The Tim Sherwood Thread

[Marka Ragnos]

Here it comes, at last, voila! ... the classic, freshly minted, bona fide "The Sacking Rumors Are Pure Speculation" Pre-Sacking leaky non-leak:

But Villa club director Krulak has rubbished claims that Sherwood is already fighting for his job, and has intimated he could be a “long-term” appointment at the club.

“We realise there is concern amongst our supporters,” Krulak told The Sun. “I see that on their message boards and I see that on social media as well.

“This is a critical point in a season, we know.

“I speak to Randy just about every day and we are still convinced we have good players and a good team. There has been a bit of bad luck along the way.

“To say Tim Sherwood has to win those games to survive is pure speculation.

“Randy has always wanted continuity and someone there for the long-term.”

 

Edited October 15, 2015 by Plastic Man

[StefanAVFC]

Hahah taking the word of the general as fact.

You must be new here.

[tylerreznik]

excellent write up.

[avfc1982am]

I'm fairly sure that those players whom he 'didn't want' have a pretty nice incentive to bury him over the next two games, so I don't anticipate us doing much.

It's a crazy thing to say. How are players going to be motivated playing for a manager who has told the world he doesn't want them?

Almost as crazy as calling the player losers on the eve of a cup final.

It's no wonder they're not performing really.

 

I have been trying to keep out of this thread but just out of interest where did he say that?

Not saying he didnt but I missed it and can't find anything.

 

The players not being his or the players being losers?

The latter was in the run up to the cup final. Sherwood said something along the lines of we needed a winning mentality and we needed to get the losers out of the squad.

The former is based on the rumours emerging recently that Sherwood is underperforming because he wasn't allowed to bring in his own players this summer (despite previously claiming he had a say on all the transfers)

Stevo, Can I ask you if you think claiming that the squad last season had a losing mentality was the wrong thing to do given it was the truth? personally I think he was right at the time as under Lambert they did have a losing mentality and mentioning it wasn't a revelation to us. Removing certain players I believe was necessary for the greater good of the club in the summer. If anything I am sure certain players would possibly agree with the manager on that count and if anything as a professional player most would want to prove otherwise under new leadership.

Also if as you say the other comments regarding the players not being his choices for transfers this summer are just rumours and there are no direct comments, why would the players not be motivated or bother to perform for that reason? 

It seems to me that Sherwood's issues are with selection, formation and tactics, not necessarily motivation as I think all the players look like they are trying. At the end of the day what he may or may not have said is irrelevant anyway what matters are the results. Yes the results are crap at the moment and I also believe he isn't up to the job based on what I have seen but ranting and slagging over rumours seems a bit unfair on him - bellend or not.   

[Stevo985]

I'm fairly sure that those players whom he 'didn't want' have a pretty nice incentive to bury him over the next two games, so I don't anticipate us doing much.

It's a crazy thing to say. How are players going to be motivated playing for a manager who has told the world he doesn't want them?

Almost as crazy as calling the player losers on the eve of a cup final.

It's no wonder they're not performing really.

 

I have been trying to keep out of this thread but just out of interest where did he say that?

Not saying he didnt but I missed it and can't find anything.

 

The players not being his or the players being losers?

The latter was in the run up to the cup final. Sherwood said something along the lines of we needed a winning mentality and we needed to get the losers out of the squad.

The former is based on the rumours emerging recently that Sherwood is underperforming because he wasn't allowed to bring in his own players this summer (despite previously claiming he had a say on all the transfers)

 

Stevo, Can I ask you if you think claiming that the squad last season had a losing mentality was the wrong thing to do given it was the truth? personally I think he was right at the time as under Lambert they did have a losing mentality and mentioning it wasn't a revelation to us. Removing certain players I believe was necessary for the greater good of the club in the summer. If anything I am sure certain players would possibly agree with the manager on that count and if anything as a professional player most would want to prove otherwise under new leadership.

Also if as you say the other comments regarding the players not being his choices for transfers this summer are just rumours and there are no direct comments, why would the players not be motivated or bother to perform for that reason? 

It seems to me that Sherwood's issues are with selection, formation and tactics, not necessarily motivation as I think all the players look like they are trying. At the end of the day what he may or may not have said is irrelevant anyway what matters are the results. Yes the results are crap at the moment and I also believe he isn't up to the job based on what I have seen but ranting and slagging over rumours seems a bit unfair on him - bellend or not.   

I think he was right to THINK the squad had a losing mentality. But he shouldn't have said it in the press. I think he was completely stupid to call the squad losers in the press on the eve of the cup final. Given the pathetic performance they turned in I wouldn't be surprised if they felt the same way. Thinking it might provoke a reaction is naive and risky at best. Why would players agree with the manager calling them losers?

Yes the comments about not his squad are just rumours, but it's lose lose for Sherwood.
If they weren't his players, then why did he claim that they were previously?
If they are his players then why doesn't he seem to have the foggiest idea of what to do with them?

Personally I think, regardless of who bought them, we have good players. Certainly good enough to be avoiding relegation. They're just being managed very poorly.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Stevo985

[Stevo985]

Here it comes, at last, voila! ... the classic, freshly minted, bona fide "The Sacking Rumors Are Pure Speculation" Pre-Sacking leaky non-leak:

But Villa club director Krulak has rubbished claims that Sherwood is already fighting for his job, and has intimated he could be a “long-term” appointment at the club.

“We realise there is concern amongst our supporters,” Krulak told The Sun. “I see that on their message boards and I see that on social media as well.

“This is a critical point in a season, we know.

“I speak to Randy just about every day and we are still convinced we have good players and a good team. There has been a bit of bad luck along the way.

“To say Tim Sherwood has to win those games to survive is pure speculation.

“Randy has always wanted continuity and someone there for the long-term.”

 

A bit like when Tom Fox said he wasn't going to sack Lambert. And then he sacked Lambert.

[maqroll]

So the General still reads VT, eh? How reassuring.

[Morley_crosses_to_Withe]

Hahah taking the word of the general as fact.

You must be new here.

Or you just didn't read his post properly!?

Here it comes, at last, voila! ... the classic, freshly minted, bona fide "The Sacking Rumors Are Pure Speculation" Pre-Sacking leaky non-leak:

So basically PM was saying this is the usual 'the manager won't be sacked right before the manager gets sacked' statement. 

[avfc1982am]

I'm fairly sure that those players whom he 'didn't want' have a pretty nice incentive to bury him over the next two games, so I don't anticipate us doing much.

It's a crazy thing to say. How are players going to be motivated playing for a manager who has told the world he doesn't want them?

Almost as crazy as calling the player losers on the eve of a cup final.

It's no wonder they're not performing really.

 

I have been trying to keep out of this thread but just out of interest where did he say that?

Not saying he didnt but I missed it and can't find anything.

 

The players not being his or the players being losers?

The latter was in the run up to the cup final. Sherwood said something along the lines of we needed a winning mentality and we needed to get the losers out of the squad.

The former is based on the rumours emerging recently that Sherwood is underperforming because he wasn't allowed to bring in his own players this summer (despite previously claiming he had a say on all the transfers)

 

Stevo, Can I ask you if you think claiming that the squad last season had a losing mentality was the wrong thing to do given it was the truth? personally I think he was right at the time as under Lambert they did have a losing mentality and mentioning it wasn't a revelation to us. Removing certain players I believe was necessary for the greater good of the club in the summer. If anything I am sure certain players would possibly agree with the manager on that count and if anything as a professional player most would want to prove otherwise under new leadership.

Also if as you say the other comments regarding the players not being his choices for transfers this summer are just rumours and there are no direct comments, why would the players not be motivated or bother to perform for that reason? 

It seems to me that Sherwood's issues are with selection, formation and tactics, not necessarily motivation as I think all the players look like they are trying. At the end of the day what he may or may not have said is irrelevant anyway what matters are the results. Yes the results are crap at the moment and I also believe he isn't up to the job based on what I have seen but ranting and slagging over rumours seems a bit unfair on him - bellend or not.   

I think he was right to THINK the squad had a losing mentality. But he shouldn't have said it in the press. I think he was completely stupid to call the squad losers in the press on the eve of the cup final. Given the pathetic performance they turned in I wouldn't be surprised if they felt the same way. Thinking it might provoke a reaction is naive and risky at best. Why would players agree with the manager calling them losers?

Yes the comments about not his squad are just rumours, but it's lose lose for Sherwood.
If they weren't his players, then why did he claim that they were previously?
If they are his players then why doesn't he seem to have the foggiest idea of what to do with them?

Personally I think, regardless of who bought them, we have good players. Certainly good enough to be avoiding relegation. They're just being managed very poorly.

For what it's worth his comments as far as I am aware were made post FA Cup final - not pre, although correct me if I'm wrong? Also I think at the time most agreed and actually thought it wasn't out of order, but just stating a fact. I don't remember many people slagging him of at the time for stating that fact either? 

The second paragraph in bold makes no sense? If he claimed previously that the players were his signings and the comments stating 'they weren't' are just rumours made recently why does he need to say anything at all? It's only a lose lose if he actually said "I didn't want X, Y and Z". Otherwise he has done nothing wrong.

Also even if the players brought in are his signings that doesn't necessarily translate into winning games straight away or knowing what to do with them all. Jose Mourinho won the title last year with a team that look like anyone can beat them at the moment- Maybe not us though. It doesn't mean he hasn't got a clue.. And Sherwood has had in comparison 5 minutes with his squad who have had 5 mins with each other. Leicester were in shit street last year with everyone calling for Pearson's head, look what happened there. Any manager will take time to get to know their players in the flesh unless they have previous history together. What you see during scouting isn't always what you get when you buy. 

What we do agree on is that the current squad is definitely capable of avoiding relegation.

 

[StefanAVFC]

Hahah taking the word of the general as fact.

You must be new here.

Or you just didn't read his post properly!?

Here it comes, at last, voila! ... the classic, freshly minted, bona fide "The Sacking Rumors Are Pure Speculation" Pre-Sacking leaky non-leak:

So basically PM was saying this is the usual 'the manager won't be sacked right before the manager gets sacked' statement. 

Well. No. Regardless of whether it's good news or bad news, you should never listen to anything the general says.

Also the post had a ridiculous amount of additional words which weren't necessary which didn't exactly make his point clear.

^ Nope, the comments were made PRE-cup final. People didn't agree. They thought it was stupid timing.

Edited October 15, 2015 by StefanAVFC

[AntrimBlack]

Good article here. Very long though.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2579396-tim-sherwoods-tactical-blunders-giving-aston-villa-itchy-trigger-finger

Tim Sherwood was parachuted in as Aston Villa’s saviour on February 14, 2015, tasked with steering the storied English club clear of the Premier League drop zone—a zone they had become all too familiar with in recent seasons.

Years spent narrowly evading its grasp under Alex McLeish and then Paul Lambert had worn on the club, the fanbase and the players. Sherwood burst through the door, promised change and briefly delivered, but Villa have once again seceded back into the relegation places and have mustered just four points from eight Premier League games in 2015-16.

The job Sherwood did from February to May deserves praise and recognition; there are not many men in football who could have lifted the spirits of such a downtrodden group of players and inspired them to win close to 50 percent of their remaining matches. The former Spurs boss ducked into the trenches and roused his troops at the pivotal hour, but now the charm has worn off, it’s clear his men are doubting him.

 Sherwood has committed a slew of managerial errors this season, frequently botching XI selections or in-game tactical decisions. Supporters have grown frustrated with his seeming inability to simply pick his best players in a starting lineup—a feeling vindicated after watching the man himself spend most games trying to repair his own errors using precious substitutions.

Over the last two months he’s dropped three clangers that have directly cost Aston Villa between three and nine points, and every mistake brings a heap of pressure.  

 

The Crystal Palace Debacle

In late August, Villa visited Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on a steaming-hot afternoon. With three points in the bag after the opening weekend, a narrow loss to Manchester United the week before excused as “typical” and Jack Grealish re-entering the XI after spending just over a month struggling with injury, things were looking rosy.

That day, Sherwood opted to play a 4-4-2 diamond—a wise choice—with Grealish at the tip, Carlos Sanchez at the base and Gabby Agbonlahor partnering Rudy Gestede up front. Eagles manager Alan Pardew admitted to journalists after the game that his side struggled with the system Villa used initially, failing to settle on the ball or attack.

 

 

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

 

The base midfield three here is of particular note: Sanchez is your prototypical anchor, he’s perfect for it, and the Idrissa Gueye-Ashley Westwood partnership just ahead of him provided legs, energy and tactical balance. It was, for all intents and purposes, the ideal midfield for an away Premier League game; it had enough about it in every aspect to thrive on a battleground like Selhurst Park.

For context, a point here for Villa would have been a very good result. There was no need to try to force a win; the approach Sherwood originally chose was working a treat. Sanchez, arguably the game’s best player, broke up play in demonic fashion, and his colleagues performed a simple role: give the ball to Grealish and let him weave forward.

But Sherwood’s attacking itch got the better of him, and he introduced Adama Traore in the 69th minute—a flying winger—at the expense of Sanchez. Within seconds, Palace waltzed straight through the centre of the pitch—the area Sanchez had just vacated—drew a centre-back out of position and forced a corner. From the delivery, Scott Dann powered home the opener with a wicked header.

 

 

Credit: PL Pass

 

Sherwood will try to hang his hat on the fact Adama forced an equaliser almost immediately, searing past two players and causing Pape Souare to stab into his own net, but the truth is the back end of Villa’s midfield was wide-open for the rest of the game. Palace sauntered up the pitch with ease following Sanchez’s removal, and their eventual winning goal via Bakary Sako certainly felt inevitable.

In the final minutes, as Villa chased a recovery, Sherwood opted not to use any more substitutes, despite it becoming clear Grealish could barely run due to muscle stiffness—an expected side effect of missing an entire pre-season and the first two league games. €20 million pair Jordan Ayew and Jordan Veretout sat motionless on the bench as Sherwood watched on.

 

The Leicester City Collapse

Two goals to the good against a flying Leicester City side, thanks to lovely strikes from Grealish and Carles Gil, sparked the away section of the King Power Stadium into full voice. There was just over an hour played, with two goals in the bag against a Midlands rival—what could possibly go wrong?

Strange decisions and strange substitutions sparked a downfall of epic proportions. The Foxes completed a brilliant comeback as Nathan Dyer netted the winner in the 89th minute, and credit to them for finding the cutting edge, but Sherwood held up the white flag and surrendered those points in alarming fashion.

At 2-0, Villa brought on Ayew for Gil—a classic trade of guile and silkiness for brawn and power. Sinclair moved right to help track the marauding Jeffrey Schlupp, and Ayew took the left side, tracking Ritchie De Laet. So far, so good.

 

 

Credit: Sky Sports

 

But then De Laet scored (from a corner), and Leicester nosed their way back into the game. Sherwood panicked and brought on Gestede up front, likely intended as a focal point, but also shifted the formation away from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3—which meant bringing Grealish inside to a No. 8 role.

Grealish has an abundance of qualities and is one of the pre-eminent young attacking talents in the league, but he’s not strong enough or disciplined to track runs and jockey markers from a flat central-midfield position. Leicester began burning past him and targeting his pocket of the pitch to instigate attacks, and they werehandsomely rewarded.

All the while, Veretout—a snappy, aggressive, hardworking No. 8—again sat on the bench. Even Kieran Richardson would have been a better shout, but he remained motionless on the pine, too.

 

The Stoke City Catastrophe

On October 3, fans filed loyally into Villa Park ahead of their side’s clash with Stoke City hoping and praying for a result of any kind. Given the fixtures that awaited them after the winter break—Chelsea away,Swansea City at home, Tottenham away, Manchester City at home, then Everton away—they knew a point here, at the very least, was of paramount importance.

They garnered none.

 

 

Credit: PL Pass

 

For this match, Sherwood deployed a 3-5-2 formation—the first time the team have played it under his stewardship, discounting a reserve pre-season game in which Aleksandar Tonev played and scored. Fans recoiled in surprise upon realising this—the system evokes unwelcome memories of bland, atrocious football under predecessor Lambert—and it didn’t turn out much better in practice.

The key issue here was the disconnect between Gestede, a powerful target man, and his supporting “width.” In a 3-5-2 the wing-backs provide all of the width and play a byline-to-byline role; they have to be able to dribble, track and, most importantly (if you’re playing with Gestede) cross the ball well.

Why, then, did Sherwood opt for Alan Hutton over Leandro Bacuna on the right—a player tailor-made for the right-wing-back role? The wide men were overwhelmed anyway; Hutton and Jordan Amavi were hit two-on-one most times, couldn’t cope defensively due to the numbers and found it tough sledding moving forward.

 

 

Credit: PL Pass

 

Gestede has proved to be an aerial monster, but his technical level leaves a lot to be desired, necessitating a good, skilful player be paired with him up front in order to play through the middle. Scott Sinclair has his virtues, but he wasn’t the right choice for the role. Fans saw Sinclair toiling, being dispossessed frequently, and pointed with exasperation to Grealish and Gil, who were sat on the bench kicking their heels.

 

Under Pressure

Sherwood has brought some good players to the club, and the squad is stacked with talent, but it’s being misused. Doubts are now swirling as to whether Villa can afford to hold onto the man who saved them last season past October—the Daily Mail’s Matt Lawton recently outlined just how precarious his position is—and the feeling is that, had the next fixture following the international break been at Stamford Bridge, chairman Randy Lerner would have already acted.

Sherwood’s been bitten by the loss of key men Ron Vlaar, Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke, while injuries to Gil, Grealish, Jores Okore and Adama have also stung. But as credible as those issues are and as heavily as they have impacted the start to the season, he piles pressure on himself by making bad decisions.

 

 

David Rogers/Getty Images

 

For example: Why does Joleon Lescott continue to play ahead of Ciaran Clark? The former has started every game since joining on deadline day despite severely underwhelming, while the latter—undeniably one of Villa’s better players this season—has been relegated to the bench.

That’s just one of many conundrums engulfing the club, and fans are beginning to tire of questioning almost every aspect of decision-making taken by Sherwood. The ice is paper-thin, and unless the boss pulls a rabbit out of the hat at Stamford Bridge, he might be gone soon.

It’s a shame, as Sherwood eschewed his reputation as a “4-4-2 attack merchant” last season and brought real spark and ingenuity to the team’s play. All that good work has been forgotten, though, and the next few weeks serve as a platform for him to either fly or die as manager of Aston Villa.

Excellent article.

[bobzy]

Hahah taking the word of the general as fact.

You must be new here.

Or you just didn't read his post properly!?

Here it comes, at last, voila! ... the classic, freshly minted, bona fide "The Sacking Rumors Are Pure Speculation" Pre-Sacking leaky non-leak:

So basically PM was saying this is the usual 'the manager won't be sacked right before the manager gets sacked' statement. 

Well. No. Regardless of whether it's good news or bad news, you should never listen to anything the general says.

Also the post had a ridiculous amount of additional words which weren't necessary which didn't exactly make his point clear.

^ Nope, the comments were made PRE-cup final. People didn't agree. They thought it was stupid timing.

Just admit you misread the damn post

[AntrimBlack]

I think we all agree that Lerner needs to go. But Fox appears to putting in place the sort of structure most of us have been crying out for. And now it's in place, its become a means of shifting a bit of blame from Tim's door. As an unproven and inexperienced Manager, I think it would have been gross mismanagement to not a have a team in place. (transfer committee, call it what you will) we would probably have ended up with the sort of squad that sent QPR down had he been left to his own devices.

I think saying 'the club is a F***g mess' or blaming a recruitment policy for the mess we are in, is a poor effort of detracting from the frankly laughable "job" Sherwood is doing.

Yes Lerner needs to sod off, but the more pressing issue is getting this chancer off the payroll and employing an actual Manager that has half a clue about how set up a football team.

 

Depends on how it works, if the manager can provide a shortlist and it's either a yes or no then that's fine, if it's a case of saying no to the manager and then saying but we got you these guys instead good luck with that, then I think you are going to have problems all round. For me a manager should be in control off all transfers so he can shape his team with the characters he wants to buy into his methods.

It's just speculation but both Villa and Liverpool seem to be operating some sort of transfer committee and both teams have been doing shit, the same thing happened with AVB at Tottenham and that went tits up. Coincidence????  Not sure but something to think about

 

How about at Southampton and Swansea? 

Like I said, it depends on how it works and how much input the manager gets, and also what experience and qualifications these committee people have. Im must admit I'm not a fan of buying players based on statistics. I believe Swansea extensivley scout their recruits before over a long period of time

I think that what is happening recently is that we are finally beginning to catch up in the method of recruitment.

[avfc1982am]

Hahah taking the word of the general as fact.

You must be new here.

Or you just didn't read his post properly!?

Here it comes, at last, voila! ... the classic, freshly minted, bona fide "The Sacking Rumors Are Pure Speculation" Pre-Sacking leaky non-leak:

So basically PM was saying this is the usual 'the manager won't be sacked right before the manager gets sacked' statement. 

Well. No. Regardless of whether it's good news or bad news, you should never listen to anything the general says.

Also the post had a ridiculous amount of additional words which weren't necessary which didn't exactly make his point clear.

^ Nope, the comments were made PRE-cup final. People didn't agree. They thought it was stupid timing.

My apologies if so however I thought they were made during the post final interview. You can say people didn't agree which is fair enough however I know a fair few that did agree. Even Delph commented on it after the final. Plus the comments were regarding the players finding a winning mentality. Something everyone can at least agree that they lacked and still do.

[Guest av1]

So the General still reads VT, eh? How reassuring.

For Nicky Keye's sake I hope be doesn't start posting again. 

She has only just cleared the back log of crap he dumped on her last time.

[Guest av1]

Hahah taking the word of the general as fact.

You must be new here.

Or you just didn't read his post properly!?

Here it comes, at last, voila! ... the classic, freshly minted, bona fide "The Sacking Rumors Are Pure Speculation" Pre-Sacking leaky non-leak:

So basically PM was saying this is the usual 'the manager won't be sacked right before the manager gets sacked' statement. 

Well. No. Regardless of whether it's good news or bad news, you should never listen to anything the general says.

Also the post had a ridiculous amount of additional words which weren't necessary which didn't exactly make his point clear.

^ Nope, the comments were made PRE-cup final. People didn't agree. They thought it was stupid timing.

My apologies if so however I thought they were made during the post final interview. You can say people didn't agree which is fair enough however I know a fair few that did agree. Even Delph commented on it after the final. Plus the comments were regarding the players finding a winning mentality. Something everyone can at least agree that they lacked and still do.

Whether the statement is correct or incorrect is irrelevant to my mind. If your boss had a problem with you, would you not prefer him/her to raise those in the privacy of their office rather than in front your colleagues? Let alone the national press.

Its basic Management skills that Tim sadly lacks.

 

[rodders0223]

Krulak is still involved with the club at some level?

Oh for **** sake.

 

 

"Imagine what this guy could do with a chairman who backed him."

 

 

[AntrimBlack]

Good article here. Very long though.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2579396-tim-sherwoods-tactical-blunders-giving-aston-villa-itchy-trigger-finger

Tim Sherwood was parachuted in as Aston Villa’s saviour on February 14, 2015, tasked with steering the storied English club clear of the Premier League drop zone—a zone they had become all too familiar with in recent seasons.

Years spent narrowly evading its grasp under Alex McLeish and then Paul Lambert had worn on the club, the fanbase and the players. Sherwood burst through the door, promised change and briefly delivered, but Villa have once again seceded back into the relegation places and have mustered just four points from eight Premier League games in 2015-16.

The job Sherwood did from February to May deserves praise and recognition; there are not many men in football who could have lifted the spirits of such a downtrodden group of players and inspired them to win close to 50 percent of their remaining matches. The former Spurs boss ducked into the trenches and roused his troops at the pivotal hour, but now the charm has worn off, it’s clear his men are doubting him.

 Sherwood has committed a slew of managerial errors this season, frequently botching XI selections or in-game tactical decisions. Supporters have grown frustrated with his seeming inability to simply pick his best players in a starting lineup—a feeling vindicated after watching the man himself spend most games trying to repair his own errors using precious substitutions.

Over the last two months he’s dropped three clangers that have directly cost Aston Villa between three and nine points, and every mistake brings a heap of pressure.  

 

The Crystal Palace Debacle

In late August, Villa visited Selhurst Park to take on Crystal Palace on a steaming-hot afternoon. With three points in the bag after the opening weekend, a narrow loss to Manchester United the week before excused as “typical” and Jack Grealish re-entering the XI after spending just over a month struggling with injury, things were looking rosy.

That day, Sherwood opted to play a 4-4-2 diamond—a wise choice—with Grealish at the tip, Carlos Sanchez at the base and Gabby Agbonlahor partnering Rudy Gestede up front. Eagles manager Alan Pardew admitted to journalists after the game that his side struggled with the system Villa used initially, failing to settle on the ball or attack.

 

 

Matthew Ashton - AMA/Getty Images

 

The base midfield three here is of particular note: Sanchez is your prototypical anchor, he’s perfect for it, and the Idrissa Gueye-Ashley Westwood partnership just ahead of him provided legs, energy and tactical balance. It was, for all intents and purposes, the ideal midfield for an away Premier League game; it had enough about it in every aspect to thrive on a battleground like Selhurst Park.

For context, a point here for Villa would have been a very good result. There was no need to try to force a win; the approach Sherwood originally chose was working a treat. Sanchez, arguably the game’s best player, broke up play in demonic fashion, and his colleagues performed a simple role: give the ball to Grealish and let him weave forward.

But Sherwood’s attacking itch got the better of him, and he introduced Adama Traore in the 69th minute—a flying winger—at the expense of Sanchez. Within seconds, Palace waltzed straight through the centre of the pitch—the area Sanchez had just vacated—drew a centre-back out of position and forced a corner. From the delivery, Scott Dann powered home the opener with a wicked header.

 

 

Credit: PL Pass

 

Sherwood will try to hang his hat on the fact Adama forced an equaliser almost immediately, searing past two players and causing Pape Souare to stab into his own net, but the truth is the back end of Villa’s midfield was wide-open for the rest of the game. Palace sauntered up the pitch with ease following Sanchez’s removal, and their eventual winning goal via Bakary Sako certainly felt inevitable.

In the final minutes, as Villa chased a recovery, Sherwood opted not to use any more substitutes, despite it becoming clear Grealish could barely run due to muscle stiffness—an expected side effect of missing an entire pre-season and the first two league games. €20 million pair Jordan Ayew and Jordan Veretout sat motionless on the bench as Sherwood watched on.

 

The Leicester City Collapse

Two goals to the good against a flying Leicester City side, thanks to lovely strikes from Grealish and Carles Gil, sparked the away section of the King Power Stadium into full voice. There was just over an hour played, with two goals in the bag against a Midlands rival—what could possibly go wrong?

Strange decisions and strange substitutions sparked a downfall of epic proportions. The Foxes completed a brilliant comeback as Nathan Dyer netted the winner in the 89th minute, and credit to them for finding the cutting edge, but Sherwood held up the white flag and surrendered those points in alarming fashion.

At 2-0, Villa brought on Ayew for Gil—a classic trade of guile and silkiness for brawn and power. Sinclair moved right to help track the marauding Jeffrey Schlupp, and Ayew took the left side, tracking Ritchie De Laet. So far, so good.

 

 

Credit: Sky Sports

 

But then De Laet scored (from a corner), and Leicester nosed their way back into the game. Sherwood panicked and brought on Gestede up front, likely intended as a focal point, but also shifted the formation away from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3—which meant bringing Grealish inside to a No. 8 role.

Grealish has an abundance of qualities and is one of the pre-eminent young attacking talents in the league, but he’s not strong enough or disciplined to track runs and jockey markers from a flat central-midfield position. Leicester began burning past him and targeting his pocket of the pitch to instigate attacks, and they werehandsomely rewarded.

All the while, Veretout—a snappy, aggressive, hardworking No. 8—again sat on the bench. Even Kieran Richardson would have been a better shout, but he remained motionless on the pine, too.

 

The Stoke City Catastrophe

On October 3, fans filed loyally into Villa Park ahead of their side’s clash with Stoke City hoping and praying for a result of any kind. Given the fixtures that awaited them after the winter break—Chelsea away,Swansea City at home, Tottenham away, Manchester City at home, then Everton away—they knew a point here, at the very least, was of paramount importance.

They garnered none.

 

 

Credit: PL Pass

 

For this match, Sherwood deployed a 3-5-2 formation—the first time the team have played it under his stewardship, discounting a reserve pre-season game in which Aleksandar Tonev played and scored. Fans recoiled in surprise upon realising this—the system evokes unwelcome memories of bland, atrocious football under predecessor Lambert—and it didn’t turn out much better in practice.

The key issue here was the disconnect between Gestede, a powerful target man, and his supporting “width.” In a 3-5-2 the wing-backs provide all of the width and play a byline-to-byline role; they have to be able to dribble, track and, most importantly (if you’re playing with Gestede) cross the ball well.

Why, then, did Sherwood opt for Alan Hutton over Leandro Bacuna on the right—a player tailor-made for the right-wing-back role? The wide men were overwhelmed anyway; Hutton and Jordan Amavi were hit two-on-one most times, couldn’t cope defensively due to the numbers and found it tough sledding moving forward.

 

 

Credit: PL Pass

 

Gestede has proved to be an aerial monster, but his technical level leaves a lot to be desired, necessitating a good, skilful player be paired with him up front in order to play through the middle. Scott Sinclair has his virtues, but he wasn’t the right choice for the role. Fans saw Sinclair toiling, being dispossessed frequently, and pointed with exasperation to Grealish and Gil, who were sat on the bench kicking their heels.

 

Under Pressure

Sherwood has brought some good players to the club, and the squad is stacked with talent, but it’s being misused. Doubts are now swirling as to whether Villa can afford to hold onto the man who saved them last season past October—the Daily Mail’s Matt Lawton recently outlined just how precarious his position is—and the feeling is that, had the next fixture following the international break been at Stamford Bridge, chairman Randy Lerner would have already acted.

Sherwood’s been bitten by the loss of key men Ron Vlaar, Fabian Delph and Christian Benteke, while injuries to Gil, Grealish, Jores Okore and Adama have also stung. But as credible as those issues are and as heavily as they have impacted the start to the season, he piles pressure on himself by making bad decisions.

 

 

David Rogers/Getty Images

 

For example: Why does Joleon Lescott continue to play ahead of Ciaran Clark? The former has started every game since joining on deadline day despite severely underwhelming, while the latter—undeniably one of Villa’s better players this season—has been relegated to the bench.

That’s just one of many conundrums engulfing the club, and fans are beginning to tire of questioning almost every aspect of decision-making taken by Sherwood. The ice is paper-thin, and unless the boss pulls a rabbit out of the hat at Stamford Bridge, he might be gone soon.

It’s a shame, as Sherwood eschewed his reputation as a “4-4-2 attack merchant” last season and brought real spark and ingenuity to the team’s play. All that good work has been forgotten, though, and the next few weeks serve as a platform for him to either fly or die as manager of Aston Villa.

Love that photo of Sanchez. That is how I look when I see Sherwood's starting line ups.

[AntrimBlack]

Krulak is still involved with the club at some level?

Oh for **** sake.

 

 

"Imagine what this guy could do with a chairman who backed him."

 

 

He is still a director.

[The Fun Factory]

Hahah taking the word of the general as fact.

You must be new here.

Just ask Nikki Kaye. She will explain everything...