So Aston Villa have finally made a decision to dispense with Tim Sherwood’s services.
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Sherwood’s brief reign was officially ended yesterday morning, less than 24 hours after the 2-1 defeat against Swansea City, becoming the third Premier League managerial casualty of the season.
In a statement released on the club website, Villa’s board explained that “the results on the pitch simply were not good enough”, and that’s what forced them into a change.
Ayew give his side the lead 62 minutes into that contest before a subsequent collapse and the Ghana global is keen to see mental strength from his colleagues in order to turn their dire slump around.
Possible contenders to replace Sherwood include former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, who was sacked earlier in October.
Sherwood was appointed in February and kept the side safe from relegation by three points, as well as reaching the FA Cup final, where they lost 4-0 to Arsenal. For Villa’s want away owners, Garde could be seen as a relatively cheap appointment, and would represent a departure from their recent recruitment policy of hiring young British managers.
Remarkably, he is the fourth successive Sunderland boss to bounce back from defeat in his first game with a win over Newcastle in his second.
One of these players, Jordan Ayew, was not even the best available striker in his own family – his brother Andre having scored Swansea’s victor which finally did for Sherwood, after joining from Marseille on a free in the summer. Unimaginative? Yes. But better than he got and for a similar price? We just wanted to win because we are all like a family.
The club announced that assistant manager Kevin MacDonald will take over as interim manager until a permanent one is found. MacDonald previously served as caretaker manager in 2010. “We think the talks between him and Villa are quite far down the line”.
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The 22-year-old was always likely to find this season tougher after his outstanding breakthrough campaign, but his willingness to work hard and never be afraid to have a pop at goal paid off handsomely at the Vitality Stadium.
