How should Tim Sherwood turn things around at Aston Villa?
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Version 0 of 1. If you believe the media hype, Tim Sherwood has already made his mark on Aston Villa. We can never know just what effect the new manager had at half-time against Leicester City on Sunday but, after a familiarly dour first half, Villa did look re-energised after the break. The second half showing helped the club book their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and Sherwood’s reaction to the goals has already gone some way to appeasing the fans. He splits opinions across the game, including among the Villa support, and is likely to continue to do so for some time. There are, however, undeniable positives to take from his appointment. Much of the ill feeling towards Lambert had to do with his increasingly depressing demeanour. He was dignified in his time at the club but his mumbling tone and his look of a man who was constantly on the verge of tears did little to rouse the fans or the players (cue comments that Villa could bring any man to tears…). Lambert arrived at the club with the reputation as one of Britain’s finest young managers. Tim Sherwood’s self-belief is such that he would certainly recognise himself in the same bracket. He is so very different to the man the fans became so tired of. Sherwood wouldn’t be out of place running a team-bonding retreat. It’s now up to the players to show whether they buy into his enthusiasm. Sherwood has used the same cliches that Lambert mentioned in his final weeks in charge. “There’s 13 cup finals ahead” and “we’ve got to be up for the fight” sound entirely different in Sherwood’s enthusiastic tone than that of a man who brought about a sense of impending doom. The task ahead is not easy for the new manager but, if he can steer Villa clear of relegation this season, there are reasons to be optimistic. Much has been made of Sherwood’s ability to get the best out of Emmanuel Adebayor at Spurs but, while doing the same with Christian Benteke will certainly be key, the pair are not that similar. Adebayor had been dropped from the team for some time, with André Villas-Boas clearly doubting his commitment to the cause – and he certainly wasn’t the first to do so. Benteke comes across as a different type of character altogether. Shy and reserved off the pitch, the Belgian is a striker whose lack of confidence is affecting his movement, hold-up play and entire game. Villa’s limited success under Lambert came through getting the ball to Benteke and playing off the big man. This season the 24-year-old has had fewer touches-per-game (41.7) than in either of his previous campaigns. His chance creation figures have dropped markedly from 1.8 to 0.8 per game and his shot accuracy has plummeted from 41.8% to 29.2%, bringing just two league goals.Sherwood must get the best out of Benteke, as he did with Adebayor, but the manner in which he does so may need to be very different. For a team that have scored just 12 league goals, the remit will obviously be to increase Villa’s dismal attacking output. Much like with Benteke, Sherwood will need to inspire confidence in players such as Tom Cleverley and Scott Sinclair, who have all but lost their way in the game. He is likely to be more capable than his predecessor in that regard. He’s also likely to revert Villa’s playing style to a degree. Lambert changed tack to promote a passing game that proved to be so sterile that the team looked less of a threat than they had at the beginning of the season. Indeed, in the first 13 league matches of the season, Villa’s average possession figure was only a little over 40% and in the 12 matches thereafter that number was close to 55%. The difference in approach was huge but failed to have the desired effect. Sherwood’s ideologies seem to be more pragmatic. Judging from a quote from his time at Spurs in which he said he likes his “defenders to defend, attackers to attack and midfielders to do a bit of both”, some may say they’re a little rudimentary. There’s a sense, though, that Villa may be best served by going back to basics. In the first half against Leicester at the weekend, Villa’s play was familiarly stagnant. They attempted 243 short passes in the first half, with just 149 of their overall pass attempts going forwards. However, there was a notable change after the break and it seems that Sherwood’s words may have had an effect. The hosts attempted considerably fewer short passes (178) but more passes were played forwards (181) than in the opening 45 minutes, mustering 12 of their 17 shots after the interval. Taking some examples from the Redknapp family’s book of catchphrases, Sherwood is the sort of man who “tells it like it is” and “isn’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers”. This is where the success of his appointment could go either way. Scenario one sees the players react positively to his honesty and sparks them into life. Scenario two is that a group who have already had fallings out with three outspoken members of the coaching staff over the past year don’t appreciate this approach. However, if Villa play like they did in the second half against Leicester, Sherwood has the basis of a good team to work with. He wants the club to “play without fear” having spent all too long hiding behind meaningless, sideways passes. 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