As many Villa fans recently, I am not very happy with what is going on at the club. But perhaps what has made me angrier is the many contradictions that Sherwood has said in the past during his press conferences. In this article I will just address these contradictions.
“Ayew is a confidence player who benefits from game time” – Sherwood
Ayew had a great game against Birmingham City, despite having some form he was benched the following game and since came off the bench against Stoke.
“Aston Villa won’t fight relegation again under me” – Sherwood
This is the one that angered me the most. I can’t believe I actually believed Sherwood, the team he built seemed good in the summer, but that is so far from the truth. We are again in a relegation battle, and that quote just sees me lose confidence in Sherwood as a manager and a person.
“You can’t persevere with a team that hasn’t won yet” – Sherwood
Again, we beat Birmingham City yet the starting 11 was changed. Clark had a great game, alongside Ayew, but neither have really featured recently. Go back to the basics and play defenders that can play in the back 4.
“The players are working really hard.” – Sherwood
I really don’t believe that the players are as fit as they have in previous seasons. Sanchez seems to be out of breath in the final 20 minutes, and we’re simply not pressuring opposition defenders enough. We’re not having a go at teams, and that might have to be due to a lack of match fitness.
“We need to stay in the division and if we do we will be stronger next year.” – Sherwood
Villa aren’t much better, and dare I say it. Villa were better under Lambert in the first two months. I think that the overall team has been strengthened, and whilst we may have lost a brilliant goal scorer. We have so much more creativity in the midfield now that we should be able to create chances left, right and centre.
“It’s too early for relegation battles.” – Sherwood
Even if we beat Chelsea we’d still be in the bottom 3. A point gap is starting to open up and this is not where I expect Villa to be at this point of the season. Generally, Villa had an easy fixture list these past few months and we’ve only won one game. The next 4 games look very difficult and I’m not sure where we can pick up points. But we are in a relegation battle, and it’s time for the coaching staff and players to step up.
