Managerial change in mid-season is always a gamble. The hard
work in pre-season could be all undone with new philosophy being introduced. A
string of poor run usually is a strong shout to send the manager jobless. Andre
Villas-Boas might be an exception, compared to his fellows Paolo Di Canio, Ian
Holloway, Martin Jol and Malky Mackay who were all sent packing. Despite
qualifying in Europa League and just shy of fourth place in Premier League,
humiliating defeats to West Ham, Manchester City and Liverpool catalysed his
departure.
Old boy Tim Sherwood is Daniel Levy's next chosen one. His
unproven managerial ability makes him unlikely the long-term solution, but
Tottenham shows renewed confidence and energy under Sherwood. Five wins out of
six league games seems to justify the 18 months contract offered by Levy.
Curiously, what is the secret behind Sherwood's magic?
Tactical freshness
AVB's impressive first season was more of Gareth Bale's
individual brilliance rather than tactical excellence. Since Harry Redknapp's
tenure, the 4-2-3-1 formation is not unfamiliar in White Hart Lane, but looked
far from lively without a creative attacking midfielder in 2012-13, since the
departure of Rafael Van der Vaart and Luka Modric. The influx of attacking
talents in the summer could not compensate for the loss of Gareth Bale and
AVB's philosophy has completely fallen apart.
There is no stubbornness in Sherwood's tactics. Instead of
fitting the players into his system, he finds a system to fit his best eleven. He
daringly fielded an attacking 4-4-2 at
Southampton that got him a 3-2 victory. Sherwood further fine tuned the
formation to accommodate his attacking trio Christian Eriksen, Emmanuel Adebayor
and Roberto Soldado and see them concede only three more goals in the next five
matches. Playing Swansea away from home, he reverted back to one striker set-up
to counteract Swansea's possession football and notched up another win. Sherwood's
attempt to bring the best out of his squad is refreshing and promising.
Positive results just naturally flow through.
Revival of Adebayor
The true contributor to the timely revival of Adebayor could
well be AVB. As Sherwood has admitted, he has not done much other than granting
the striker more playing time. Everyone agrees that Emmanuel Adebayor is a
top-class striker. At the same time, he failed to impress the Portuguese since
his permanent switch to Tottenham. The endless negotiation on the wage demand before
his arrival also raised doubts over his motivation in football. His fallout
with AVB seems to be inevitable.
With fire in his belly and lots to prove to his former manager,
the lazy and uninterested-looking Adebayor last season is once again chasing
after defenders and proactive in the final third. His physicality and Premier
League experience has also helped settle the struggling Soldado who lately shows
a glimpse of quality.
His ability is well-reflected with six goals in his last eight
games, but who knows for how long will his fire stay glowing? Even though the
Togo international will be thankful to Sherwood for rescuing him from misery,
his character off-the-field could just be too unpredictable to handle.
Injuries bring stability
A phrase that does not apply to every team, fortunately for
Tottenham they have the depth to mitigate the risk of injuries. Certainly
over-crowded in central midfield, the injuries to Brazil duo Sandro and
Paulinho ease the headache for Sherwood to pick his midfield partners. Limiting
squad rotation enhances the understanding between players, while with some
luck, the squad harmony is also maintained, as more players are focused on
returning from injury rather than complaining the lack of playing time.
Credit should not be taken away from Sherwood for his
determination to drop Etienne Capoue and Lewis Holtby, not to be blown away by
their international experience but striving to field the best performing
players, notably Nabil Bentaleb. Although still relatively raw, the young
Frenchman's composure and intelligence are appreciated under Sherwood.
With Andros Townsend, Jan Vertonghen, Younes Kaboul, Sandro
and Paulinho all lining up for return,
how Sherwood works out the correct mix-and-match will be the key to
Tottenham's success in the 2nd half of season.
Honeymoon period would not last forever. The next game could
be incredibly vital to Tottenham. A solid result at home against red-hot
Manchester City will extend their recent run and represent a serious confidence
boost. Critics who are uncertain of Sherwood's ability to lead Tottenham to top
four, despite having beaten the struggling Manchester United, will surely be
convinced. A defeat, even not a heavy one, could see them take a step backward
again and Sherwood will need to dig even deeper to restore the order.