Aston Villa axe Tim Sherwood after eight months in charge
Jamie Clark, Sports Editor | October 25, 2015
Tim Sherwood sacked
- Sherwood stint at Villa Park lasts eight months
- Managerial reign in West Midlands saw just 10 wins in 28
- Six successive losses prove terminal for Tim
- Moyes then Garde early favourites to take over
Aston Villa have dismissed Tim Sherwood as their manager after eight months in charge, despite steering them to Premier League safety and the FA Cup final last term, with the West Midlands outfit in the relegation zone.
Six straight defeats prompts axe
Former Tottenham boss Sherwood, 46, won just 10 of 28 games in charge of the Villa Park side since succeeding Paul Lambert in February. Under-21 coach Kevin MacDonald has been placed in caretaker charge of the first-team.
Aside from a Second City derby victory over Birmingham in the Capital One Cup, Villa have lost six Premier League games in succession – the latest coming at home to Swansea.
That 2-1 defeat left the Villans four points from safety after 10 matches, and they were second from bottom prior to the Tyne-Wear derby between fellow strugglers Sunderland and Newcastle United kicking off.
Sale of star duo Benteke and Delph has impact
Sherwood saw prized Villa assets Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph sold this summer to Liverpool and Manchester City respectively for a combined estimated £40m, with the latter’s departure particularly acrimonious following a U-turn.
Backed by American owner Randy Lerner, Sherwood spent in excess of £50m, recruiting four players from Ligue 1 and fellow French speaker Rudy Gestede among others, but could not improve their status as perennial strugglers.
Moyes mooted for Premier League return
At a very early stage, ex-Everton and Manchester United manager David Moyes, who is in charge of La Liga team Real Sociedad but under mounting pressure in the Basque Country, was favourite to succed Sherwood.
Since replaced at the head of the betting by ex-Arsenal player and former Lyon coach Remi Garde (1/2), Coral make Moyes 4/1 to take over.
Other rumoured candidates to fill the Villa hotseat are Brendan Rodgers (5/1), recently axed by Liverpool and replaced by Jurgen Klopp; former Leicester City boss Nigel Pearson (also 5/1) and American coach Bob Bradley (8/1), who is best known for his stint at the helm of the US national team.
Aston Villa are seeking their fifth different permanent manager in as many years since Martin O’Neill left them. Those early days of the Lerner era were coupled with strong squad investment that resulted in European football.
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