Football News: Sherwood Needs Time To Prove Himself At Villa

Image from: tamworthherald.co.uk

This season is going to be a difficult one for Aston Villa, not just because of their rookie manager, Tim Sherwood, but also because the club is in the middle of being sold by their current owner Randy Lerner. Things have come a long way from when the American swept in and got tattoed with the club badge, constantly proclaiming his love for Villa while making sure to be take in every game at Villa Park.

It is hard enough for a rookie manager, especially one who has not been promoted from within and so needs to learn all about the club as well, to learn the managerial ropes. Sherwood has not been involved in the transfer business before, so this is all a learning process for him, one that will be hindered by the takeover making it difficult for funding to be used.

I will admit, before I go any further, that I am not impressed by Sherwood so far, but I would not judge him at all on how this season goes, no matter what I think of his work prior to now. This is a club in the doldrums, with a team that was struggling badly and was desperately in need of the lift that Sherwood brought to it.

Next season he will not be able to make the huge changes necessary to resurrect this club, so any improvement over fighting against relegation will be a major step forward, done against the backdrop of a takeover. While Sherwood will no doubt set his sights much higher, he is nothing if not positive, I believe that the club's sole aim has to be avoiding relegation and getting this season out of the way.

Once the season is over, then a full assessment can be made of the squad and the better quality players needed to push up the table brought in. Even though I am not a big fan of Sherwood's management style, I am really interested to see how he gets on in the long term, so I hope the new owners will give him the opportunity.

I do fear, however, that the new broom will sweep all away, as is usual when a takeover happens, and new ownership will want their own man taking charge of the team. Then I will still be left wondering if Tim Sherwood really does have it what it takes to be a top class manager, or if his coaching deficiencies and tendency to hang his players out to dry very publicly will be a hindrance in the long term.

Written by Tris Burke June 16 2015 13:19:35