Ok, most of you hopefully know my way of thinking.
While I try to be positive and enthusiastic on the whole, I also like to think that I can be very quick to condemn/complain about the club or the team.
But when it comes to managers, I believe they should be afforded a reasonable amount of time before we write them off.
Oohah has given reasons as to why Tim Sherwood should be sacked and they’re understandable.
Our record since the FA cup semi final has been shocking.
The situation isn’t helped by the fact that we’ve had our worst top flight start since Billy McNeil, where we were relegated.
But I still have a feeling that getting another manager won’t solve anything.
So no, he shouldn’t be sacked yet, simple as.
Why?
Because it’s far to knee-jerk a reaction, in my opinion.
The consensus is that we have decent players (or at least better than we’ve had for a while), players where we can see that there’s something in them;
Traore scares the proverbial out of me, let alone Premier league defenders. Ok, he looks a bit injury prone at the minute, but he’s been kicked to bits by Notts County and probably hasn’t got past that knock yet.
Amavi is decent going forward and if he messes up defensively, he has the pace to recover, albeit he’s prone to mistakes. Whatever you think, he’s at least done ok.
Gana looks very decent.
Ayew changed the game against the Blues and showed he has the makings, as performing in a Derby is about as tough as it gets.
Gestede, while I’m not convinced by him, there’s no denying that if you put the ball on his head from the right angle, he has every chance of putting it in the net.
Crespo actually looked better than £500,000 worth, his one mistake apart.
Richards is a great signing and there have been calls on here for him to get an England recall.
I’ve probably missed some, but I’m sure you get the point, in that Sherwood has signed decent players.
And if he’s signed them, I’d like to think he knows exactly how he want us to play.
Of course, it’s not just a matter of signing the right players.
You need to make them work together and that’s the tricky part. A part that takes at least some time.
Which is where I’d remind some of our older fans about a certain manager, who signed what seemed a very poor bunch of players.
Until they fitted together, where the club went onto great things.
Of course, I could be talking rubbish and Sherwood will never make it work.
But who might come in?
I’ve seen Sam Allardyce touted, but come on, is that really what we want?
A 100% pragmatist, who will never take a club anywhere higher than mid table on average, because he’ll play for the draw, just to avoid defeat?
While I can see the attraction at the moment, he isn’t the future.
Some new up and coming foreign manager must be the solution then, but I really can’t think of one and don’t believe Aston Villa will do it either. Venglos still rings in my head.
Forget all the top managers, as we won’t pay the money and Lerner definitely won’t give the budget required.
I doubt even Moyes would want to come to us and he’s possibly the best domestic shout.
Brendan Rogers?
That’s an interesting thought, that Tom Fox might entertain, but no doubt that would be a while away from now.
So who would come in, is the question?
I don’t believe we’re even looking at the answer yet.
Is that short sighted?
I don’t think so. Not after a few weeks with Sherwood having his own team, where we need to disregard all that went on last season.
It’s just not how the hierarchy of a senior premier league club works.
Hence Sherwood will be staying until at least Christmas, in my opinion.
So, summing up, I don’t believe he’s been given enough time and I don’t believe there’s a good enough alternative out there.
No doubt some of you might think differently, which is fair enough.
I agree that he has brought in some good players, but he seems to have no plan at all in how to play them. Surely he had a formation/starting XI in mind over the summer when he was wheeling and dealing.
Unless he can sort it out in the next month, he is a gonner. I just hope that Rodgers is still available then.
Spot on Benno. The problem isn’t the players we’ve brought in, it’s about playing them and finding the system to play them. I believe we have signed some top draw players but Sherwood seems obsessed with not playing them and instead sticking with players who offer absolutely nothing and the ones he branded as having a losing mentality. He also makes some ludicrous decisions like playing with 3 defensive midfielders and persisting with Westwood, who other than passing sideways and backwards offers nothing.
It is more than likely the only reason Gabby has missed the last few games is because he is injured because had he of been fit it’s inevitable he’d be the first name on the team sheet.
I actually like Sherwood and his personality but maybe he is becoming slightly to arrogant, like his predecessor, and it’s not working.
I’d love Sherwood to succeed but until he sees what 95% of others are seeing then he is not the right man for us.
Personally think Rogers would be brilliant and Allardyce would be a safe bet to keep us up and give us a decent foundation to build from.
Wrong. I think the team selection he put out against Stoke was a total disgrace! How he can leave out our best player in Gill is beyond me… and Grealish for that matter! There has been too many mistakes now from TS that have already cost us this season. I’d give you 2 more games then that’s it.
Fair enough.
If we were sitting with 8-10 points now and we were all moaning, then he should definitely be given more time.
But we’re not. We’re sat with 4 points, with hard games to come and little chance of getting anything from any of them.
By which point, we are as good as doomed. Lose the next 2 or 3 games, and reality is we could be as many as 7-10 points adrift. That would mean we would have to out a run of games together where we would need to win 3-4 games on the trot, just to catch up. Can you see Tim putting together such a run? I can’t for the life of me.
I have no issues with the players he has bought in. On the last post, I said he has improved the playing staff beyond what any of us expected.
But the fact is he is clueless when it comes to management and tactics. Those of us who were at the Stoke match saw a very disjointed Villa team beaten by a very plain and ordinary Stoke side. I could talk about tactics – but there wasn’t any. The side looked like they had just met before the game.
And it is even clearer to see that he isn’t gonna become tactically astute overnight, he will continue picking ridiculous formations with ridiculous player choices.
I’m not one for knee jerk reactions, but this is the one time that calls for one, because at the end of this month, we will be sat propping up the whole league. Mark my words.
A lot depends on who would come. I certainly don’t want Sam or Dyche, but if there was any chance that a Rogers or a Moyes or a De Boer would come, then the board simply have to act right now and do their best to make it happen.
If we wait until xmas and the inevitable shows on the table (i.e bottom 3 with under 10 points) then it is TOO LATE.
I feel sorry for Tim because I liked him as a player and I like him as a person, but as a manager apart from the few wins when he took over, he has looked piss poor and proven to be piss poor. We all wanted him to succeed, but it is olainly obvious to everyone that it’s not going to happen.
And I feel if nothing happens today, nothing will happen until Xmas, when it will simply be too little, too late.
We all said the same last season for months and months that if we didn’t sack PL we would be doomed but TS came in with not many games left and helped us stay up yes this season hasn’t started well but I do think our play will change and TS will get it right he should be given the chance just on what he did for us last season if after the next CHELSEA game we lose SACK THE DONUT CAUSE HES HOPELESS DOESN’T HAVE A F-ING CLUE HE LOOKS MORE LOST ON THE TOUCH LINE THAN THAT BERK DID LAST YEAR AWAY AT HULL 2-0 DOWN MY GOD I WAS PRAYING FOR A SNIPER THAT NIGHT……….TIMMY TIME IS TICKING IVE NO DOUBT YOU HAVEN’T GOT LONG LEFT MR FOX SAVE MY CLUB SOON…..UTV
While i agree with nearly everyones concern over the results so far this season, there are a couple of points i would like to make.
if you take the last 8 games of last season everyone thought Tim would be our best manager for years, with a squad we all thought would be relegated, now after 8 games this season everyone wants him sacked with a squad everyone said was the best we have had for a long time except for benteke.
If we bring in a new manager and after 8 games he has not turned it around do we sack him and try another?
And who do we get?, as over the last few years villa’s reputation in the game as a big club has gone, whether you like it or not, so unless lerner stumps up 100 million for transfers and breaks the wage budget we will not get a so called big name.
which leaves us looking at the likes of big sam,… dyke…. or that bracket of manager
so someone tell me who?
And finally we cant buy any more players until january whatever happens, so why not give him until december to turn it around after all he saved us last season.
doesn’t he at least deserve that?
I’d stick with him although he does look very down and dejected which easily spreads throughout the club and playing staff. I’ve never been a fan of the defensively minded Wilkins. I’d ditch him and get Ramsey from QPR who is on thin ice – some people make awesome assistant managers but not the best managers – see anyone who’s left the side of Sir Alex.
I’d really love to see him get it right, we need that bullish, maverick approach. We’re at our worst when we’re being defensive! He needs to grow up a bit though rather than sulking in his post match interviews. The players need a rock to look up to, not an emotional wreck!
As for most of the other names mentioned? No thanks. Rodgers? Wasn’t he sacked yesterday???? Lol!!!
Bookies don’t have a habit of handing out money, and they have us down as 2nd favorites for relegation and odds on…it’ll only look worse after our next run of fixtures. Then Sherwood wouldn’t play the likes of Gil at the end of last season as they “aren’t the type of players for a relegation battle” – so by the same logic we’ll have less players to pick from to get out of the mess
Rollercoaster ride??? We’re stuck on the fucking SMILER.
I will give him a little more time.
However the definition of an Idiot is someone who repeats the same flawed action, hoping for a different result. Tim is certainly under investigation as an Idiot now he has tried all his new buys, but hasn’t tried Kozak. I posted on the earlier blog some thing I would like changed and wont repeat it.
To summarize the 7 games in which we dropped points the failure to score and the mistakes in defence.
United: Attack, Clark
Palace: Clark, Guzan
Sunderland: Guzan, Clark
Leicester: Gabby, Richards, Guzan
W Brom: Attack
Liverpool: Hutton, Guzan
Stoke: Attack, Hutton/Richards.
The Attack is the forwards if they miss chances or the midfield if none are created. Most failure has been the latter, so the sterile midfield and lack of a right winger are the main reasons.
The same names crop up for the defensive errors, Richards to my mind is out of position as Centre Half. Hutton cant defend, Guzan is not good enough. Clark may be gaffe prone or may be unlucky, if the players next to him were better it would show up which it is.
its very easy to blame the defence if you have 4 players sat on the half way line thinking they are too good to defend,you will have the debacle we witnessed at Leicester
Leicester was the turning point for me. Up to that point we were all pretty happy with what we were seeing. 2-0 up and TS made a couple of substitute errors by continuing to attack rather than put a wall in front of goal and defend the points. OK, in hindsight it was naive and a big mistake but managers make them
It seems to me that since then he’s lost his nerve and has tried to go ultra defensive – it cannot possibly work with the players he has nor does it sit happily with his own positivity. If that’s also being influenced by Wilkins (is he a Fox imperative?) then TS has to remove him and bring in someone with an empathetic mindset.
If we go down playing attacking exciting football so be it but NOT through this tactical rubbish that does not suit the players we have.
Maybe, instead of pillorying TS we should ALL be trying to send TS a message that we want to see us having a go with our most creative players starting; that’s what excited us about his appointment – if it doesn’t work then we can’t ask more.
Fans have more influence than we sometimes realise – we should try to use it positively….
Or am I deluded?
100% agree Hitchens. He has lost his nerve. Lambert was the same, and even Macleish talked about giving the fans the attacking football they craved and then failed to deliver. Let’s be fair, the pressure must be huge, but he needs to get back to an attacking game, and deliver it from the right players in the right positions with a clear tactical approach. He needs to do it quickly, and I can’t see much sign of it at the moment. The clock is ticking.
No, you’re not deluded H60.
I think what has started to turn the tide for me was the line-up against Stoke.
While I can see that Sherwood’s aim was to bolster the defence, you just can’t start a Villa side at home to a side that are hardly any better than us, like that.
You have to have some plan to actually attack them and either Grealish (who I actually thought was poor by his standards) or Gil should have been on from the start.
As you suggest, it was Sherwood’s gung ho approach that made many of us like him, but if he’s now going to abandon that, that’s worrying.
Chelsea have lost four on the trot, I think and it will be interesting to see how the manager plays it. If he doesn’t at least get the tactics right, the crowd will be baying for his head.
I’ve just read a stat that scared me.
We’ve won 19 home games in the last 5 seasons apparently.
I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it indicates to me that maybe whoever comes in as manager is going to struggle and that’s why I’m not convinced now is the right time to sack Sherwood.
Perhaps we’re looking at the wrong place when we look at the manager?
If Sherwood stays till Xmas we will be down Badger. Yes on paper our squad isn’t bad but Chelsea’s is better and look where they are! As for Allardyce he’s not what any of us want but he will keep us up and until Lerner sells that’s what it’s all about now. You say anew manager won’t make much difference but Sherwood made a difference initially but couldn’t sustain it. Brendan Rogers whilst not great would be an improvement and someone we could look to for a long term appointment. If I had a car showroom Sherwood would be my number 1 employee and top Salesman but I’d never make him manager!
That’s an interesting point Badger – where does the real problem lie?
‘Defend our PL status at all costs’ is a negative instruction that introduces a level of fear of losing rather than a desire to win. I thought TS would bring back a desire to win but it seems that slowly, inevitably the desire to win is being sucked out of him. Wouldn’t the same happen to Rodgers if he we’re to replaceTS?
Again I believe the solution lies with us the fans, not by acting negatively but reinforcing a message of wanting to see Villa having a go – whatever the result. Like you, whilst feeling let down by TS, on balance replacing him may not be the answer EXCEPT if our future is just about survival then the only manager that could probably work to that remit is Alardyce.
McLeish may have been reviled by many but did he not warn us as to the problems that existed within Villa? Sadly, he might just be proved right.
I do not think he is tactically up for the job, which is what all the Spurs fans said when they lobbed him…. He is a fantastic motivator, but I think he has lost that now, and lets be honest the purchases have been good on the whole but that would have been down to Paddy Riley and his team with Sherwood just giving the final nod….
We are 4 points adrift after a number of very winnable games …. I would see how November pans out and if we are in the same position, get rid and get someone in for the January window.
Pains me to say though, I think this season, is the season our luck finally runs out.
I will give him till the end of the month to turn things around . I never taught we would be talking about getting rid of Sherwood so early in the season . I really want Sherwood to succeed so I am hoping he turns it around . Get your head out of your arse Tim and start moving us up that table.
Mourinho has just been given a “Vote of Confidence”. This is football-code for “Bring a large holdall or cardboard box to the next home game and leave your car keys at Reception.” So maybe it is a head to head in the sack race at Stamford Bridge, with Tim getting the draw.
Good teams are built from the back, and that is also where they tend to come apart first. It isn’t really surprising to see what Cech’s move across London has done for the clubs involved once Courtois was injured.
Yes – Villa’s appalling record at home goes back 5 years, to when Friedel started to go downhill as he aged. But it is also a fact that the last keeper we had that anyone wanted to pinch off us was Mark Bosnich – so even Friedel at his best was viewed elsewhere as just adequate, not worth tapping up. If Villa are to be saved, by Tim or the next manager, it will be done with a different keeper.
Oddly enough he got sacked when we beat Cheksea years ago deja vu me thinks
OLL – you keep mentioning goalkeepers, and we all remember the heavy rumours in the summer that Sherwood was supposed to be after one. Then Begovic decided to accept Abramovich’s money to warm the Chelsea bench and we ended-up with Bunn…
Methinks you may be right about Guzan; the more I see of him the more he seems to be not quite up to the job – lacks the authority to boss his defenders as much as I believe a real quality ‘keeper should.
I’m still torn between OoHah’s and Badger’s alternative views. If Sherwood has genuinely lost his own self-belief and can’t find a way out of the downward spiral, then we’re in deep donkey-droppings. On the other hand, October seems too early to fire any manager, let alone one who only arrived last February, and quite honestly I’d really feel like giving up watching any football if Allardyce was the only likely alternative at VP.
I guess that one of Sherwood or Mourinho will be gone after our next match – and I keep hoping [with no real reason to believe we’ll do it] that we can spring a shock win.
I’m torn myself, tbh, Ardent.
It’s all about the next few weeks for me.
If Sherwood keeps trying these daft setups and sticking with players who achieve nothing (Westwood springs to mind), there’s no doubt about it , he will have to go.
But if he can get his head around things, I still think he might be able to achieve what he says.
I really want him to do well and I do believe in him, but that thinking can only last so long, especially if he keeps coming out with some of the comments that he has of late.
Doesn’t really come down to what we think, in the end it’ll be Fox/Lerner who decide if/when to pull the plug on this experiment.
Just seems to me that October is too early to panic and shoot the manager, so unless he completely loses it and walks out before getting the P45, he’s likely to be here until X-mas.
I do wish him well, and hope he turns it around quickly, but am not optimistic at this point.
That’s pretty much my thinking.
Ok, Pool have sacked Rodgers, but that’s been in the offing for a while and the word is they’ve already had Klopp lined up for a while.
Yep, October just doesn’t seem right to me either.
Clutching at straws is the phrase that springs to mind Badger it ain’t going to happen accept it and move on
Forget about beating Chelsea – our role is to help every other team / manager in the PL. We just don’t understand the concept of ‘turning the screw’. If we try and defend we will just pass the iniative to Chelsea – TS has to put out a fast attacking team and go for it – but will he have the balls to do it?
Hitch I like the words ‘ fast & attacking ‘ we should have shabby available for the Chelsea game problem solved MATE.
Gabby? (sigh).
Where’ve you been Giddy?
Bill’s been after you pal.
Just got back from my annual Bavarian piss up MATE,I left the handset at home I just got the SCUM & baggies results over there.good job by the looks of things didn’t want to put a dampener on my merriment. Things don’t look good do they????eh
Giddy – good job I know you’re taking the piss re: Shabby 🙂 nice to have you back mate.
A win is so important for Sherwood right now, it is the only thing that will save him. A loss to Chelsea would be poor, especial on their current form, but I feel that the board will still want to give him as much time as possible to turn it around. I get all the shouts for Rodgers, and Big Sam, but for me the make or break game will be our cup game on Oct 28. Lose that, and the two games leading up to that, and the pressure from the supporters and press will make his job untenable.
I’ve just seen an article where Chelsea fans can see us winning against them.
And we think we’ve got it bad?
It must be desperate if they’re thinking that.
Although it wouldn’t surprise me if we get something there, as mad as that might seem.
As has been said, we just need to go for it, imo.
They’re spoilt Badger, Jesus man I can remember them being broke and close to losing Stamford bridge, come on if weren’t for their geographical location they’d have been f**ked years ago.
Before Abramovich and the shiek Monsour Chelsea and city were yo yo clubs at best. In the 70s we always used to beat them and Cheksea we always beat until they sound stupid money. I remember we beat them 2.1 at vp in the late 70s and the only decent player they had was Mickey Droy FFS!!! About 10ft tall but won nothing in the air joke of a club in them days.
They had one great player then… Kenny Swain, what a legend!
I know we sound bitter, twisted, shallow and jealous but the truth be known… We are!
Yep I think he may of joined us then not sure. Clive walker not bad in his day watched him score 3-4 goals v the scum at St Andrews Cheksea won 5-3 from memory good game and scum lost
Cheksea fans will probably want to lose as I think a lot of them have enough of mourinho and his antics. Let’s see how good he is now when he can’t go out and spend £100m to put things right. With that squad 8 points for 8 games is embarrassing at least we have an excuse that our players are shit and we’ve spent peanuts compared to Cheksea.
Loathsome,smug, arrogant, greasy horrible little shite but apart from that he’s sound as pound.
Yeah but the same applied to Liverpool fans and they still beat us – need I say more?
Sherwood seems the type to walk to me if fans the press start to get on his back and looking at his post match interview on the beeb he looks a man under pressure, although all his confidence was slowly draining out of him, not a good sign.
Shame it’s come to this so early after all (well the majority) had such high hopes with Sherwood’s gusto and bravado, he was a breath of fresh air after Lambert but now it’s looking like just another false dawn in Villa land.
Well we can but hope the fella turns it around but he don’t get a win soon (and that’s unlikely against Chelski) then I don’t think he’ll be at VP to get his Christmas hamper.
I’d agree with you : TS looks like someone who could ‘lose it’ completely if things keep going wrong and he can’t see a way of changing them. [ Mr Impulsive!]
It wouldn’t be a complete surprise if he did suddenly just ‘walk’ – long, long before Lerner or Fox were actually moved to fire him.
At least he’d have the balls to walk, unlike Lambert…
Lambert whatever his managerial abilities appeared a decent sort.
Sherwood on the other hand, well would you buy a second hand car from him?
I probably would lol
Yeah & he can take uncle fester with him.
The crab? Old square Balls with his ‘illness’ who wants a fight *hic!* *hic!*
I think he’s the problem, a crazy choice for 2nd in command.
Everything that made Sherwood appeal to Villa fans when he came in has been damaged or proven to be bollocks. He was outspoken (and you could understand him), he seemed confident, he played attacking football with his own system, and I liked the fact that fans of other teams didn’t like him. He seemed like he had a plan.
Now, he’s a sad reflection of that man; he’s over thinking things and playing players out of position. He’s lining up to accommodate the opposition which is ridiculous at home against Stoke, Blues and West Brom.
I genuinely think it might be time for him to go – I think this squad is good enough NOT to be this shit…….Tim just doesn’t seem to have a plan any more.
It’s the Lerner effect………