FA Cup final: Is Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood a good manager or not?

Aston Villa’s 1-0 home defeat to Burnley on Sunday afternoon condemned them to a 17th-place finish in the Premier League, taking some of the shine off their relegation-escaping revival under Tim Sherwood in recent months.

The former Tottenham coach has clearly done a good job at Villa Park since taking charge in mid-February. His predecessor Paul Lambert was dismissed having just overseen a dire 10-game winless run in which the Midlanders only netted on two occasions.

The football was plodding and sterile, the Scot’s attempts to instil a possession-based style often leaving Villa in control of the ball but rarely the game. There was little incision or cutting edge and relegation to the second division for the first time in 27 years looked to be on the cards.

Sherwood’s remit in the short-term was simply to secure Premier League football for another year; despite that loss to Burnley and the embarrassing 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Southampton a week previously, he has achieved exactly that. In fact, given that Villa will compete in the FA Cup final with Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, Sherwood has exceeded expectations.

Nevertheless, there remains a nagging doubt about the 46-year-old’s coaching credentials, a sense that he is not tactically astute enough to thrive at a club at this level over a longer period of time.

For example, while Sherwood deserves credit for his often discussed 59 percent win ratio at Tottenham – the highest percentage of any Spurs manager in the Premier League era – it is important to remember that a number of his side’s victories owed more to the quality of their individual players than any sort of strategic planning from above. The sarcastic ‘Tactics Tim’ nickname did not just spring up because of the snappy alliteration.

It would be unfair and hastily revisionist to suggest that Sherwood has not introduced any stylistic changes to Villa’s approach following his appointment. The ball is moved forward much quicker than it was under Lambert, with Villa playing at a higher tempo and with increased energy. They are also taking more risks in possession, the pass accuracy decreasing from 81 percent to 79 and the average length moving from 20 metres to 21. Both of these statistics suggest that more progressive and proactive balls are being attempted.

Many players have thrived in his 16-game spell at the helm. Christian Benteke has been outstanding – although the cynics might legitimately argue that the Belgian’s upturn in form has more to do with his return to match fitness rather than any pearls of wisdom imparted by Sherwood – scoring 11 times in 13 Premier League games.

Tom Cleverley, benefiting from the additional freedom to break forward afforded to him, is another who has added goals to his game, while the dynamic Fabian Delph has been excellent alongside the on-loan Manchester United man as a fellow shuttler in the 4-4-2 diamond configuration.

Ahead of them, Jack Grealish and Charles N’Zogbia have moved from fringe squad players to first-team mainstays and, tucked behind at the base of the midfield, Ashley Westwood has been quietly authoritative.

The question, however, is whether Sherwood can build something with more substance next season after giving Villa the immediate shot in the arm they needed to get over the line this time around. Many believe the former midfielder has been somewhat fortunate to land both of his senior managerial roles to date and whether or not he has the nous to be more than just a short-term stop-gap remains open to debate.

Sherwood has done more than enough to deserve that opportunity, though. Press-conference one-liners and heart-on-sleeve (or elsewhere for the gilet-wearer) displays of passion do not preclude tactical sophistication. Sherwood must now prove over an extended period that his skillset stretches beyond motivation, man-management and merely instructing his side to “go for it”.

For now, though, all eyes will be firmly focused on Saturday’s FA Cup final with Arsenal. Should Villa lift their first trophy since Brian Little’s side won the League Cup in 1995/96, Tim Sherwood can celebrate a job well done. From there, the key will be convincing the doubters that he is capable of creating solid foundations at the club next term.