As Tim Sherwood trudged from the dugout to the tunnel at the final whistle, cutting a lonely and melancholic figure, it was hard to escape the feeling that he was a dead man walking. That suspicion was confirmed the following morning when Aston Villa announced his sacking, just eight months after he was appointed. A couple of hours later Sunderland defeated Newcastle United, leaving the club propping up the Premier League table.
Villa are in a fine mess, with one point taken from the nine league games since their opening-day victory at Bournemouth. On the evidence of what we have seen from this group of players this season, and the perilous position that the club find themselves in, it will be their greatest escape yet if Sherwood’s successor manages to stave off relegation.
This is the sixth successive season that Villa have flirted with the drop, which may explain why there were no great protests at full time. Apathy reigns at Villa Park and it is easy to see why, when supporters have put up with so much dross for so long.
Sherwood’s final game will not live long in the memory, and it is a fairly safe bet that the new manager will never pick the same starting line-up that he fielded on Saturday. Villa had four central midfielders available but only one – the £9m summer signing Idrissa Gueye – on the pitch. Perhaps Sherwood, who was clearly unhappy with the business that the club did in the summer, was sending a message to the board. Winning points would have been more useful to him than making one.
For a brief moment it looked like he might be granted a reprieve. Jordan Ayew’s first goal for the club, seconds after Brad Guzan had produced a superb save to deny the Ghanaian’s brother, André, at the other end of the pitch, had Sherwood clenching his fists in triumph.
Six minutes later Swansea were level, Gylfi Sigurdsson beating Guzan with a beautiful 25-yard free-kick, and it was in keeping with Villa’s season that there was a late, fatal blow still to come. André Ayew, upstaging his younger sibling, swept in Kyle Naughton’s fantastic centre to give Swansea a first win in six league games and finally push Sherwood over the edge.
There was still time for a melee in the tunnel, where Micah Richards continued a running feud with Federico Fernández, with the Villa defender accusing the Argentinian of putting his head into his face during a confrontation in the first half. The Football Association will wait for the match report from the referee, Neil Swarbrick, before deciding whether anyone should face disciplinary action.
As for Sherwood, his colourful reign finished in the same way as it started, with a 2-1 home league defeat. There were a few pre-emptive parting shots in his final press conference, notably his comments about “carrying” players and, most damningly of all, the suggestion that there was “a lack of quality” in the squad. All that was left once the dust had settled was for the club to confirm the inevitable.
Man of the match André Ayew (Swansea City)
