NIGEL PEARSON is looking at the Premier League table this season with satisfaction – not bitterness.
Leicester City have a different manager now – Claudio Ranieri – but their team is still very much Pearson’s.
And they go into today’s home match against Aston Villa with an unbeaten record in this campaign, having started where they left off last season.
Seven wins in their last nine matches saw Leicester – led by Pearson – pull off the greatest of great escapes, after winning promotion a year earlier.
But when this season got underway, Pearson, 52, was not in charge.
After a controversial season in which he was sacked then almost immediately re-instated following a touchline clash with the Crystal Palace midfi elder James McArthur, Pearson finally lost his job in June.
His dismissal followed three young Leicester players – including his son James – being sacked after being involved in a sex-tape incident in Thailand, home of the club’s owners.
The Pearson family strongly deny any suggestion of racist comments being made by James, 22.
Since then, Pearson has said nothing publicly – until today.
In his first interview since a sacking which was not based on results – a rarity in football – he stresses: “I’m pleased for the players, staff and fans at the start Leicester have made. They have carried on where they left off last season.
“It shows I left the club in good condition. People are saying positive things about the team and some of the players in particular and that’s a bit like a back-handed compliment to me.
“But I think my track record speaks for itself and now, I’ve got to look forward.
“I’ve got a clear conscience. It was a shame, after I got the club into a good position, that I was then unable to take it further.
“But it’s not my style to be in a hurry to put my side of the story and some things still have to remain private.
“All I will say is that this has been a really difficult summer for the whole family.
“But I’m ready for a new challenge and I’m open-minded about where that will be.
“So I wouldn’t rule out working abroad or taking a national job.”
Pearson has just been to Sweden to do a presentation on football’s coaching pro-licence.
And on the international theme, his successor at Leicester is Italian – former Chelsea boss Ranieri, 63.
Pearson says of that appointment: “It’s not for me to speak about other coaches, but I’ve got no axe to grind with him. He’s a genuine, likeable man.”
The former Leicester boss is more interested, though, in looking ahead rather than back.
He says: “I’ve had time to reflect, including areas in which I could improve.
“When you come to the end of a chapter, you look at what happened, but you have got to move on.
“And when the next opportunity comes, I need to be clear in my mind it’s the right one to take.”
The Tottenham striker has picked his international captain and the Chelsea skipper, alongside a couple of his Spurs team-mates
Action
Goals, goals, goals: Kane has picked Rooney to partner him in his five-a-side team
Harry Kane has named his Premier League five-a-side dream team.
The Tottenham striker shot to prominence with a fruitful season in front of goal last season, and, unsurprisingly, chooses himself to lead the line.
He would be supported by his international skipper Wayne Rooney up front, while choosing Chelsea captain John Terry to provide the defensive cover.
The other two players are a couple of his Spurs team-mates.
Kane overlooked the likes of David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois to opt for Huge Lloris in goal, and also selected Christian Eriksen, with whom he has struck up a good relationship over the last couple of seasons.
On his team, Kane said: "Lloris is a top, top world-class goalkeeper and we are lucky to have him at Spurs.
"Myself up front, I'd stick myself in there. John Terry in defence. He's an amazing defender who's done so much for so many years. He's really one of the world's best so he'd have to go in there.
"I'd have Wayne Rooney to stand in behind me and assist me in getting the goals.
"And I'd have Christian Eriksen because he got a lot of assists for me last season, he's an amazing player and a great lad as well so I'd have him in my team."
Two of England's most successful clubs meet on Saturday as Manchester United welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford, and Michael Owen, a former striker of both, picked the best combined XI of the two present teams exclusively for premierleague.com.
Owen burst on to the Barclays Premier League scene as a 17-year-old at Liverpool and scored 118 goals in 216 league appearances for the Merseyside club, before winning his first top-flight title in a three-year spell at Man Utd later in his career.
But despite spending more of his career at Liverpool, Owen's combined XI is dominated by players from Louis van Gaal's side.
"Having played for both teams I know this is going to upset quite a few people," he said. "But Manchester United are slightly ahead of Liverpool in terms of quality at present."
Michael Owen's best XI of current Man Utd and Liverpool players
David De Gea kept 10 BPL clean sheets for Manchester United last term
Matteo Darmian has impressed Owen since his summer move from Torino
Luke Shaw (right) 'will be a mainstay for Man Utd and England for years'
Martin Skrtel has played all four of Liverpool's BPL matches in 2015/16
Man Utd's Chris Smalling is 'big, strong and quick', says Owen
Goalkeeper: David De Gea (Man Utd)
Michael Owen: "I was fortunate enough to be at Manchester United when we signed him, and he is a phenomenal goalkeeper. He is one of the top few, now, in the world."
Right-back: Matteo Darmian (Man Utd)
"I have been really impressed with him. It was quite a close call between him and Nathaniel Clyne, but I am going to go for Darmian. He was played particularly well for Manchester United, marauding down that right-hand side."
Left-back: Luke Shaw (Man Utd)
"This was an easy decision. He is a real favourite of mine in many ways. He's a fabulous football player. He is going to be a mainstay for Manchester United and England for many years to come."
Centre-back: Martin Skrtel (Liverpool)
"He's developed into a real mainstay of the Liverpool team. He's hard, he's tough, he's robust. He never misses many matches. He scores the odd goal as well, and he's one of the first names on the Liverpool teamsheet for Brendan Rodgers, week in, week out."
Centre-back: Chris Smalling (Man Utd)
"I trained with Chris for many years at United. He’s got real qualities as a defender. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s quick, and those three alone make it very hard for anybody to play against."
Owen believes Michael Carrick is Man Utd's best midfielder
Bastian Schweinsteiger joined Man Utd after an illustrious Bayern Munich career
Centre-midfield: Michael Carrick (Man Utd)"He remains Manchester United's best central midfield player. I was fortunate enough to play with him many times. Two-footed, he's got a great football brain and is a real undervalued player. When you play alongside him you appreciate what he gives to the team."
Centre-midfield: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Man Utd)
"It's difficult to leave out Bastian Schweinsteiger, with all that he's won and his experience. He’s a two-footed player, he’s tough, he can get about the pitch. He’s going to be a vital cog in the wheel of Manchester United."
Philippe Coutinho scored a stunning winner in Liverpool's season opener at Stoke
Owen says Memphis Depay is another new Man Utd recruit who has started well
Wayne Rooney is the third-highest scorer in BPL history
Christian Benteke brings power and an impressive goal ratio to Liverpool's frontline
Right attacking midfielder: Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
"I would put Coutinho on the right of the three behind the striker. He's developed into one of the best players in that type of position, behind the centre-forwards, liking to come in off the flanks or stay in that position. He's a world-class player, Liverpool’s best, arguably. He's the first person to start off play, to try to score or assist a goal. There may not be many Liverpool names on my list but Coutinho would be one of the first."
Left attacking midfielder: Memphis Depay (Man Utd)
"He's had a good start to his Manchester United career. He scores goals, creates goals. He's got a great physique, he’s quick and strong. He gets in down the left."
Central attacking midfielder: Wayne Rooney (Man Utd)
"I would play Wayne Rooney in behind my striker. He's got a great scoring record. He's going to be an all-time leading goalscorer for Manchester United and England. He’s a great friend as well, and I don’t think anyone will argue with his inclusion in the team.
Centre-forward: Christian Benteke (Liverpool)
"He's the modern type of striker. He can lead the line. He's big, he's strong and can bring others into play. He can score with his feet and his head. As a lone striker he will certainly occupy both centre-backs."
Jose Mourinho will take charge of his 100th Premier League home game
Jose Mourinho takes charge of his 100th Premier League home game as Chelsea manager against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The 52-year-old, who returned to the club in 2013, is embarking on his sixth full season as Chelsea boss with a home record that is unrivalled in the Premier League era.
Stamford Bridge has been a fortress under Mourinho. In total, he has won 76, drawn 22 and lost only one of 99 Premier League home games in the Chelsea hot seat.
It started in fitting circumstances back in August 2004 when his first competitive fixture as Chelsea boss ended in a 1-0 win over Manchester United thanks to a goal from Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Eidur Gudjohnsen scored Chelsea's first home goal under Mourinho against Man Utd
Mourinho maintained his unbeaten home record for the duration of his first spell at the club. "Everybody knows Mourinho doesn't lose at Stamford Bridge," he said three years after his departure in 2010. "My record is unbeatable. It is amazing - we were so strong for such a long time."
Indeed, Chelsea won 46 of their 60 Premier League home games under Mourinho between 2004 and 2007, scoring 123 goals and only conceding 28 with a 76.7 per cent win ratio as they clinched two league titles.
A breakdown of Jose Mourinho's Premier League record at Stamford Bridge
An unbeaten record of 77 games was finally broken in April 2014, when bottom club Sunderland claimed a shock 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Fabio Borini's late penalty.
Despite that defeat, Mourinho's Premier League home record in his second spell is actually marginally superior to his first. Chelsea are no longer unbeaten on home turf and they have conceded goals at a higher rate of 0.56 per game compared to 0.47, but their win percentage is 76.9 per cent, making for a remarkable average of 76.8 per cent across the two spells.
Best of the rest?
So how does Mourinho's home record compare to other Premier League bosses? Mourinho has won 250 points in 99 games so far, and the stats show his tally is the best by a considerable margin.
Jose Mourinho's home record is the best in Premier League history
Even the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson lags behind. The former Manchester United manager, who ranks second in the top 10, 'only' accrued 234 points in his first 100 Premier League home games, tasting defeat on five more occasions than Mourinho.
Rafael Benitez is third on 231 from his time at Liverpool, where he developed a bitter rivalry with Mourinho before a brief stint as 'interim' Chelsea manager in 2012/13.
Mourinho's home record at Stamford Bridge is superior to his rival Wenger's
Arsenal's Arsene Wenger, another of Mourinho's adversaries, comes fourth with 226 points, while Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish rounds off the top five with 212 points from his first 100 Premier League home games as Blackburn manager.
The rest of the top 10 is made up of Kevin Keegan (208 points), Gerard Houllier (198), David O'Leary (192), David Moyes and Harry Redknapp (both 180).
No player has featured in more of Mourinho's Premier League home games than captain John Terry, who has played in 93 of the 99 matches in total.
John Terry has featured in more Premier League home games than any other player under Mourinho
The top scorer in those games is Didier Drogba with 35, while Frank Lampard, another veteran of Mourinho's first spell, leads the assists charts with 23.
Chelsea's biggest Premier League home win under Mourinho is the 6-0 thrashing of Arsenal on Wenger's 1,000th game in charge in March 2014.
Drogba is Chelsea's top scorer in home games under Mourinho
Mourinho has enjoyed more home wins over Newcastle than any other side (five), and ironically former Chelsea player Mark Hughes is the manager to have suffered the most Stamford Bridge defeats against Mourinho (five).
Rock solid home form has been the foundation of Mourinho's success throughout his managerial career. Remarkably, he has only lost four of 191 home Premier League, Seria A and La Liga games with Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid combined.
Jose Mourinho speaks during a press conference
Last season, Chelsea's home form was the bedrock of their Premier League title triumph. The Blues won 15 of games in total at Stamford Bridge, drawing the other four and conceding only eight goals in the process.
A shaky start to the season has seen them conceded seven goals in their opening three games - including two in their opening day draw at home to Swansea - but history suggests Mourinho will have them back to their resilient best soon. Crystal Palace have a mountain to climb on Saturday...
Barcelona star Luis Suarez has named his former Liverpool teammate Philippe Coutinho as his current favourite Premier League player.
The Uruguayan striker was speaking in Monaco after finishing behind Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi - but in front of Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo - in the voting for UEFA’s Best Player in Europe award.
Suarez clearly still keeps an eye on events in England after leaving the country just over a year ago - although the world-class forward hasn’t looked back since sealing his dream move to Barcelona last summer.
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The 28-year-old scored 25 goals in 43 matches for the Catalan giants last season, including one against Juventus in the Champions League final in Berlin.
Suarez also netted in the UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla earlier this month, and scored the winning goal in Barcelona’s opening La Liga match of the 2015-16 campaign against Athletic Bilbao last weekend.
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