Why was Nigel Pearson sacked and who can replace him?

The Leicester City manager’s sacking came as a shock to all last night and with the board’s decision to relieve him of his duties having no definitive reasoning behind it, there can only be speculation about why Nigel Pearson has lost his job.

Pearson has done an excellent job in his two spells at Leicester, taking over the club from its lowest point in League One and winning the title in his first season. He then guided the team to the Championship play-offs the next year, before leaving the club to join Hull City after claiming chairman Milan Mandaric didn’t want to keep him at Leicester.

He was persuaded to rejoin Leicester after Thai owners Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha took charge of the club, with the team sitting 12^th in the Championship table. In Pearson’s next two full seasons, he took Leicester to the play-offs again and following a revamp of the team, getting rid of the high earners and bringing in fresh talent, he led the Foxes to a domination of the Championship and being promoted to the Premier League as Champions in 2013/2014.

Despite being rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table for many months, the last nine games saw Pearson revitalize the team and it was evident the players were playing for him to retain their top flight status. They earned 22 points from a possible 27, making it the greatest escape the Premier League has ever seen, as Leicester went from bottom of the table to 14^th place.

So with things finally looking brighter for next season and new signings aiming to build a stronger team, why has Nigel Pearson been sacked now? He will go down as one of Leicester City’s greatest managers and with no evident lack of achievement his sacking is obviously not due to football reasons.

Last season in the Premier League, Pearson was subject to rather a lot of controversy, and having already been sacked midway through the campaign but later reinstated; it suggests the Leicester boss was already on borrowed time. Despite being bottom of the table, it was no question Pearson was the right man for the job given what he has achieved at the club, therefore his stories off the pitch must have been his downfall.

From returning abuse to a fan questioning his team, to appearing to strangle Crystal Palace’s James McArthur and numerous unfriendly encounters with journalists, it is apparent that the board couldn’t take any more bad publicity.

Leicester City released a statement last night saying: “It has become clear to the Club that fundamental differences in perspective exist between us. Regrettably, the Club believes that the working relationship between Nigel and the Board is no longer viable.”

Pearson was always very open about the strong relationship he maintained with the club’s owners, so something has clearly occurred behind closed doors in the last few weeks. It is reported that Pearson was relieved of his duties by telephone, with no prior warning.

The main speculation surrounding the manager’s sacking comes from issues regarding his son James Pearson and his involvement in a racist sex tape, alongside fellow youth players Tom Hopper and Adam Smith on the team’s trip to Thailand. With the owners feeling the club owe a large amount of respect to their country and the people of Thailand, the three players were sacked by the club a number of weeks back.

Whether Pearson disagreed with this decision is unknown, but it seems the link between the incident in Thailand and the manager losing his job is very strong, which alongside the other controversial moments in the past year was evidently enough to see him get sacked from the club.

This is a very disappointing end to what was a successful few years under Nigel Pearson and the fans will now have to support whoever is appointed in the hope that they are able to take the club forward and progress in the Premier League. Who will the new manager be though?

There are a number of names being mentioned to become the new Leicester City manager, but they will have very big shoes to fill. One of the favourites at the moment is Sam Allardyce who was recently let go by West Ham United, although there are reports suggesting he has turned down the offer.

Good odds have also been placed on the Bristol City boss Steve Cotterill to become the next manager, but this has had a bad reception amongst Foxes fans, claiming that it would be a step backwards as he is nowhere near as good a manager as Pearson. It would be a huge risk, as a large amount of the teams Cotterill has managed have been lower league teams.

Leicester City legends Martin O’Neill and Neil Lennon are also in the frame for the job. Yet again, this may be unlikely as both managers currently have jobs, with O’Neill in charge of the Republic of Ireland national team and Lennon managing Championship side Bolton Wanderers. O’Neill is especially less likely to take the job again, after his managerial career with the Foxes was also a successful one and he will not want to tarnish that.

A few of the outsiders include Roberto Di Matteo, after he left Schalke, Guus Hiddink, after resigning from coaching the Dutch national team, and Michael Laudrup, who is currently managing in Qatar, but has previous Premier League experience with Swansea City.

There have been rumours of Esteban Cambiasso becoming the next City manager too, or as a player/manager. Foxes fans are desperate for him to sign a new contract with the club after an incredible season last year, so if this is the only way to keep a talent like him at the club it would be well worth it in the eyes of the supporters.

Leicester fans can also dream of the likes of Carlo Ancelotti who was recently sacked by Real Madrid, and Jürgen Klopp who has just left Borussia Dortmund. These managers are very unlikely to want to come to Leicester but given the shock regarding Nigel Pearson’s sacking it seems nothing is such an unlikelihood anymore.

It appears to be very strange that the board would sack Pearson without arranging a replacement first, so it will be interesting to see this saga progress over the upcoming weeks. For now it can be said that although the fans will be devastated at the dismissal of a great manager, they can look back on numerous successes and memories from Nigel Pearson and will no doubt back whoever takes his place.