Too much to handle

By NANTHA KUMAR

Manchester City stumbled to their third defeat in a row and the vultures are circling over manager Stuart Pearce.

MANCHESTER City – the club which exclusively own the phrase “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” and whose supporters wallow in self-depreciation as a matter of habit – are bent on providing more self-inflicted pain in a dwindling season. City could be ready for high melodrama in the coming weeks if not for the fact that the teams in the Premier League relegation mire are probably the worst of the bunch in the last five seasons. Even as early as December, Watford never looked like maintaining their Premiership postcode while their fellow London strugglers, Charlton Athletic and West Ham United, are still waiting to harvest the novelty benefits of new managers.

In the past City could be relied upon to get stuck into battles to save their Premiership lives and enliven seasons that would have otherwise seen them hover in the mid-table. But the excitement that comes with the scramble to crawl out of the Premiership basement is worrying a City habit.

PEARCE: The Man City boss isn’t too popular with his distractions.

Enter Stuart Pearce, the “managerial extraordinaire” whom his own club officials claim has bought into his own hype following his contentious decision to take on the England Under-21 coaching job. It is conceivable that the demands of the Premiership are such that the days of managers dabbling in both club and national duties are as disturbing as Steve McClaren's made-for-television grin. This is the same Pearce who had ruled himself out of the running for the England senior team post with maturity and humility when the media – for reasons that are yet unknown – championed his candidacy ahead of that of McClaren's, who has the so-called hot seat now.

The overwhelming desire amongst City supporters is to see Pearce leaving now, as the admiration of his move to stave off the England first team job last year, has quickly changed into a cry for his removal. This groundswell of opinion has not bypassed the board that is under pressure after agreeing to the arrangement of having Pearce execute his national service and manage a club that is sloping towards the Premiership's basin.

Five points away from fourth-from-bottom Wigan Athletic with 12 matches to go does not look positive for either City or their manager as the heat is turned on the Blues. Winless in the league since the victory over Everton on New Year's Day and suffering their third consecutive defeat when they went down to Portsmouth last weekend, City could revive those seasons when they redefined the parameters of tragicomedy. City followers had eagerly pointed out that the current run coincided with Pearce accepting the dual challenge last month following Peter Taylor's resignation – a charge that would have not surfaced if City had performed well enough to stay away from the danger area.

It is convenient to link City's slump with Pearce's new obligations (with the England Under-21 job) as much of their problems stem from Pearce's poor recruitment drive in the close season and the little impact the fresh faces have made since last summer. Supporters who are discontented with the unappealing prospect of watching Pearce's team lump over long balls and fly the flag for ugly defensive football would be glad to add this criticism for his exit.

But Pearce has given himself enough rope for allowing the debate and distraction over his abrupt announcement of his England appointment. Why take the media centre stage when he should have concentrated on landing his transfer targets for City last month? The circumstances were aggravated further when ex-Everton starlet Michael Ball was the only arrival at the City of Manchester Stadium after West Ham United's Marlon Harewood and Matthew Etherington; Mido of Totenham Hotspur and AZ Alkmaar defender Tim der Clerk were mentioned as possible names to adorn City's sky blue tops.

Beyond all this, it is baffling that Pearce – who had demonstrated a level head for football matters of all magnitude since taking over at the Eastlands – has contrived to get himself in this situation. His predecessor and boss of Crystal Palace Taylor could not juggle between attending to arguably less strenuous responsibilities with his Championship side and charting the progress of England's youth team. The obvious question on every City supporter's lips is this: how is it possible for Pearce to handle both assignments when a Championship manager could not pull it off?

He had promised that the England Under-21 will not come between his tasks at City and that he will not apply for full-time employment with the FA, but things could well change. Pearce had claimed that the FA will not hand over the reigns to him this summer after the conclusion of the Under-21 European Championship – but it would be fascinating to see him agonise over such a possibility if his team emerges triumphant on June 23 in Holland. The City board, in the time honoured fashion of the late 1990s, are not completely blameless as it was with their blessing – reluctant as it may have been – that Pearce answered the FA's call.

The board members, however, have the perfect excuse to dispose of the 44-year-old in the summer regardless of whether or not he succeeds in retaining City in the Premiership. Elsewhere, City were linked to Claudio Ranieri – the rumour mill had him visiting Manchester last week – but the Italian was unveiled as the new Parma supremo early this week. City could not afford to have an indecisive and incapable manager in charge of the club when the league is poised for a windfall next term – the board would not want the tens of millions from the new television deal wasted by the whims of a multitasking manager.

An embarrassing result against Preston North End in the FA Cup Fifth Round tie on Sunday will leave the board and Pearce with little room to breathe as renewed calls for the dismissal of the former England captain would gather pace. Even if Pearce survives the Preston test, there is the meeting with the equally desperate Wigan in an encounter in the league that which has now assumed a larger significance. Failure in both matches would ensure that his fate would reach tipping point.