It’s only one game and Sherwood’s men perhaps deserved a draw from a dire game. Of course everyone wanted a honeymoon period for Tim Sherwood, a series of such wins would go along way to getting Villa out of their current plight, but it seems he might have to grind survival out of the players, as they were seriously looking for spark against the Potters.
Several lapses from Ron Vlaar had ultimately robbed Villa of one, if not three points against Stoke. The Dutch international be suspended for the next game, the question is will he feature much in a Villa shirt again? I feel he still has a role to play, but he needs to get his head right for the run in and leave Villa on a high.
12 games to go and Villa are bottom two. Still, here’s five reasons to be cheerful as Aston Villa fans…
1. A Scoring No.9
I’m old school. I think one of your main strikers should always wear the number ‘9’ shirt. All these modern day footballers with their silly basketball numbers that then become part of their Twitter addresses are eroding the traditions of the game! Be a man and wear the number ‘9’!
Since the number 20 is currently doing very little for Christian Benteke, Scott Sinclair has at least lived up to being a number 9 in terms of goals, despite not being an out-and-out striker.
Two goals in two games is a ray of hope to a team that has been having spells of five and six games without a goal.
Lets hope Sinclair goes from strength to strength and performs like the player that interested Manchester City in the first place.
2. Tell it like it is
I’ll be honest, I’m not totally convinced by Tim Sherwood as the Villa manager for the long-term and it’s more a case of having two fingers-crossed for him saving Villa this season. At least though, he tells it like it is. At the moment, honesty is the best policy, as I’m sure both the fans and players aren’t going to be duped by the ‘we were excellent’ line anymore.
While Sherwood getting too emotional might be a problem in clouding his judgement, at the moment, the team needs passion and he has plenty to lend out.
3. A season and a third away from the Champions League Football
Never mind five-year plans and all those false promises from the club over the years about future plans to be challenging for the top four. There’s a short-cut to Champions League football and Villa are almost half the way there. Win the FA Cup this season, then win the Europa League next season and Villa will be in the Champions League in the 2016/17 season. Lets do this!
4. Return of the Mac
If nothing else the return of Kevin MacDonald to Villa Park as a assistant manager will give Tim Sherwood an instant insight into the Villa universe, so the Villa boss can really hit the ground running, so to speak. MacDonald is much loved by fans and players alike, so he’ll have nothing but a positive effect on the place. It could potentially be Kev’s toughest role at Villa yet. We wish him luck!
5. Foxy Talk
It was refreshing to hear the Villa CEO Tom Fox firmly state at the recent AVST meeting where Aston Villa should be in the scheme of things. There was no fluffy talk or excuses, but a firm declaration of what the ambition of the club should be. The Villa CEO on the whole was honest and open about the club’s current plight in exchanges with Villa supporters present at Villa Park last Thursday evening.
Fox’s plans could be undermined if Sherwood can’t steer Villa away from the relegation zone though. Fox said, the patient (the club) is sick and it’s recovery is the first step. If Villa do go down they could potentially slip into a coma though.
Was the Lambert dismissal too late? Is Sherwood the right man for the job? We’ll know in May, but if the club do stay up, the feeling in the room last week was Mr Fox seems to be the man to take Villa forward if relegation can be averted.
For a comprehensive insight into the Tom Fox AVST meeting with supporters see our review of the discussion
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The main reason to be cheerful – Ron Vlaar’s suspension. He has the mobility of a cart horse (and that’s being insulting to the horse) and is a total liability.
sorry missed the link out http://youtu.be/MMnSZIqra7M
play this in the dressing room before the next game, and get the holte singing it next home game lets get some passion flowing