A former Leicester City star has revealed how he was on the receiving end of a prank from Nigel Pearson when he was at the club.
Pearson is an immensely popular figure for his work at the King Power Stadium over his two separate spells with the Foxes.
In the first, he won the League One title and took Leicester to the play-offs before departing for Hull City. On his return, the Foxes won the Championship before winning seven of their last nine games to secure survival in their first top flight season for 10 years.
The Leicester legend was then sacked weeks before the start of the Premier League title-winning season but is often credited for laying the foundations.
Leicester’s 2013/14 Championship campaign saw them brush aside everyone, winning 31 games and amassing 102 points – four shy of Reading’s record tally of 106.
They secured the title at Bolton Wanderers in April 2014 and for one player, he was worried he was going to miss out on the occasion after a prank from Pearson.
Gary Taylor-Fletcher reveals how he was pranked by former Leicester boss Nigel Pearson
After a short period on trial at Leicester, Gary Taylor-Fletcher was brought into the squad to help cope with injuries to Jamie Vardy and David Nugent.
Following a back and forth between Taylor-Fletcher and Pearson on his earnings they agreed to a wage and appearance fee with a clause in his contract that would trigger an automatic one-year extension if he played 21 games.
By the time Bolton came around, the former Blackpool man was sitting on 20 games for the Foxes.
On the night before the game, Taylor-Fletcher was called in by Pearson to speak to him, which is where the prank began.
Recalling the story on the podcast ‘I had trials once’, he said: “He called me in before the game and said ‘Listen, I’ve been told I can’t play you.’
“I was like ‘f— off, what?'”
Pearson then replied: “I’m not allowed to give you that option, I can’t play you. I was like ‘oh for f— sake.'”
Then, after a pause, the Foxes boss said: “I’m only joking, you’re starting tomorrow.”
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Gary Taylor-Fletcher soon moved on from Leicester
Despite signing a new deal, the Championship season was as good as it got for Taylor-Fletcher in the East Midlands.
Following promotion to the Premier League and a raft of new signings the forward was omitted from Leicester’s 25-man Premier League squad.
As a result he joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan for a month before reuniting with former Blackpool manager Ian Holloway at Millwall for the second half of the 2014/15 season.
Short spells at Tranmere Rovers and in Wales with Bangor City, where he became player-manager followed.
He retired from football in 2019 and has been manager of AFC Crewe since 2023.