've given
my word, and very rarely in my life have I gone back on my word."

Given the fact this is after just one game, given Pearce will lead the side headlong into a full tournament in the summer, could this be one of those rare occasions he referred to?

Just Enough Rope

Now I have already gone on record as saying I don't think The England U21 job should interfere too much with Stuart Pearce's ability too manage Manchester City. If a recent M.E.N. poll is anything to go by I am in a very small minority. The vast majority of message boards and phone ins have actually seen calls for him to go and do the job full time , and they are the kinder one's !!

So this doesn't really help his cause :

Not very cute stu ?


A time and a place eh Stu ?

Pearce To Groom Kids

Stuart Pearce has been allowed by Manchester City to take up the coaching of England U21's on a short term temporary contract. The club has issued a curt statement which I presume they are not too happy with it ! Be interesting to see what happens particulary if we have a good tournament.

I dont really see much harm in Pearce doing this the time restraints are minimal , on the flipside I dont see any positives !! Some have said he can spot trhe up and coming talent , thats great but we have no money to sign them !!

Job Sharing has not been particularly sucessful in football , I wonder if outsourcing could work and we could get somebody in to do his job cheaper (or better) .....................

Transfer Deadline Day

So will it be , Mido , Collins John, Michael Ball, Paul Konchesky..................

John Wardle has had to dip into his pocket again to fund a transfer (if it happens) personally I think we will just see Michael Ball , as a direct replacement for Ben Thatcher, which Pearce will describe as 'cute' as I am presuming no fee will be involved for the player.

Anybody got any potentially libelous rumors ?