Hands up - Pulis...

[Nastylee]

I never got the clamour to get rid of PL for shite football and replace him with a manager renowned for shite football. Sherwood's record may not be superb yet but he had to change a culture of negativity, which was never going to happen immediately. We are now seeing the green shoots of recovery and providing we survive (which I think we will) then next season looks a lot more promising.

[supertom]

We have 12 points from 10 games since Sherwood took charge, which isn't amazing by any stretch of the imagination. Think the 3 wins in the cup have glossed up the indifferent league form since he took over - we are after all still only 2 points above the relegation zone.

I'm not saying he's been a bad appointment, but I'd rather wait until we are mathematically safe before getting excited for the future which I have no doubt would be better than if Pulis was here - as long as we are in the premier league next year.

Think it's 13 points but I know what you mean. It's not just the points though, the performances are getting better week by week. Players who we thought weren't good enough have played so much better, N'Zogbia, Gabby, Bacuna and Cleverley for example.

In fairness to him too we've yet to be well beaten. Stoke, Newcastle and Swansea were poor games but we were unlucky not to take a point.
Though Utd probably had the easiest game of anyone against Sherwoods Villa, we still pushed them close when we got back into the game.

I think the progression in the side, particularly since the Spurs game has been impressive. You can see things starting to click. Other players are now hitting the strides that Benteke has under Sherwood and Grealish in particular has looked like he could be the missing piece creatively. We were incredibly unlucky against City (on the balance of play, but such avoidable mistakes will always cost you against the good sides).

Regarding the defence I feel sympathy for Tim. It's been a patchwork job and by no means do I think our backline will look that similar next season. Clark has been a miss and we're in dire need of a left back.
I think we'll win 2 of the last 3 games. Which will be more than enough.

[Toronto Villa]

The one thing that I think is reasonably assured is irrespective of how it all ends, if Sherwood is Villa manager he will want to play this way. I know we all kind of thought that about Lambert but he doesn't have Sherwood approach, character and ego. I don't think Sherwood would allow much to change his beliefs other than getting in better players to defend and protect leads. He'll still want to play to win and attack as his core values.

[Archie]

13 points from 10 games mean 50 points atbthe end of the League.
It would mean midtable.
With Lambert (apart from the fact that we didn't play football)  we struggled to arrive at 38, and we were involved in the relegation battle until the last minute of the last game.
Doesn't it make an enormous  difference for you?

[The Left Side]

I wanted anyone but TSM2

[Grande Pablo]

Didn't know who I wanted, but I knew for sure we'd be doomed with Pulis or Allardyce. 

[Risso]

Nothing to confess here really, he would have done a better job than Lambert.

That's an argument I don't get at all.

We spend months, or years, telling each other that Lambert is fucking awful - and he was - and then want to appoint someone on the basis of them being better than Lambert?

Surely if Lambert is so woeful, then "better than him" is the faintest praise of all?

I didn't want Sherwood, I am happy to admit, and I am still not convinced it's going to be a sensible appointment in the long term, but let's wait and see on that one.

However, having watched years of turgid anti-football, why anyone would want to appoint a manager with a record going back several years for running teams which were amongst the most horrible to watch offenders on that front is beyond me.

I honestly can't think of a currently working manager I'd want at our club less than Pulis. Allardyce possibly, but that's about it.

Well, the argument isn't that he's just better than Lambert, it's that he'd have kept us up as well.  He wouldn't have been my long term choice at all but back then things were looking desperate.  Lambert's brand of football was worse than Pulis and Allardyce put together, it was simply unwatchable.

[ktvillan]

I just wanted Lambert out and decent manager in, and some decent football to watch.  We've certainly got the latter, whether we also have the former remains to be proven.   While Pulis would have kept us up the football would have been eye-bleedingly bad to watch.  I did have fleeting moments where I might have considered him, or almost anyone else over Lambert - jeez even TSM would have been a step up towards the end.  But ultimately I wanted someone with a reputation for playing some good football. 

[Colhint]

 I think Pullis should just become a management consultant. No one wants him long term, but loads of teams would have him for the last 3 months of the season. So temp contract for 3 months, 2 million quid then leave. Another club would take him up the following year

[LTA]

Yes I admit I was advocating Pulis, though the stylish play under Sherwood is something Pulis wouldn't have mustered.  I'd take his and Albion current points tally though.

[amfy]

We have 12 points from 10 games since Sherwood took charge, which isn't amazing by any stretch of the imagination. Think the 3 wins in the cup have glossed up the indifferent league form since he took over - we are after all still only 2 points above the relegation zone.

I'm not saying he's been a bad appointment, but I'd rather wait until we are mathematically safe before getting excited for the future which I have no doubt would be better than if Pulis was here - as long as we are in the premier league next year.

...and we are still the same number of points behind Albion, so Pulis isn't doing better, and in head to heads is worse.

[steffo]

I was up the North Stand yesterday and my son (17) asked me about the Saunders banner on the Hole End 'Would you bet against us' I explained the story to which he replied. Saunders must of had belief in his system and players as does Sherwood.

[Risso]

We have 12 points from 10 games since Sherwood took charge, which isn't amazing by any stretch of the imagination. Think the 3 wins in the cup have glossed up the indifferent league form since he took over - we are after all still only 2 points above the relegation zone.

I'm not saying he's been a bad appointment, but I'd rather wait until we are mathematically safe before getting excited for the future which I have no doubt would be better than if Pulis was here - as long as we are in the premier league next year.

He took a few games to sort out the mess that Lambert had left, but it was never going to be an overnight job.  I can't see how realistically he could have done much more.

[PeterWithesShin]

It's not just results though, it's the complete change in the players. Just about every player looked devoid of belief, confidence, fight, everything, by the time Hull beat us. They looked like they were just waiting to lose each game. Everyone wanted to play us the last couple of months Lambert was here. It's not surprising the first couple of league games were lost, you can't just click your fingers and change that in a few days.

Look at us now, playing with a swagger, confidence, actually fighting like lions, ready to take on anyone. I doubt anyone looks forward to playing us these days.

[cdbearsfan]

I never wanted Pulis. I always thought that we could get rid of our manager and get somebody who was actually good, as opposed to someone who just met the ludicrously low criteria of being "better than Lambert".

That said, I wasn't impressed by the Sherwood appointment and am delighted to be being proven increasingly wrong on that front with every passing week.