It's not Sherwood!

[Monty]

Villas-Boas went a season unbeaten at Porto. Now, you expect to finish top 3 if you're Porto manager, but unbeaten? That's a bit mad. It turns out he has massive, massive flaws, but to say he's as, or more, overrated than Sherwood is quite a stretch.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

For the second time in a week I've enjoyed his post match interviews, he's looked and sounded emotionally knackered but more importantly, very, very focused. Maybe he wants to be respected as a manager and put to bed the 'chancer' tag that has followed him around. I'd imagine he fully realises he won't get a bigger job and he's lucky to be here so he's giving it everything he's got. It's certainly the impression I get from him. Even bringing on a 16 year old yesterday looked like self fellatiating from Sherwood, he hardly raised an eyebrow when questioned about it on MOTD.

I'm really delighted he's getting so much of of this squad, as there was always the risk of somebody new coming in and thinking we need a complete rebuild. I've defended Lambert's squad over the years, even the young and hungry lot, they've all been far better than they were allowed to be. The amount of stick some of our players have taken has been unfair due to the negativity of Lambert's tactics. He really didn't know how to get them playing but thankfully we're starting to see the talent they actually have. It would have been such an expensive waste to have thrown them all away, a cost we probably couldn't have afforded.

Sherwood, like Lambert has benefited so much simply by not being the previous manager. He's also benefited from the run of games we've had. What better way to give the club a whole lift than two home local derbies and a trip to a very poor Sunderland. It's been ideal, just what we and the players needed, the place is buzzing and we even have a trip to Wembley, something I'd almost forgotten about such is the focus on avoiding relegation.

I like the fact he's focusing one game at a time, there are far tougher tests ahead than the Baggies and Sunderland, starting next week against Swansea. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to playing a team more technically advanced. I'm not expecting him to be a tactical genius, far from it but I am hoping he's not so egotistical to not listen to those around him with far more knowledge and experience. If he's smart he'll take full advantage of the great opportunity he's landed, he won't get a better chance to launch his managerial career and build something we're all craving for.

[Mister E]

... but to say he's as, or more, overrated than Sherwood is quite a stretch.

I don't think that is what was said, Monty. There was no comparison with TS.

[Toronto Villa]

Maybe he wants to be respected as a manager and put to bed the 'chancer' tag that has followed him around. I'd imagine he fully realises he won't get a bigger job and he's lucky to be here so he's giving it everything he's got.

I agree with every word of that. I think he feels he did well at Spurs but disrespected in how it was perceived and ultimately it all ended. I think he really feels privileged to be with us, and is very focused on his immediate goals. He's going to be who he is, but who he is in part has helped turn us around. We needed his confidence and energy in the worst possible way and the players are feeding off it. Once we secure our PL place, and things die down, the real test of his managerial ability will begin with the transfer window and creating something successful and sustainable from next season onwards.

[supertom]

Considering Spurs kept loaning Kane out time after time, I would be surprised if he didn't credit Sherwood for giving him a chance.

Absolutely. When you've got a 28 million pound striker in your squad it takes guts to throw in a kid. He gave Kane his first run of starts. That's paid off dividends for Spurs.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Maybe he wants to be respected as a manager and put to bed the 'chancer' tag that has followed him around. I'd imagine he fully realises he won't get a bigger job and he's lucky to be here so he's giving it everything he's got.

I agree with every word of that. I think he feels he did well at Spurs but disrespected in how it was perceived and ultimately it all ended. I think he really feels privileged to be with us, and is very focused on his immediate goals. He's going to be who he is, but who he is in part has helped turn us around. We needed his confidence and energy in the worst possible way and the players are feeding off it. Once we secure our PL place, and things die down, the real test of his managerial ability will begin with the transfer window and creating something successful and sustainable from next season onwards.

Well let's hope for all concerned he can keep us up. Fail to and he won't get another chance managing in the Premier League unless he brings a team up.

[Villa in Denmark]

The ultimate irony in all of this is that it took Lambert's replacement to get us playing how we all thought that Lambet would 3 years ago.

I wasn't too impressed with his appointment, but it looks like he's giving us a decent chance of surviving, which a month ago looked less likely than Tony Blair and George Bush sharing an Amnesty International man of the millennium award.

It looks as though there's a bit more to him than the jumping up and down puppy like persona, with some of the mid-game adjustments and subbing out Clark with the game won. Even if that's down to the other coaches, then fair play for listening. Either he's a bit smarter than he's usually given credit for, or he's got a smaller ego than he's often accused of having. (Actually if he's listening to his coaches both apply.)

Plenty of time for it all to go tits up, but for now winning games and scoring goal at a rate of more than 1 every other month is to be enjoyed.

[LeeB]

There are many people, Spurs fans and journalists, who will dispute and chasten that record with young players. He now claims credit for bringing through Kane, even though Kane has explicitly credited Pocchettino's fitness regime. He brought Bentaleb into the team, but he played really quite badly a lot of the time once there (perhaps because of the exposed midfield 2 he was always playing in). As for Mason, he's definitely not a Sherwood 'pick', so to speak. Sherwood also wasn't a Guardiola-style youth coach for them, with daily interaction and all that - he was a director of youth development, whose main job was to sign youth players.

It tells you something about his lack of experience that, at 47 years old, the only two relevant jobs on his CV are youth director at Spurs and a very brief managerial stint at Spurs. Doesn't mean he can't be a success, but those of us concerned about his lack of experience are proved right by the conversation that's actually taking place. If he does well, then terrific, what an appointment. I certainly think he can keep us up, and frankly that's all I care about at the moment.

Not really disagreeing with you here, but if you could give examples of two other groups of people whose opinions I gave less of a fuck about then I'll happily take you out for a slap-up meal.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Did Tim buy anyone at Spurs ? I haven't got a clue. I think he will sign Adebayor, Sinclair and then a midfielder.

[dekko]

Did Tim buy anyone at Spurs ? I haven't got a clue. I think he will sign Adebayor, Sinclair and then a midfielder.

No he didn't.

I really hope he doesn't go for Adebayor.  Another striker will probably be needed but I'm not sure a highly paid, inconsistent and dubiously motivated 31 year old is exactly what we want.

[peter w]

I think it was massively unfair Monty if you genuinely considered Sherwood's qualities as zero. If he came with no badges and straight from being a player I might agree with you but he didn't. And how in earth would he have kept us up with zero ability? You can't just bullshit your way through PL games.

He is a qualified coach and did his job quite well as manager, albeit briefly. In fact given what he has done in a short time and very professionally I might add, he puts the like of a number of so called "experienced" or better established managers to shame.

He'd had next to no games. You absolutely can bullshit your way through that number of games, especially with those sorts of players, and what's more his tactical record was ominously bad. He started similarly here, with a rigid 4-4-2 with wide open spaces and lumping to the big guy. He's since done what I didn't think he would do: changed it, and changed it to something interesting. We had more men in midfield, and that combined with his obviously actual quality (enthusiasm) to produce something like real football. Long may it continue - it just doesn't feel sustainable to me somehow.

Not sustainable in as much that you can't play or manage at 100 mph. Its how he responds when things go wrong and when the pressures on that will be telling. However, just because he hasn't been through it doesn't mean he can't manage his way through any difficult phase. I think its patronising and naive, though, to believe any Prem manager, or any manager in the professional ranks, just does it through being enthusiastic rather than having the rounded abilities of being at a top flight club, dealing with the media and pressures surrounding that, getting your tactics to suit your players before you can go out and get your own players. To pick the right backroom staff and to manage that into a unit that strikes through the whole club. To get the training right, and to effectively manage your set of players and get them playing to the best of their abilities and to suit your tactics to the game. Its not easy and anyone who thinks that can be bluffed is wide of the mark.

[john e]

Monty is a professor of football, he like his managers in the mould of Wenger, Pellegrini and Martinez
If I'm honest so do I, that's why I agree with a lot of what he says about the way he likes the game to be played

The difference is that I don't believe that football is an exact science, it's not all down to Balance, formations and tactics, there is a massive part which is luck, confidence, ability, work ethic and team unity,
I'm not sure how Sherwood will rate on any of the above long term but so far he's doing some good stuff,
Brian Clough was not a master tactician, yet he was the greatest manager of all times for me, he used Taylor for the stuff he couldn't do,
I'm not saying Sherwood is or will ever be in the same league, but I'm just using him as the prime example of a man who had his players playing right at the very top of there ability threashold and filled them with confidence, his tactics were look after the ball, treat it like a woman etc
But it was more than that, same with shankly, I know I'm using to very old school managers here, and times have changed,

All I'm saying is emotion, attitude, desire are just as maybe more important than 442 or 433 the mindset in which your team take to the field is key to what happens on it

Sherwood has done this, in spades so far, I can't honestly remember the last time I saw a Villa side play like that on Saturday against Sunderland, it was like they had all be possessed with new footballing bodies, that's down to Sherwood

So I do agree with Toronto, the difference in the team and the way we are playing is a massive massive improvement, tactics tim he may not be, but it's not everything in management, there's plenty of master tacticians who can't inspire, and they don't work, you have to have a bit of both

[avfcdale]

Monty is a professor of football, he like his managers in the mould of Wenger, Pellegrini and Martinez
If I'm honest so do I, that's why I agree with a lot of what he says about the way he likes the game to be played

The difference is that I don't believe that football is an exact science, it's not all down to Balance, formations and tactics, there is a massive part which is luck, confidence, ability, work ethic and team unity,
I'm not sure how Sherwood will rate on any of the above long term but so far he's doing some good stuff,
Brian Clough was not a master tactician, yet he was the greatest manager of all times for me, he used Taylor for the stuff he couldn't do,
I'm not saying Sherwood is or will ever be in the same league, but I'm just using him as the prime example of a man who had his players playing right at the very top of there ability threashold and filled them with confidence, his tactics were look after the ball, treat it like a woman etc
But it was more than that, same with shankly, I know I'm using to very old school managers here, and times have changed,

All I'm saying is emotion, attitude, desire are just as maybe more important than 442 or 433 the mindset in which your team take to the field is key to what happens on it

Sherwood has done this, in spades so far, I can't honestly remember the last time I saw a Villa side play like that on Saturday against Sunderland, it was like they had all be possessed with new footballing bodies, that's down to Sherwood

So I do agree with Toronto, the difference in the team and the way we are playing is a massive massive improvement, tactics tim he may not be, but it's not everything in management, there's plenty of master tacticians who can't inspire, and they don't work, you have to have a bit of both

Totally agree with this, I also feel when a player moves into coaching and management he takes some DNA if you like from managers he has played for, so if you look at Tim Sherwood
 he played under
Graham Taylor
Dave Bassett
Dave Stringer
Kenny dalglish
Ray Harford
Roy Hodgson
Brian Kidd
George Graham
David Pleat
Glenn Hoddle
Harry Redknapp
Peter Reid
Kevin Keegan

Most of those managers i would associate with work ethic and commitment but there are also some strategists in there too, i would also mark down 75% of them as attacking style, so hopefully this is the way we as a club will continue forward

[PeterWithesShin]

OS

Tim Sherwood revealed that his players are already relishing getting back into action at a vibrant Villa Park this upcoming weekend.

Sherwood was thrilled with the comprehensive win over Sunderland - but warned that he won't let the lads "take their foot off the pedal" as they strive to move away from trouble.

He's been thrilled with their work in training - and both their industry and creativity on matchdays.

Now he wants more of the same in front of a bouncing B6 crowd against Swansea.

He said: "The win at Sunderland was a fantastic step towards safety but there's still a lot of work to be done. We realise that.

"We've managed to drag Sunderland into it now and push them underneath us.

"It's all about next week now - Swansea at home - and getting the points there.

"I'm sure our fans will be jubilant and welcoming the players back for a home fixture. The boys are looking forward now to playing at home in front of an expectant crowd.

"We're going the right way. It's all about getting a bit of momentum and I was convinced when we won our first one that confidence would flow through the squad. We want that to continue."

Sherwood believes performing in front of expectant football audiences is essential for players at any big club - and he's backed his claret and blue troops to go marching into Saturday's difficult showdown with the Swans full of confidence.

He continued: "I know myself, playing in front of a big expectant crowd, that it's difficult.

"It takes brave players. I'm not talking about running around kicking people - not that - I'm talking about winning the ball in the correct areas of the field, one v ones and I think we have turned a corner in that regard.

"I want them to play on the front foot and show pace on the counter-attack. We've got a lot of pace here. I want to play with wide guys, I want them to work hard and want our defence to be responsible. We've done all of that.

"We are improving. Hopefully we can get enough points to stay safe and then play with a lot more freedom.

"You're only one result from it falling away again. I remind them of that all the time.

"You're only as good as your last game. We can dwell on this one for a week and then go again against Swansea.

"The lads realise I won't let them take their foot off the pedal, there's still a long way to go. We've got a game we think we can win at home to Swansea. It would mean huge strides towards us being safe."

Sherwood would be happy with safety whichever way it comes although the boss admitted he would love it to sooner rather than later.

He added: "We're confident we can stay up. We just want to do it as soon as possible.

"We don't want to be in those nail biters, especially for the last game of the season when we play Burnley at home.

"We could do with being safe by then to be honest as it isn't great for my heart rate."

[exigo]

I was loving that right until I read the phrase 'go again'.