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Pearce appointed as under-21 boss

Former Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce has been named
as full-time coach of the England Under-21 side.
The 45-year-old has signed
a two-year contract running until 2009.
Pearce was put in part-time control
in January and guided England to the semi-finals of the European Under-21
championships in June.
-BBC Sport.

The role, on a full-time basis - a move away from the recent trend of a part-time manager (which Pearce of course initially operated as) was seemingly Pearce's after a European Championships in which he drew widespread praise from the squad and officials alike after reaching the semi-final stage.

In a full-time capacity it may well be that Pearce operates more as a bridge between the youth levels immediately below the under-21 level and to the senior side - something Pearce has mentioned previously and again yesterday in his interview.

Whilst his tenure at City will probably be remembered for his shortcomings as a manager, it cannot be doubted though that (maybe more out of necessity given the financial constraints he worked under) he was succesful in bringing through and integrating young players into the side.

It is therefore likely then Pearce will enjoy more success as manager with the under-21's than at City.

Personally, I believe his style of management and coaching is more suited to the international game where being more of a 'motivator' than a 'pure' coach has a better effect in an environment where you have the players for several short periods as opposed to a continuous full season where his animated style can (and certainly did) wear thin after a period of time.

Working with the young players at this level, undoubtedly he will command respect from a group of players who would have grown up when he was in his prime as a player at international level, and all the noises coming out of the England camp at the European Championships were positive in relation to Pearce being in charge.

I do feel that this is a good move for him, enjoying what looks to be a reasonably talented crop of young players at his disposal - and also that it is unlikely that his City record will see a host of tops clubs queueing up to employ him, so he may struggle to get a club job that he truly sees as one to challenge him.

I think Pearce has every chance of being a success, and one angle he may look at is this is a chance to redeem himself a little and restore a reputation that took a bit of a beating over the final few months in charge at the club.