Are you an Ostrich?

Have you ever been called an Ostrich? I can’t recall being called that myself, or for that matter anyone else being referred to as such. That might be because when in the heat of the moment of shouting various obscenities or insults at someone else, Ostrich is probably not a word anyone would immediately think to use. We probably wouldn’t even think of it as qualifying as an insult. Perhaps though, Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson wishes to change that.

Last night Chelsea looked to have all but won the 2014/15 Premier League title with a 3-1 win at Leicester. One more win at Crystal Palace this weekend will be enough to confirm that the crown is theirs. In normal circumstances, this is probably what we would have been talking about. Or perhaps that Didier Drogba, all 37 years of him, got on the scoreboard for only the seventh time this season? Or maybe we could have talked about the fact that Leicester City are still in a battle to stave off the threat of relegation, despite their recent upturn in form?

Clearly however, Pearson had other ideas of what should have been making the news this morning. In his post-match news conference, he appeared to take issue with a question from journalist Ian Baker of Wardles Press Agency. Having been talking about the amount of criticism he felt his team had been receiving this season, Baker asked him to elaborate on what criticism he was specifically referring to. Having initially asked Baker if he had been on holiday for six months, he then proceeded to say; ‘If you don’t know the answer to that question, then I think you are an ostrich. Your head must be in the sand. Is your head in the sand? Are you flexible enough to get your head in the sand? My suspicion would be ‘no’.

Not surprisingly, Baker was somewhat nonplussed by this turn of phrase, and struggled to get his words out when Pearson asked him to ask a different question or ask the question differently, after which, Pearson left the conference.

Suffice to say the Twitter-sphere has had its say on the matter. Here are just a few of those tweets:

Nah Nigel, YOU are an Ostrich. #LCFC #ostrich pic.twitter.com/V5HAn2KKak

— Randall Bell (@randallbell) April 30, 2015

quality #NigelPearson #ostrich watch it here http://t.co/4fQSSP6gSS pic.twitter.com/x4EVFLJCDZ

— Leicester City FC (@100Lcfc) April 30, 2015

Don’t worry @ianbakersport these guys have your back… #Ostrich pic.twitter.com/NLQLTIyioW

— James Masters (@Masters_JamesD) April 30, 2015

Nigel’s arrived at training @OfficialFOXES #NigelPearson #Ostrich pic.twitter.com/ZJYE8hJcoj

— Bruce_Gooner (@Bruce_Gooner) April 30, 2015

This is not the first time Pearson has been in the news this season for reasons that have little to do with football. In December he told a fan to ‘f**k off and die’ after a defeat against Liverpool, and in February he appeared to grab the throat of Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur.

Back on the subject of Ostriches, it may or may not also interest Pearson to know that, contrary to popular belief, Ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand, and certainly not when they are faced with danger. The reasons for this are endless, but let’s put it this way: Ostriches are very tall, have sharp claws, a sharp beak, and can run much faster than humans ever could. If you did disturb an Ostrich and you are lucky, it will run away from you. If you are unlucky, it will run at you, and with those sharp claws and beak, you the puny human will come off worse. Ostriches have not survived on this earth for millions of years by using the worst possible form of defence when under attack.

Maybe Pearson won’t be bothered by such technicalities. But he would do well to realise that his already frosty relationship with the media probably won’t be greatly helped by calling some journalists ‘Ostriches’, or for that matter any other animal.