Why Sherwood must not replace Pardew at Newcastle United

Alan Pardew may be a dead man walking in the world of Premier League managers, but Newcastle could kill off their Premier League survival hopes if they opt to bring former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood in to replace him.

The former Lilywhites chief admitted in quotes carried by the Journal that he would “jump at the chance” to take the top job at St James’ Park and while many fans would welcome the return of his no.2, Les Ferdinand, the combination could prove fatal.

Newcastle United can currently be backed at 5/1 to go down this season – if Sherwood is appointed there a plenty of reasons you should be backing that bet.

Youth over experience

One of the first things Tim Sherwood attempted to do when he took over at Tottenham was to jettison several of the underperforming foreign stars in favour of blooding in home grown youth talent. On paper, it seemed like a good idea but in practice it failed to yield results.

Spurs were dumped out of the Europa League – their best shot at silverware that season – after fielding several academy players, while they also failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Given the make-up of Newcastle’s squad and the lack of youth players even in contention for a first team spot, a similar strategy could prove naive and disastrous.

Handling the imports

In the latter part of his Tottenham tenure, Sherwood expressed dissatisfaction at the way media reports were already linking Mauricio Pochettino with his job at White Hart Lane but while the way in which he was dismissed by Spurs was wrong, the results have proven the club right.

One of the key facets of Pochettino’s success, and something that was lacking under Sherwood, was the Argentine’s ability to get the best out of a multicultural squad and many players who had been frozen out by the previous manager, despite arriving at the club with big reputations.

A move to Newcastle could prove a major miss-step then, with any Pardew replacement expected to get the best out of the various French, Argentine and African stars on the books at St James’ Park. Sherwood’s track record in this particular area is poor.

Dealings in the media

One of the darkest days in Pardew’s reign at the club came when he decided to ‘touch foreheads’ with Hull’s David Meyler on the touchline during a heated Premier League encounter and if Newcastle do look for a new manager they will no doubt be keen to avoid a repeat.

In that sense, Sherwood would be an ill-advised appointment, particularly when you consider his touchline demeanour which can be confrontational at the best of times. Benfica manager Jorge Jesus clashed with the Spurs boss during their Europa League encounter last term – what chances of a repeat, this time with a far worse outcome.

No Mike Ashley man

The reality is that a big reason behind Pardew’s longevity in the Newcastle role is his close relationship with club owner Mike Ashley.

Never keen on rocking the boat too much, the Magpies manager has gone along with Ashley’s plans for the club to date and it has helped him keep in a job.

Sherwood would be unlikely to follow suit, given the way he expressed his dissatisfaction with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy at various points throughout last season – something that may have played a part in his exit.

Fail to see eye to eye with Ashley and Newcastle could be left in the same kind of mess that saw Kevin Keegan depart the club for a second time during a season that ended in relegation.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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