Not really the thing we want our players to be seeing on match day
Not really the thing we want our players to be seeing on match day

So Villa lost again last Saturday. I couldn’t bring myself to post anything on Monday. I didn’t have anything new to say, and I certainly wasn’t able, as I sometimes am, to find something to laugh about. Had we beaten Stoke, as we should have, I would have felt a glimmer of hope that things would get better. But we didn’t, and any shred of optimism I might have had about our chances this season departed.

I felt pretty much the same way on Tuesday and Wednesday.

And now it’s Thursday and I’m still don’t have anything new to say. I am a bit curious how a new “Would you sack Tim Sherwood?” post would turn out. Last time, it ended with about 75% of respondents still backing the manager. Guessing it would be somewhat lower now but the whole exercise seems too depressing.

I’m still not calling for Sherwood’s head, but only because I recently read that, statistically, mid-season sackings don’t make that much of a difference. Sometimes there can be a new-manager bounce, but just as often, the new manager inherits a team of players that aren’t equipped to play the way he wants them to.

I do think we have the players to be a decent mid-table side. Why, then, are we in the relegation zone? Well, some of the blame surely lies with Sherwood and his constant tinkering. It might be best for him to choose a formation, choose his strongest starting side, and hope for some consistency.

All this may be academic. Either we will win a few games or we won’t. If current form continues, I can’t imagine Sherwood staying much longer. (Especially with Brendan Rogers now available.) 4 points from 8 games has us on track for 19 points at the end of the season and relegation. A win at Chelsea would work wonders, but, even with Chelsea as poor as they are now, who really expects that—when we can’t even beat Stoke at home?

I do have one suggestion that might help improve home form. They should move the sign that reads, Abandon all hope, ye who enter here, and move it from Villa dressing room to the visitors’. Worth a try, anyway.

The tenth circle of Hell
The tenth circle of Hell