Saturday's one-all draw away at Hull made it eight league games for Tottenham under Tim Sherwood five wins, two draws, and one, albeit heavy, defeat. Not bad for someone who had no senior management experience six weeks ago. Yet another slow start cost Spurs points. Games against Swansea, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Hull saw Sherwood's emerge slowly out of the traps and it is something that the ex-Blackburn and Norwich player will need to address. However, his managerial career has begun in promising fashion so it is surprising to hear so many fans and pundits not so much raise doubts about his long term future but instead completely dismiss any notion that Sherwood will still be in residue for next season, despite his 18 month contract. Even fourth place and Champions League football is not enough for some people, but there are plenty of reasons for Daniel Levy to keep Sherwood in place for 2014/5 and beyond. Here are five of them...
5. Man Management
Could the difference between Tim Sherwood and Andre villas-Boas be the enigma that is Emmanuel Adebayor? If the Portuguese manager had reintegrated the lanky striker would Spurs have been so toothless under his steward? AVB said no, Sherwood said yes, and the Englishman has been rewarded for his faith in Adebayor. Is it any coincidence that the former player handles current players better? Perhaps not, but Sherwood appears to have be getting more from his players than his predecessor. Christian Eriksen is beginning to blossom, while Nacer Chadli was recently rewarded for good performances in training by regaining his place in the starting eleven. Seven new signings to improve an already good team needed careful managing and AVB failed in that respect. Sherwood appears better suited to introducing the new signings in a better fashion, with his understanding of a player's psyche providing a crucial advantage.
