It is readily accepted that good players do not necessarily make good managers.
There is a long list of failed former greats who haven’t cut it in the dugout: from Bobby Charlton to Hristo Stoichkov, van Basten to Alan Shearer, much of it can be attributed to abrasive or troublesome personalities or indeed a complete lack thereof.
As Brendan Rodgers knows, character is important for managers as well as players.
Fortunately Aston Villa boss, Tim Sherwood is full of it. As a swashbuckling midfielder, he always had a decisive footballing brain and leadership qualities, captaining his Blackburn side to the Premier League title in 1994/95.
Watford teammate in the late 1980’s Garry Thompson reminisced that even at 18/19 Sherwood was ‘very, very disciplined and organised’, ‘he was a leader’.
His playing career spanned 18 years, making over 500 appearances before unfortunate circumstances lead to his decision to retire in 2005.
Joining the coaching staff at Tottenham Hotspurs in 2008, he stepped up as Interim manager in December 2013 with those cynical among us seeing this as Daniel Levy’s cheap option. Sherwood extracted consistent performances from serial misfit Emmanuel Adebayor and put faith into a few of the youth team players.
However, being very outspoken about his chances culminated in his sacking at the end of the season despite a respectable sixth place finish.
Unwilling to step down from anything other than the top job, he remained patient, seeking the ideal job for him to further his career. Turning down reported interest from West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, he took over at Aston Villa in February 2015, highlighting the stature of the club as a major factor in his arrival.
Immediately he set about imposing his philosophy on the players. Often ridiculed for his lack of tactical approach, you can’t argue with the fact he took over a team looking broken and in dire need of belief.
He instilled that belief and introduced high energy, high pressing football. Having Fabian Delph as his captain, he led by example receiving only one yellow card in the league for the season remaining. Sherwood’s arrival coincided with Christian Benteke scoring 13 goals in 13 games, including the winner in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, sealing an FA Cup final date against Arsenal.
Always willing to give youngsters a chance, he set about giving local lad Jack Grealish a run in the team. The faith put into the tricky winger has catapulted him to one of the hottest properties in the Premier League.
The biggest turnaround, though, was Tom Cleverley. He looked seriously out of sorts under previous boss Paul Lambert, having been restricted in a flat middle three. It was Sherwood’s tinkering that freed the former Manchester United ace to make his supporting runs, scoring all three of his League goals in the months following this change.
Having maintained Premier League status, the biggest disappointment was being woefully outclassed in the FA Cup final against Arsenal, with Sherwood failing to address the space left in front of Villa’s back four throughout the match.
In the season’s end, Sherwood has made a shrewd appointment in bringing in Ray Wilkins, an experienced coach with a winning attitude. But already this summer, he has lost his three best players in Christian Benteke, Fabian Delph and Ron Vlaar, which will be difficult to replace.
Having brought in Micah Richards, Jordan Amavi, midfield shuttler Idrissa Gueye, Jordan Ayew and Scott Sinclair he has acquired well with more signings expected with his £40 million windfall.
Sadly, at Villa Park, you don’t know how much of this money he will be able to reinvest in the squad. In desperate need of direct replacements for departing Delph and Benteke, his biggest challenge will competing in the forthcoming season.
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