Premier League Ponderings: Villa sacks Sherwood
Another week, another managerial
dismissal in the Premier League
as basement club Aston Villa let go
of manager Tim Sherwood after a
miserable run that has seen them
take a solitary win from their opening
10 games.
What does this mean for the league?
As of the first two months of the season we have already had half as many managerial changes as all of last year, in which six managers were fired. As sackings typically happen closer to December, this may turn out to be a banner year for the lack of job security in football management.
For Sherwood himself, the sacking may have dealt a massive blow to his young managerial career. Beginning as a coach at Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, three years after retiring as a player, he was promoted to manager in the wake of Andre Villas-Boas’ sacking in 2013.
His 50 per cent win rate was unremarkable, as he managed to keep Tottenham at a respectable sixth place, yet was let go at the end of the season after just 28 matches.
The release was no surprise, as he was always seen as a ‘panic’ appointment, but he had proven himself enough at the top end of the table to be considered for management posts at the other end of the league.
His opportunity came at Aston Villa last February when he was appointed to guide them out of the relegation zone and to Premier League safety.
He was successful in this regard, finishing just three points above the relegation zone and only staying up by virtue of the three teams below them performing even worse. Regardless of the uninspiring performances, Sherwood was kept on into this year, given time to make the signings he felt would help the team.
An opening day victory against newly promoted Bournemouth was as good as it was going to get for Villa this season, it was followed up with eight defeats, punctuated only by a draw against fellow strugglers Sunderland.
A sixth consecutive loss against Swansea last weekend was the final straw and Sherwood was let go after 28 matches, the same length of time he spent at Tottenham, albeit with a win rate of just 35.7 per cent.
So another young English manager has been found wanting, and after this season it is unlikely that a Premier League job awaits Sherwood any time soon. It may be time for him to drop down to the Championship and cut his teeth in the Football League instead.
As for Villa, the prospects are bleak and the job seems to be a bit of a poisoned chalice, with the club failing to find any real success since Martin O’Neill’s departure five years ago.
A quality manager willing to take the job may be hard to find, and one of the Premier League’s founding clubs may be facing the reality of life in the championship very soon.
What does this mean for the league?
As of the first two months of the season we have already had half as many managerial changes as all of last year, in which six managers were fired. As sackings typically happen closer to December, this may turn out to be a banner year for the lack of job security in football management.
For Sherwood himself, the sacking may have dealt a massive blow to his young managerial career. Beginning as a coach at Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, three years after retiring as a player, he was promoted to manager in the wake of Andre Villas-Boas’ sacking in 2013.
His 50 per cent win rate was unremarkable, as he managed to keep Tottenham at a respectable sixth place, yet was let go at the end of the season after just 28 matches.
The release was no surprise, as he was always seen as a ‘panic’ appointment, but he had proven himself enough at the top end of the table to be considered for management posts at the other end of the league.
His opportunity came at Aston Villa last February when he was appointed to guide them out of the relegation zone and to Premier League safety.
He was successful in this regard, finishing just three points above the relegation zone and only staying up by virtue of the three teams below them performing even worse. Regardless of the uninspiring performances, Sherwood was kept on into this year, given time to make the signings he felt would help the team.
An opening day victory against newly promoted Bournemouth was as good as it was going to get for Villa this season, it was followed up with eight defeats, punctuated only by a draw against fellow strugglers Sunderland.
A sixth consecutive loss against Swansea last weekend was the final straw and Sherwood was let go after 28 matches, the same length of time he spent at Tottenham, albeit with a win rate of just 35.7 per cent.
So another young English manager has been found wanting, and after this season it is unlikely that a Premier League job awaits Sherwood any time soon. It may be time for him to drop down to the Championship and cut his teeth in the Football League instead.
As for Villa, the prospects are bleak and the job seems to be a bit of a poisoned chalice, with the club failing to find any real success since Martin O’Neill’s departure five years ago.
A quality manager willing to take the job may be hard to find, and one of the Premier League’s founding clubs may be facing the reality of life in the championship very soon.
