Aston Vila fans will be hoping Tim Sherwood was able to figure out his best starting setup during the international break.
It’s probably what the Villa fans were hoping would have happened during the first international break this season. But, then, the Villans resumed their league campaign, and continued on to the second international break without another win, leaving them in 18th place. While Sunderland and Liverpool have both used the latest break to change managers, Villa have stuck with Sherwood for the foreseeable future. Surely with rumours of Brendan Rodgers and David Moyes flying about, Sherwood must be a little nervous about his job prospects; the pressure is most certainly on.
Villa return to action on Saturday when they travel to Stamford Bridge and visit struggling champions Chelsea. There’s certainly no better time to face Chelsea, but the same could be said about Villa. It’s incredibly important that Sherwood has used this break to figure out what Villa’s best team is and how they go about winning games. There are no fixtures you could describe as winnable coming up for Villa. Sandwiched in between trips to London to face Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, Villa host Swansea City. It’s a fixture that’s caused Villa some problems in recent seasons. Expect this game to be no different.
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Their next home game after that trio of fixtures is Manchester City, a potentially caustic return of Fabian Delph. This possibility alone might get whatever fans are left in the stadium riled up, creating a toxic atmosphere for the visitors, giving Villa a much needed edge.
Away to Goodison Park next, the Everton game, the most-played tie in English league football, which is never an easy game. Finally, at the end of November the Villa host Watford, a game most fans will be hoping Villa can win.
It’s been reported that Sherwood has been proactive during the break, using closed-door friendlies to test players out. Even the likes of Charles N’Zogbia have been given a chance to impress during the break, a sure sign of desperation from Sherwood. N’Zogbia is someone most Villa fans want nowhere near the team, especially after his spat with fans on Twitter.
@richyukdpd I never said I don’t care for the fans, u got it wrong ??
— Charles N’Zogbia (@CharlesNzo) October 5, 2015
Gary Gardner has also featured, even scoring in one friendly. The break will have allowed Sherwood to assess the 23-year-old’s injury recovery progress, after the Solihull-born midfielder suffered an injury in Villa’s pre-season win against Swindon Town.
With Sherwood announcing he’ll keep changing the team and the system until he finds one that works, Villa fans will be hoping he’s spent the international break finally deciding on one. The upcoming trip to Chelsea and the games that follow will be a stern test, and may well make or break Sherwood’s reign.
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