It's not Sherwood!

[Dave]

Today's evisceration of the media dimwits:

This – from the Daily Mirror’s Chief Sports Writer Dave Kidd – starts bizarrely and really doesn’t get any better.

‘Whether or not you believe Tim Sherwood was ever the right man to manage Aston Villa, one thing is undeniable.

‘That Tim Sherwood would have been a better Aston Villa manager had he been allowed to be Tim Sherwood.

‘Sherwood is a brash, chippy wisecracker, with a well-polished ego and a touch of the old-school little Englander about him.’

Okaaaaay. So who was that brash, chippy wisecracker, with a well-polished ego and a touch of the old-school little Englander making a cock of things at Aston Villa if it wasn’t Tim Sherwood?

Kidd then goes on to do exactly what every other man defending Sherwood has been doing all season – ignore half the signings made by Villa that clearly have the mark of Sherwood.

Apparently Villa signed ‘a clutch of untried players’ while Sherwood ‘wanted Premier League experience’, which does not really tally with a list of signings that includes Joleon Lescott, Micah Richards and Scott Sinclair. The defence for Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Swansea consisted of Alan Hutton, Richards, Lescott and Kieran Richardson. There are over 700 Premier League appearances in that quartet of has-beens and almost-weres.

And talking of has-beens and almost-weres…

‘Sherwood had wanted proven Premier League experience, with his former Spurs players Emmanuel Adebayor, Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend at the top of his wishlist. Unimaginative? Yes. But better than he got and for a similar price? Almost certainly.’

Yes, let’s ignore the small matter of Adebayor (who actually turned down Villa, remember) being a 31-year-old who earns £170,000 a week. So when you are calling for Villa to show more ‘ambition’, are you actually asking them to throw massive amounts of money at a short-term solution? Ask yourselves if well-run clubs like Swansea and Southampton – who have both had a lower net spend than Villa in the last five years – would make that signing. ‘F*** no’ is the answer.

‘Jordan Veretout has bombed and while left-back Jordan Amavi has looked decent going forward, he is essentially a defender who is not very good at defending,’ continues Kidd, which is an odd choice of words for a left-back who makes more tackles per game than every Premier League player bar three, and more interceptions than all but N’Golo Kante and Laurent Koscielny.

Kidd laughably continues: ‘They must learn to compete with the top flight’s well-run smaller clubs such as Southampton, Swansea, Stoke, Crystal Palace and even Leicester – all of whom are light years ahead in terms of management structure and recruitment policy.’

And none of which would have signed Adebayor for £170,000 a week. Or given Premier League starts to Hutton or Richardson in 2015.

For the record, Southampton did not sign a single player this summer who had played more than 22 Premier League games; Swansea did not sign one player from the Premier League; Stoke brought in seven players, only one of which (Glen Johnson) had any Premier League experience; Palace’s only signing with Premier League experience was the phenomenal Yohan Cabaye; Leicester signed five players, only one of which (Robert Huth) had any Premier League experience.

It’s almost like Dave Kidd has just made a list of teams further up the table than Aston Villa and said ‘do it like them, bozos’.

And it’s almost like it might be a little bit Tim Sherwood’s fault after all. Or that brash, chippy wisecracker, with a well-polished ego and a touch of the old-school little Englander who has been doing a passable impression over the last eight months.

(misunderstanding of the nature of the Scott Sinclair transfer excepted)

[garyshawsknee]

Just read that online. Amazing the support he is getting in the media.

[cdbearsfan]

Brady (performance analyst?) aswell.

That sounds an easy job.

"Alright lads, I've just watched your latest game back on video. I noticed that you were all really, really shit."

[Diablo]

Didn't Tony Parkes have a family illness or bereavement?

his son passed away

Just read about it. Tragic.

[peter w]

I'm still staggered that anyone who saw the game on Saturday would still need to bring up the behind the scenes disharmony. We were inept. We didn't look like a team with a plan, with a culture, with some know-how. For that reason he had to go. by all means the rubbish management set-up needs further highlighting but the decision to sack Sherwood was absolutely right and I doubt having the most secure ambitious board would have made the remotest of differences. 

[kippaxvilla2]

I'm still staggered that anyone who saw the game on Saturday would still need to bring up the behind the scenes disharmony. We were inept. We didn't look like a team with a plan, with a culture, with some know-how. For that reason he had to go. by all means the rubbish management set-up needs further highlighting but the decision to sack Sherwood was absolutely right and I doubt having the most secure ambitious board would have made the remotest of differences. 

Yes but I have a theory that he didn't give a shit anymore because of his relationship behind the scenes hence our utter ineptitude of the last few games.  I can recall as recently as Manure at home that we actually didn't look that bad as a unit.  Then all of a sudden we start being crap at the back and worse still players like Richardson who would struggle to get in most team's second eleven appears in the first team lineup for the first time in God knows how long.  He was trying to do us in my opinion.

[PaulWinch again]

What I find funny is all these media types saying he wasn't given a chance and it was too soon. There seems to be this logic gap in the football media that if a manager is at a club for a long time they will inevitably have success. It's utter nonsense, consistency is only a virtue if you've got the right person in place. In Sherwood's case it was blatantly obvious that he wasn't the right man, so continuing down that path would have been a terrible decision.

[brian green]

I do suspect that his whole approach in the last few weeks was to make sure when he was sacked that his friends in the media could have enough substance to defend him and attack the club.

[usav]

Just read that online. Amazing the support he is getting in the media.

London/Spurs - enough said.

[ciggiesnbeer]

Almost exactly the same stories ran when Sunderland sacked DiCanio. Sod em, I dont have much regard for our current board at Villa but I sure as hell think they are better at their job than half the media half wits out there telling us Sherwood was unfairly sacked. He wasn't.

[aj2k77]

Since when has Jordan Veretout bombed? Hasn't he played a handful of games and pretty much looked ok, albeit played out of place wider in the earlier games (Shitwoods fault).

[Ron Manager]

When we get a new manager who knows how to organise a team he will be very pleased to include Jordan Veretout in the midfield.

I am sure that he will prove to be the best of several excellent signings..

[in exile]

Since when has Jordan Veretout bombed?

Maybe he was one of the one's Sherwood "didn't sign" so he's left him out

[rob_bridge]

When we get a new manager who knows how to organise a team he will be very pleased to include Jordan Veretout in the midfield.

I am sure that he will prove to be the best of several excellent signings..

He was the only player who looked good enough to get into Sturke's team when we played them recently. Especially as he was having to carry that empty seat Westwood around

[brian green]

I agree with you RM. Veretout's has always looked an excellent investment. I first set eyes on him at the pre season at Forest and I have not seen a Villa midfield player pick out a pass like he did for Sinclair's second goal for a very long time.