Poll - Sherwood - got rid

[Chris Smith]

I don't think he should be axed yet and I don't think he will be. You don't back a manager in the summer window- a manager who came in at short notice last season, kept us up and got us to our first fa cup final in 15 years, let's not forget- and then sack him in October. That's just ridiculous. I'm sorry, I know everybody is entitled to their opinion, but sacking the manager, any manager, in October is pure crazy.

Most people on here said at the start of the season, we've got a new squad, new back room staff, we'll have a slow start, but they need time. And most people did say that. How much time he gets is a matter of conjecture, I'd say if we're adrift in January then maybe, probably yes. But give the guy a chance. October?

Probably one of the most sensible thing i've read on here since Saturday night.

Agreed. There appeared to be a consensus at the start of the season that we would need to be patient while the new players got up to speed with this league and learned how to play alongside each other. It still stands and I think the nature of our performances have reflected that and it will be a few months yet until we are in a position to make an informed judgement.

[Risso]

We could well be totally adrift a long time before January.

[Toronto Villa]

I don't think he should be axed yet and I don't think he will be. You don't back a manager in the summer window- a manager who came in at short notice last season, kept us up and got us to our first fa cup final in 15 years, let's not forget- and then sack him in October. That's just ridiculous. I'm sorry, I know everybody is entitled to their opinion, but sacking the manager, any manager, in October is pure crazy.

Most people on here said at the start of the season, we've got a new squad, new back room staff, we'll have a slow start, but they need time. And most people did say that. How much time he gets is a matter of conjecture, I'd say if we're adrift in January then maybe, probably yes. But give the guy a chance. October?

Probably one of the most sensible thing i've read on here since Saturday night.

Agreed. There appeared to be a consensus at the start of the season that we would need to be patient while the new players got up to speed with this league and learned how to play alongside each other. It still stands and I think the nature of our performances have reflected that and it will be a few months yet until we are in a position to make an informed judgement.

I actually think it would really help matters for fans to hear Sherwood say "It's been a learning process for all us. There are things we could all have done better and I include myself in that". Instead he has subtly pointed fingers at player errors and then patronized the fans by telling us to wait until next year, basically writing the season off. I don't think anyone had lofty expectations, but don't insult our intelligence. Villa fans have been incredibly patient and realistic and we want a manager that sticks by what he promised and not change his tune as soon as the going got rough.

[Chris Smith]

I don't think he should be axed yet and I don't think he will be. You don't back a manager in the summer window- a manager who came in at short notice last season, kept us up and got us to our first fa cup final in 15 years, let's not forget- and then sack him in October. That's just ridiculous. I'm sorry, I know everybody is entitled to their opinion, but sacking the manager, any manager, in October is pure crazy.

Most people on here said at the start of the season, we've got a new squad, new back room staff, we'll have a slow start, but they need time. And most people did say that. How much time he gets is a matter of conjecture, I'd say if we're adrift in January then maybe, probably yes. But give the guy a chance. October?

Probably one of the most sensible thing i've read on here since Saturday night.

Agreed. There appeared to be a consensus at the start of the season that we would need to be patient while the new players got up to speed with this league and learned how to play alongside each other. It still stands and I think the nature of our performances have reflected that and it will be a few months yet until we are in a position to make an informed judgement.

I actually think it would really help matters for fans to hear Sherwood say "It's been a learning process for all us. There are things we could all have done better and I include myself in that". Instead he has subtly pointed fingers at player errors and then patronized the fans by telling us to wait until next year, basically writing the season off. I don't think anyone had lofty expectations, but don't insult our intelligence. Villa fans have been incredibly patient and realistic and we want a manager that sticks by what he promised and not change his tune as soon as the going got rough.

That only matters if you care about that stuff. I am not really interested in sound bites and contractual obligation interviews and press conferences so don't pay much attention to it.

As I said, I thought at the start of season it would take time before we were in a position to make an 'informed' judgement on the new signings and consequently the manager. It seems unreasonable to deem that time to be up before the end of September.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

My real concern with Sherwood is he's inherited and put together on paper a very decent squad, the problem being he really doesn't know what to do with them. I understand that, he's got so many different options but no real solution for a good one but that was something he should have thought about back in the summer.

Look at our attacking players, we go direct with Gestede but is that the right way to go with those around him? What's the point of Grealish and Gil with that tactic? Pushing Sinclair out wide is a waste of a shirt as it's not playing to his strengths either. The last three games he's hardly been involved and the fault was not his.

Ayew is no winger, doesn't want to be, made it very known before he joined us but he gets pushed out wide too. Obviously he's not going to lead the line alone but may be he could be tried as a second centre forward but then that would mean dropping seven from Sinclair, Kozak, Gabby, Gil, Grealish, Adama, Westwood, Bacuna and Veretout (assuming Sanchez and Gueye are our two central midfielders). Of all those players Sherwood only signed two but rather have a plan in mind he seems to have gone with the Spurs approach of having hundreds of midfielders in his squad and no real plan.

I'm guessing he'll now persist with Gestede up front as he's scoring the goals, just as he did with Sinclair. Whilst it's great to have a striker playing with confidence, behind him is a big confusion that desperately needs somebody with a bit of footballing knowledge to sort out. Is Sherwood that man? I very much doubt it but by the end of next month we'll have a very good idea.

[themossman]

The thing about this league is the relegation places seem to be decided by runs of form from otherwise crap teams, rather than consistently amassing 40 points over the season, especially over the last few years. Whether we get rid of TS or not I do feel we are the kind of team who, if we get a couple of good results and a bit of luck and confidence starts to come back, could hit a vein of form.

[placeforparks]

i just don't like the bloke, he reminds me of a cowboy builder.

[Tom_Mc9?]

We could well be totally adrift a long time before January.

Whilst I know we are pretty shit, this rarely happens. Possibly Derby are the only exception.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

i just don't like the bloke, he reminds me of a cowboy builder.

I didn't like MON and his crap football but he got us three times up to 6th place.

Today we're paying the price of not sacking Lambert in May 2014. Summer is always the best time to find a new manager, leave it to midseason and you may have problems, certainly fewer options. It looks right now it's a mistake we're going to repeat in the very near future.

[Villa in Denmark]

My real concern with Sherwood is he's inherited and put together on paper a very decent squad, the problem being he really doesn't know what to do with them. I understand that, he's got so many different options but no real solution for a good one but that was something he should have thought about back in the summer.

Look at our attacking players, we go direct with Gestede but is that the right way to go with those around him? What's the point of Grealish and Gil with that tactic? Pushing Sinclair out wide is a waste of a shirt as it's not playing to his strengths either. The last three games he's hardly been involved and the fault was not his.

Ayew is no winger, doesn't want to be, made it very known before he joined us but he gets pushed out wide too. Obviously he's not going to lead the line alone but may be he could be tried as a second centre forward but then that would mean dropping seven from Sinclair, Kozak, Gabby, Gil, Grealish, Adama, Westwood, Bacuna and Veretout (assuming Sanchez and Gueye are our two central midfielders). Of all those players Sherwood only signed two but rather have a plan in mind he seems to have gone with the Spurs approach of having hundreds of midfielders in his squad and no real plan.

I'm guessing he'll now persist with Gestede up front as he's scoring the goals, just as he did with Sinclair. Whilst it's great to have a striker playing with confidence, behind him is a big confusion that desperately needs somebody with a bit of footballing knowledge to sort out. Is Sherwood that man? I very much doubt it but by the end of next month we'll have a very good idea.

The fatuous response to that is he's just sticking with what he knows. Unfortunately I fear it's closer to the truth than we might care to think.

The last paragraph also implies he doesn't know how to decide how to set up there either.

With the diversity of styles of the various forwards we've got on our books you'd think it was designed for a "horses for courses" kind of approach. Instead it looks like the shirt's yours until I run out of ways to squeeze another player up top.

If he wanted to play park the bus on Saturday then Gestede isolated up top on his own was a sure fire way of cocking it up. Sinclair was pretty much a waste of a shirt playing wide right of a front 3ish.


Grealish isolated out wide on the left? He hasn't got the pace to play out there alone where quite often his only way out is going to be a 20 yard foot race. He can do it to great effect when he's got players around him to give the opposition someone else to worry about, but at times he was 1 v 3 and the only place to go was down the line.

The Martin Laursen post match analysis ripped him to shreds. It was basically a here's how not to do it.

I'd love him to prove me and the other doubters wrong, especially those outside the club waiting to give it the laughing "told you so". Unfortunately I don't see it happening. Looking back a good chunk of the results last season were simply a result of us playing 15 yards further up the pitch and playing with a modicum of self belief and a healthy dose of " the shackles are off" type enthusiasm. Basically he did what 99% of people on here would have done.

Since we reached that point where it looked like we were safe it's been like watching a balloon deflate in terms of how far his up and at 'em approach has got us. I'm not sure that he's got much else to offer.

[ChicagoLion]

Every week Bizarre decisions and followed by defeat.
So playing counter attacking football with no pace up front is a recipe for disaster , every one knows that.
The team smacked of "I don't know what I am doing".

The only reason for keeping him  is that he is still learning, or my reason is that we could get Allardyce.

Maybe we need to get relegated.

[oldhill_avfc]

The pertinent thing for me here is that it's now Page 28 and I still haven't seen one single viable alternative suggested. And I don't mean hypothetically, I mean realistically. I mean a Manager who is going to come in and justify the cost of sacking Sherwood and his backroom team and as-close-as-possible guarantee an immediate improvement. One who, if you were Tom Fox, you'd genuinely and honestly flip the coin for.

Allardyce.

(I voted stick with Sherwood for now - but I'd go for Allardyce at the drop of hat.  He knows how to stay in the division, West Ham played decent football).

Fucking hell.

Care to explain?

[Clampy]

The pertinent thing for me here is that it's now Page 28 and I still haven't seen one single viable alternative suggested. And I don't mean hypothetically, I mean realistically. I mean a Manager who is going to come in and justify the cost of sacking Sherwood and his backroom team and as-close-as-possible guarantee an immediate improvement. One who, if you were Tom Fox, you'd genuinely and honestly flip the coin for.

Allardyce.

(I voted stick with Sherwood for now - but I'd go for Allardyce at the drop of hat.  He knows how to stay in the division, West Ham played decent football).

Fucking hell.

Care to explain?

I agree. If Sam Alladyrce did that good a job at West Ham, he'd still be there.

[in exile]

...Maybe we need to get relegated.

Maybe you do but I certainly don't

[Clampy]

Maybe we need to get relegated.

No, we don't. What a ridiculous thing to say.