The future is bright, the future is Aston Villa under Sherwood
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Should Tim Sherwood land Aston Villa the FA Cup and secure Premier League survival then he will have taken the shortest possible track to legend status in the west Midlands, but whatever transpires, the long-term looks rosy.
Whilst counting chickens isn’t an exercise Sherwood will be indulging in until the maths say it is so, one half of the aforementioned ‘double’ is well on the way to completion thanks to a four-point cushion above the red line, with Villa 1/14 to stay up.
Given the general consensus implies a record low points accumulation will be needed to swerve the drop, another victory from five games, three of which are at home to teams 10th or lower, may well suffice.
It’s not gone unnoticed by many observers, including skipper Ron Vlaar, the club’s fortunes are turning for the better.
The Villa skipper has hinted he who could yet commit to remaining at Villa Park in spite of frenzied interest over the past two transfer windows from various parties.
Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair is the latest to pledge allegiance to the Sherwood revolution.
Having flourished in his brief stint, Sinclair could well join Tom Cleverley as one to convert their temporary status into a permanent deal this summer if he gets his wish.
While Sherwood is sure to delve into the market as he eyes areas of potential weakness in his squad, the foundations do not require excessive reinforcement.
Of those players in and around the first team, Sinclair 26 and Cleverley 25, would be joining a group of players with their peaks, in theory, still in the pipeline.
Shay Given drags the average age up slightly at 39, but Jack Grealish redresses the balance nicely at 19.
Carlos Gil and Jores Okore are 22, Nathan Baker, Leandro Bacuna and Andreas Weimann are 23, Christian Benteke is 24 and Fabian Delph, Ciaran Clark and Matthew Lowton will finish the season as 25-year-olds.
This can only stand Villa and their new manager in good stead going forward, with some of the credit falling squarely at the feet of Paul Lambert for sticking to his policy of youth, sometimes at the detriment of results.
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