With Dick Advocaat departing from Sunderland and Liverpool showing the door to Brendan Rodgers, it might have some Villa fans thinking about their manager.
Tim Sherwood kept Villa up and, in the process, got them to an FA Cup final. For that, the Villans will always be grateful. He did more than was expected of him by delivering not only one trip to Wembley but two.
In the weeks leading up to Villa’s confirmation of safety, the football was promising. Having come away from a 3-2 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad, many Villans would have felt they deserved more.
But once Villa’s Premier League status was confirmed, it went downhill fast. An absolute thrashing at the hands of Southampton preceded a miserable final-day fixture against Burnley. And the icing on the cake: an embarrassing defeat in the FA Cup final, allowing Arsenal to defend their trophy and extend Villa’s trophy rout for at least 20 years.
While some fans were sceptical, the vast majority of Villa fans were happy to give Sherwood the summer and first full season in the top flight.
At the start of the season, the squad looked promising, but it is more than apparent that Sherwood has failed to properly replace Christian Benteke. A tough job for many managers, but a Championship player (Rudy Gestede) and Jordan Ayew was a big risk, which has not paid off.
So far, none of Sherwood’s purchases have lit the world alight. Micah Richards has been good, but not solid. The rest just show promise, except Gestede, who, despite a few goals, has been largely useless.
Displacing Ciaran Clark for Joleon Lescott has not worked out at all. Villa could have another Gary Cahill situation on their hands if they are not careful.
Then there are his baffling selections and substitutions. How Leandro Bacuna kept his place for so long is puzzling, how Charles N’Zogbia played any part in the FA Cup final is mystifying.
Dropping Brad Guzan because of a mistake Ron Vlaar made, was idiotic and naïve. As was dropping Carles Gil, an incredibly frustrating decision for Villa fans.
But to Sherwood’s credit, he picked Jack Grealish. While it has been an excellent decision, it is hardly a masterstroke.
Despite some of his positives, one has to look at the cold, hard facts. One win in eight and that win was hardly convincing. If Bournemouth had taken their chances, Villa may well be looking for their first win of the season, instead of their second.
Recently, Sherwood said he is “trying”, which is a bit insulting to Villa fans. Of course they know he is trying. But that is not the point; nothing he is doing is working at the moment. It looks like he is clueless, which is something he more or less admitted to when he said he would keep changing the team until he gets it right.
[interaction id=”56170d94f7217adc4bcd489a”]
Villa have got some tough games coming up and it is hard to see where they will get their next point, let alone win.
The fans have had to endure four straight defeats. Not even the Northeast teams below the Villans have managed that yet.
Fans up and down the country must be asking how much time he has left to turn it around. Probably plenty, which is a very worrying thing for the Villa fans that are quickly losing their patience.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
