Im not sure Pearson will be too happy if the owners are putting players in the academy purely because they are from Thailand. If they are good enough i couldnt care where they are from. I just hope the owners dont try and force Pearson to play players in the first team or else he will walk. I have always wondered about Yuki Abe sometimes as he doesnt look like he is up to it sometimes http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...ittiphong-Pluemjai-on-trial-at-Leicester.html
That story is waaaaay to long for me to read all of it. Yes, I expressed several times my concerns about players than will help with marketing the game abroad. I'm sue that's what Abe is all about, and this guy will probably be the first of many from Thailand, that well-known hotbed of football talent.
So what - guy is only 18 and being put into the academy not the first team or even the reserves and it says English scouts, not Thai owners or anything. As for picking the team and what not, would they hire a manager like Pearson that has quit/been released from his last few jobs because he fell out with the chairmen and then pick the team for him? Also what does the Japanese player Yuki Abe have to do with this story?
The owners have said before they wanted someone from Asia to help raise the profile of the club over there. Yuki Abe is a big name in Japan, the owners said they would find it difficult with Thai players as there would be work permit issues plus Paulo Sousa said he didnt sign Yuki Abe he was forced on him by the owners
Best player hands down that I have ever seen came from the hotbed of football talent that is Liberia - George Weah in case you were wondering due to the massive numbers of great Liberian players out there. I remember watch Football Italia a decade or so ago (I feel old) and watching him was always the highlight. Not saying that this guy we have is anywhere near Weah's class but unless you give him a go, how would you know - Pearson won't stand for dross in the team and if having him just train with us means a few extra Baht coming our way, so be it.
Oh come on, of all the countries in the world, it's someone from the same place as our owners. It's not the same as the Weah situation. He might well make the grade, you never know and obviously I hope he does. But I just don't want to see average Thai and Asian players creeping into the team ahead of better British players simply as a marketing ploy.
He scored against us - probably the only thing he did for them - but the guy that I remember the most did things like this: [video=youtube;DDuZpma_Oxs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDuZpma_Oxs[/video]
It's hardly any wonder he didn't set the world on fire, he barely got a game, he only played 90 minutes three times in his entire time at Man City.
Seriously when has it ever happened when foreign chairmen put their countrymen in the first team ahead of better players - do Man City play UAE players all the time now, does Man Utd play American players, does Portsmouth play Russian players etc. Will never happen as, lets be honest, they are in it for the money and the money comes from being successful and the way that clubs are successful is by playing their best players - regardless of their nationality. As for this guy - he is here in the academy and is no where near the first team. If he turns out to be awesome then I don't give a crap what nationality he is as long as he is willing to bleed blue. If he is crap, he can go the way of Hossein Kaebi.
He was awesome in Italy when he was in his prime - was African, European and World footballer of the year in 1995. As for his time at Man City - ask one of them how they feel about him and you will find that it is the same as the feeling we have for Mancini. We know that they came for one last hurrah as they was winding down their careers but loved that both once great players still give all that they could and actually gave a crap - as brief as both were.
His statement when he left Man City was brilliant.... "I will not accept being at a club where the manager names me in the team and then calls me five hours later to tell me that I am not in the team. In my opinion that is unprofessional and disrespectful and shows a lack of confidence in me." "I'm not upset just because I'm not playing. I do accept because of my age that I won't play all the games. "I didn't come for the money. I could have stayed at AC Milan but instead I sacrificed $2m from them in order to come here. I didn't leave that for somebody to tell me to shut up and **** off. "I was made to feel old and of no real use to the club. I felt I was being used for publicity to attract other players."
But if he shown his AC Milan form there he would of started every week He didnt get a fair crack but part of that is his fault
[video=youtube;GpIrS7tq1cM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpIrS7tq1cM[/video] Short video I found of him. Make of it what you will. I too have no problem with the kid coming and training to see if he is good enough because it's a great opportunity to unearth some talent. If we can exploit something like the Thai market and use our connections to get some promising players before other teams then that is only an advantage to us and if we find one good player in the next 10 years then it will have been worth it. And I can't see them forcing Nigel to play players because they know that football isn't their business and they seem the type of people to let others do the job they've been employed to do rather than sticking their nose in. For instance, apart from Sven's first few games, Abe's never really established himself in the side and has always been in and out (out more often than not in fact) so I don't think there is any pressure from above to play certain players.
Abe's played 44 games for Leicester, which is a lot considering he's not established in the first team. Every time I see him play, I wonder why he gets into the team ahead of some of the players we have. The ONLY conclusion I can draw is interference from above. I think Sven was very open to this kind of manipulation, but I don't think Nige will stand for it. I just hope this doesn't lead to fall-outs.
He hasn't been that bad - was really good last season and gives it his all in every match I've seen him in. His only real problem is that he too much of a defensive midfielder and only likes playing short passes so if he has to do anything too creative, he often loses. Also he is knocked off the ball a bit too easily but tbh that is true of almost every foreign player in this league.
