Since André Villas-Boas was sacked as Tottenham Hotspur’s manager last week, there’s been much speculation over who would be the next man to take over at White Hart Lane. Seasoned names like Fabio Capello and Frank de Boer were both linked with the post, as well as some less experienced possibilities like Tim Sherwood. After taking temporary charge following the dismissal of the Portuguese man, Tim Sherwood guided Spurs to a loss and a victory, before declaring his interest in the job.
Now, in a shock decision to some, the inexperienced 44-year-old has been given the reins at Spurs until the end of next season. This is seen as a strange decision by Daniel Levy, seeing as this is Sherwood’s managerial post in his admittedly short career. However, the St Albans-born man will have benefitted from the last five years, which he spent coaching with the Lilywhites; first under Harry Redknapp, and most recently under Villas-Boas.
Tim Sherwood’s playing career was much lengthier than his managerial one has been so far. Not only was he a star player in the Blackburn Rovers team that won the Premier League back in 1995 (being named in the PFA Team of the Year in the same year), but he also played for Tottenham for four years. Other clubs included Portsmouth and Norwich City, but his most impressive achievement must surely be 3 England caps in the senior side in 1999. Indeed, then-Blackburn owner Jack Walker once said to manager Kenny Dalglish, “why do you want to sign Zidane when you have Tim Sherwood?”, referencing the Liverpool legend’s pursuit of the future World Cup winner.
Something that Tim Sherwood does have in his favour, and this is a trait which will warm him to the fans, is that he is keen to bring players through from the academy, something most managers do not do. Indeed, in this weekend’s win at Southampton, Sherwood brought on French youngster Nabil Bentaleb for 40 minutes in the second half, and the 19-year-old received good reviews from Spurs supporters. With players like Lewis Holtby and Étienne Capoue on the bench at the time who the manager could have brought on instead, this shows Sherwood’s willingness to bring players through. Ryan Fredericks is another young academy product who was on the bench for Spurs on Sunday at St Mary’s.
Immediately after his side’s triumph at Southampton this weekend, Sherwood made very clear his goals. He said that he would be speaking to the chairman Daniel Levy as soon as possible, and that if he was not going to be offered the post long-term, he did not want it at all, as he would rather work with the young players that he knows so well. I admire this attitude in a manager, and I will be taking a big interest in Sherwood’s progress at White Hart Lane.
Immediately after (and for several days before) the sacking of AVB, foreign names were constantly being linked with the Spurs job. As per usual with a big management position in England nowadays, there was no-one English being linked with a move to the club, apart from the man who was eventually appointed. This move could prove to big clubs everywhere that ‘English manager’ is not a by-word for ‘shoddy quality’. I think Tim Sherwood will have this on his mind too as he tries to prove his managerial credentials.
With Spurs lying in 7th in the table as it stands, the new manager has a lot of work to do to turn the club around and help them reach their goals from the start of the season. For some this was a title challenge, for others it was Champions League qualification. By now, a title challenge could be a bit too optimistic, but a fight for a Champions League spot certainly isn’t. With players like record signing Erik Lamela at his disposal, the task will certainly be made easier for the Premier League’s newest manager.
