Leicester's Nigel Pearson and the Most Bizarre Premier League Press Conferences

Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson has become the latest Premier League manager to become embroiled in a bizarre press conference.

The Foxes boss was unhappy at a question after his side's 3-1 defeat to Chelsea at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday, leading to a surreal exchange with a journalist.

But the former Middlesbrough defender is not the first Premier League personality to be involved in a strange media briefing.

Let's take a look at some of the names Pearson has joined.

Kevin Keegan, 1996

Arguably the daddy of all Premier League meltdowns occurred in 1996 as Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan lost his cool in a post-match interview with Sky Sports.

Manchester United had whittled down the Magpies' 12-point lead in the title race, at which point pre-knighthood United manager Alex Ferguson suggested teams were trying harder against the Red Devils in the run-in to the end of the campaign, reported by BBC Sport.

Keegan was not impressed by that comment, and he used a live interview following a 1-0 win over Leeds United at Elland Road to deliver his impassioned "I'd love it" speech.

United went on to win the title in the final game of the season at Middlesbrough, while Keegan quit Newcastle midway through the following campaign.

Rafael Benitez, 2009

The Manchester United manager was again a central figure as Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez produced a sheet of paper during a press conference in January 2009.

The Spaniard had been annoyed at Ferguson questioning the Anfield team's nerve and used a pre-match media briefing to outline his "facts" about the United manager, reported by BBC Sport.

Benitez began by saying: "I want to talk about facts. I want to be clear, I do not want to play mind games too early, although they seem to want to start."

United went on to win the Premier League title with a four-point advantage over Liverpool in second.

Joe Kinnear, 2008

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Former Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear was involved in a bizarre, foul-mouthed rant at written-press journalists in October 2008.

The former Wimbledon boss swore throughout his pre-match press conference for a run-of-the-mill Premier League game against Everton.

Kinnear began by singling out two journalists for his venom, and things quickly deteriorated from there, relayed by the Guardian (features expletives).

John Drayton of the Daily Mail published a full transcript of the interview in 2013, when Kinnear returned to Newcastle as director of football. The journalist's asterisk key has never been employed so much.

Louis van Gaal, 2015

We can probably forgive Louis van Gaal for this one, as it is his first season in the Premier League, but the Manchester United manager was clearly unimpressed with criticism from Sam Allardyce in February 2015.

The West Ham United boss had questioned the Red Devils' style following a draw between the two clubs at Upton Park.

But this clearly did not go down well with the former Netherlands head coach, who used a pre-match briefing to outline why United were not a long-ball team, reported by Sky Sports.

Van Gaal produced a dossier outlining why his tactics had not been of a direct style and asked a reporter in attendance to pass on his pamphlet to Allardyce.

Eric Cantona, 1995

It is not just Premier League managers who can produce strange moments in press conferences, as Eric Cantona proved in March 1995.

The Manchester United star had seen his appeal against a two-week jail sentence upheld after an altercation with a Crystal Palace supporter at Selhurst Park earlier in the season.

Instead, the former France international was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, prompting one of the most famous quotes in Premier League history, as noted by Simon Midgley of The Independent.

Between mouthfuls of water from a glass at his table, Cantona said: "When seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea."

To this day, nobody is quite sure what Cantona meant.

Nigel Pearson, 2015

On Wednesday, Leicester manager Nigel Pearson became the latest Premier League personality to feature in a strange press conference.

The Foxes boss had seen champions elect Chelsea end his team's run of four successive wins with a 3-1 victory at the King Power Stadium.

There was no shame in defeat to Jose Mourinho's team, but Pearson was unhappy with a question from Daily Express reporter Ian Baker, referring to the scribe as "an ostrich."

The Guardian reported Pearson's words:

"

I think you must have either your head in the clouds, or been away on holiday, or reporting on a different team, because if you don’t know the answer to that question. ... Your question is absolutely unbelievable, the fact you do not understand where I am coming from.

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.

"

Earlier this season, the Daily Mail reported that Pearson had taken exception to something a journalist had said and claimed he was muttering profanities about the writer under his breath.