THIS IS A GUEST BLOG FROM DECLAN KINGS. WE AWAIT AN OFFICIAL AUTHOR TITLE FOR HIM.
The 14th of February saw our recently departed manager, Tim Sherwood, take the hot seat at Villa Park, whilst also welcoming back experienced coach, Kevin MacDoanld.
I doubt very much he envisaged the turbulent 8 months ahead. Upon his arrival, MacDonald was given the position as assistant manager which many Villa fans supported as his breadth of football knowledge would lend a rather inexperienced Tim Sherwood a vital helping hand in avoiding relegation. This they achieved together with many leaps and bounds on the way.
Villa’s FA cup semi-final performance was probably one of the finest performances many fans have seen for years, though, the performance in the final wasn’t anywhere near this benchmark, nor was the humiliating display against Southampton.
The New Season
So, one season over. Another to prepare for, something Sherwood hadn’t ever previously done. His first decision of the summer, probably most fatal to his tender 8-month regime, was to replace Kevin MacDonald with former Chelsea, Ray Wilkins. This saw MacDonald resume his old position as U21 youth coach. Now, this decision I personally believe is one of the biggest mistakes Sherwood made. Wilkin’s last occupation was with a relegated Fulham team who went down without any form of fight. Yes, Wilkins had worked very successfully at Chelsea, but lets not be mistaken, Aston Villa do not compare with Chelsea in recent decades so to come in and coach a Villa team wounded by the departures of vital players such as Benteke, Cleverley and Delph is by far a harder challenge than coaching world-class professionals such as Frank Lampard and Claude Makelele.
In comparison, MacDonald knows the club inside out and has a very close bond with many of the youth team, of which many have gone on to play Premier League football for many years. Such experience held by MacDonald and in-depth knowledge of the football club could have seen Sherwood enjoy a more successful reign as Villa boss, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
The beginning of the season and a hard-fought win over Bournemouth spelled many positives for Tim Sherwood’s men to take back to the Midlands. That’s about all that can be said for Villa’s league season.
Now, what point am I trying to make? Take a look at the match v Crystal Palace. Ten minutes of the match left to go, Jordan Amavi and Brad Guzan are involved in a massive mix up at the back, Bakary Sako is there to punish Villa. The match against Leicester City, 2-1 up; Grealish is caught in possession; ball is played to Vardy; 2-2 they go on to win. Sherwood comes out in the press, hammering the mistakes players are making.
Further down the line, he drops Amavi down to the mistakes and errors he had been making, much to the anger of many Villa fans. Now, had Sherwood chosen to keep MacDonald near the first team, using his vast experience of dealing with young and raw talents, he may have had a bigger and calming influence upon these players, something Wilkins could simply not offer due to his insufficient knowledge of the football club. There is much to be said in modern-day football about “experience” and Sherwood chose to go with an assistant that had little/unsuccessful experiences with battling the drop in place of a well-respected figure around the club, in Kevin MacDonald, who had been vital to Villa’s survival campaign the season before.
Not the man
Sherwood simply wasn’t the man to take Villa forward. He criticised the summer’s transfer policy, saying the quality of players brought in weren’t good enough. IF so, he wasn’t helping himself by leaving some of the most talented players such as Gil and Adama on the bench to fester in a gloomy atmosphere. I, like many other Villa fans, desperately wanted Sherwood to do well. He spoke with great enthusiasm and charisma, but simply lacked the tactical aptitude to succeed on the pitch. He was a short-term solution to a long-term problem and made very questionable decisions on the way. I am with many Villa fans thanking Sherwood for saving us with 13 games to go and wish him all the success in the future, next time, stick with the experience around the club, it could have been different if MacDonald was kept near the first team.
Now, Aston Villa have a very wise and respected interim coach in Kevin MacDonald to see Villa through this transition period in finding a new manager. He will bring calmness into the dressing room and nurture this very young Villa side. By no means will he wipe their backsides and expect everything to be ok. He will know Villa face a very tough run of fixtures in which organisation and team morale will be paramount to the fortunes we endure in the coming fixtures.
