Bristol City sacks Nigel Pearson with Robins in 15th
After almost three years in charge of Bristol City, the Championship club sacked manager Nigel Pearson on Monday. The Robins have lost five of their last seven games in the Championship. Pearson’s side sits 15th in the Championship table on 18 points after 14 games. It is nine points above the drop zone in the division.
Bristol hired Nigel Pearson in February 2021. He replaced Dean Holden, who started as a caretaker manager in 2019/20. At t the time Pearson took the reins at Bristol City, the club sat 15th in the table. Therefore, it is a fitting closure to his time with Bristol that the club is in 15th. In the three seasons Bristol finished with Nigel Pearson, he showed slight improvement. The club finished 19th, then 17th and 14th in the most recent campaign. That slight improvement was not enough for Bristol City.
Instead, the club said it was time for a change at Ashton Gate. Jon Lansdown, the club’s chairman, said a 2-0 defeat against Cardiff City was the last game for the former Leicester City and Watford manager.
“This was a difficult decision to make as we recognise and appreciate how much Nigel has done for the club over the past two and a half years on and off the pitch,” Lansdown said on the Bristol City website.
Jason Euell, one of the first-team coaches on Pearson’s staff, is also out of the club. Curtis Fleming is taking over the management of the side on a caretaker basis.
Another Championship manager sacked
Just 14 games into the season, Bristol City sacking Nigel Pearson is the sixth managerial change in the English second division this season. Some of the other managers to depart their clubs are Neil Warnock, John Eustace and Xisco Muñoz. Each of their clubs sits in the bottom half of the table except for Birmingham City, which parted ways with Eustace. It quickly brought in Wayne Rooney as his replacement.
Bristol City thanked Nigel Pearson for his efforts with Bristol City over the last several campaigns.
“Nigel is highly respected by the staff and players and has been very supportive of the academy structure and our women’s team. We all wanted Nigel to achieve our ambition to be promoted but, with our recent results, feel that now is the time to make a change to give the club the best possible chance of success.”
Bristol City sacks Nigel Pearson to change club’s fortunes
Bristol City has been in a period of stasis for the last several years. It has hovered between 19th and eighth in the Championship for each of the last eight seasons, and it appears to be on the same path this campaign. The last time Bristol City was in the top division of English soccer was in 1979/80. Bristol City sees this move as a chance to increase those odds. It may not be this season, but Bristol City has eyes for promotion at some point in the near future.
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