Deep inside Sherwood’s mind

When Tim Sherwood left Tottenham this summer, my emotion was one of joy tinged with a nagging sense of ‘what could have been’.

It was difficult to articulate at the time, but thankfully one and a bit months on Tim has helped do the job for me in his column for The Independent on Saturday.

For everything he did or, usually, said which raised the ire of Spurs fans, there was something else which made you wonder if maybe he wasn’t perfect for the club.

This could be seen in his column on Saturday morning…

“My belief is that a team requires a ball-playing midfielder. One who can pass the ball forward from deep positions and bring other players into the game.”

Hard to disagree. When he took over at Spurs there was no obvious first-team option for this role, which must have been especially frustrating for Sherwood as one he had helped to nurture in the youth ranks – Tom Carroll – had been sent out on loan to Queens Park Rangers despite an impressive end to the 2012/13 season.

[linequote]If Nabil continues at the same rate, he will be a valuable option for Mauricio Pochettino next term[/linequote]

Of course, Andre Villas-Boas wanted to sign João Moutinho throughout his reign, but started the 2013/14 season without an obvious passer in central midfield despite a wealth of attacking talent who like to receive the ball early.

Sherwood’s solution was to elevate Nabil Bentaleb from the U21s and, despite a huge amount of unwarranted abuse from the stands and online, the young Algeria international grew in stature throughout the season and, if he continues at the same rate, will be a valuable option for Mauricio Pochettino next term.

Sherwood was unafraid to promote talented youngsters, such as Harry Kane, and it is a quality I personally valued in a Spurs boss.

“I felt the issue was that Brazil, in Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho, do not have a player who is comfortable passing the ball forward. They are both good up-and-down, workmanlike midfielders but neither of them has got the guile. That was the problem that Tottenham had last season.”

Sherwood goes on to praise Luka Modric’s play for Croatia and the impact he had at Spurs. Villas-Boas identified Moutinho as a replacement, but it’s fair to say that the club haven’t had someone capable of playing a deeper creative role consistently since then.

Tim goes on to say…

“You get the “side-foot Charlies”, wearing out the instep of their boots. When they have the ball at their feet, you do know where it’s going. Those players have a role to play, but you need a blend of both.

“Paulinho’s strength is that he can get from box to box. He will get on the end of a move and score a few goals, but he needs it on his right foot for that to happen.

It would be optimistic to compare him to someone like Frank Lampard who, at his peak, was capable of surging into the opposition area from midfield and scoring with his left or right foot.”

Somewhat critical, especially when based on judging a player with no experience of England on his first season at a club which wasn’t exactly a stable environment at which to find your feet.

It must have been especially frustrating for Tim to identify Spurs needed a Modric replacement and ended up with a square peg in that round hole. However…

“Brazil got the job done in the end, albeit with a penalty decision that was very fortunate, but it made me wonder why they have started to play like this.

I have watched their games for a long time – especially when I was keeping tabs on Sandro and Paulinho at Spurs – and Brazil have played like this for a while.”

So Sherwood helped to scout the very player he claims is too limited and not the sort which Spurs needed?

We don’t know what his report on Paulinho said, but with a long history of watching Paulinho you would hope he would have a Plan B able to help maximise his strengths in a better way than was evident during the second half of last season.

Sherwood goes on to talk about England’s young players, such as Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and (young-ish) Adam Lallana and their technical ability.

“It shows we can develop this kind of English player. The issue is whether they are going to play in their club first teams or not. It is a problem that has many root causes but one of them is the kind of manager who comes into the English game from overseas and just doesn’t trust English players to do it in the first team. They have to be given that opportunity.”

Another notion that most people can get behind and one Sherwood attempted to put into practice during his time at the club.

“I worked in development for a long time at Spurs and I always felt that in England we try to coach young boys in tactics for the sake of winning a game. We need to coach technique. Let them play. They can start to learn the tactical side between 16 and 18. Let them develop the flair in their game.”

Seconded, once again. Bentaleb, as the story goes, was slipped out of various club academy systems until Sherwood identified his talent at a trial and showed faith in him.

In a couple of days, he will likely start at the World Cup as a teenager.

[linequote]All managers have friends in the media, but there is a common belief that Sherwood would regular undermine Villas-Boas by briefing off the record about his alleged failings[/linequote]

Similar could be said about Simon Dawkins who was released by Spurs before Sherwood again spotted something in a player who nearly helped Derby County win promotion to the Premier League this season.

Talent identification is a huge skill and Sherwood seems to have it. Combine that with someone who is determined to play attractive, passing football while bringing through home-grown youngsters and it sounds like the perfect package for a Spurs manager.

“Some days I watch development games and the teams are so rigid and drilled that not one player stands out. The attacking players are shackled in the system.

“I watch games where the wingers have been coached to help cover back with defensive work. It means that when they get the ball they don’t have the energy to take their full-back on.

If I have to make a decision on a boy’s contract I need to know whether he can go past the full-back, cross the ball, score goals. Making him track back might win a few games for the Under-18s but the kid could end up working in Sainsbury’s.”

Preach, preacher man. Preach!

As an aside, this column appeared in the same Independent newspaper which bagged an exclusive interview with him at his Hertfordshire home in March.

The journalist on that occasion, Sam Wallace, who conveniently was also the first to break the story of Sherwood’s dismissal from White Hart Lane.

All managers have friends in the media, but there is a common belief that Sherwood would regular undermine Villas-Boas by briefing off the record about his alleged failings – as Richard Keys once famously alluded to.

I was often baffled by the way Sherwood would set up his Tottenham sides, but also extremely curious as to how he would have gone about the task if given time and space to build a Spurs side based on the qualities and type of player he – and most supporters too, it must be said – favour

Ultimately his position became untenable at Tottenham because off his interviews as much as the on-pitch performances of his teams.

He knew his time was up by the time we played Aston Villa on the final day of the season, but temporarily putting a fan in the dugout showed a sense of fun which could be considered refreshing in the modern Premier League.

Then, his post-match comments that the fan had no chance of getting the manager’s job because he was English gave another insight into a bitter, petty side of his character who few would want as the face of a proud, historic club.

[linequote]As I said at the start, it’s complicated with Tim, he could have been so right, but often felt so wrong[/linequote]

While there may be an element of truth in his not particularly pleasant comments about Paulinho in Saturday’s Independent column, the deferral of responsibility for his role in bringing him to Spurs and then failing to get the best out of him also leave a bad taste.

The appointment of Mauricio Pochettino by Daniel Levy has been made to bring an ambitious, winning playing style to Tottenham while trying to bring through the best players from the club’s academy.

It is a philosophy Sherwood shared and, on occasion, showed he was capable of potentially delivering on. Yet other factors fatally undermined him to the point where few Spurs fans shed a tear upon hearing news of his sacking.

As I said at the start, it’s complicated with Tim. He could have been so right, but often felt so wrong. It was hard to put your finger on exactly why he elicited such contrasting emotions.

Thankfully, with the help of his mate Sam Wallace, he has today made that task a little easier.