Tim Sherwood's claim to have a Tottenham Hotspur legacy is laughable

Tim Sherwood thinks he has a legacy. How cute. Yes, he introduced the world to Nabil Bentaleb and Harry Kane. For that, we should all be thankful. Yes, he won many games as Tottenham Hotspur manager, but had just as many brain-melting moments on and off the pitch. And just days into his tenure at Villa Park, he’s had more.

“Not even this guy”, (that meaning Mauricio Pochettino) can match his highest win ratio as a Spurs manager in the Premier League era says Sherwood with an air of undeserved confidence. “I just need to do what I can do, and I know I’m good enough to do the job. I want that to sound confident, not arrogant. I just believe in my ability to do the job. I just need to get the players onside. It’s all about man-management, how to get the most out of players, and I think I did that at Tottenham because my record suggests I did.”

The man management that nearly caused a mass exodus at Spurs, including the world class goalkeeper, established international center-back and several international caliber squad players, right Tim? The same man management that saw Kyle Walker playing as an attacking midfielder at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, right? The man management that saw Liverpool and Arsenal score within one minute against your squads, right Tim? Sure, we all must be mistaken.

Confidence is exactly what Aston Villa needs at this critical point in the season, and while Sherwood exudes it, he can’t really back it up. “[But] if I hadn’t resisted the club wanting to loan him [Harry Kane] out last January, he wouldn’t be Harry Kane now.” Sure Tim. Yes he also resurrected Emmanuel Adebayor’s Tottenham career, at least to the point where he wasn’t sold to a Qatari side in January.

Sherwood became Tottenham manager last December because the club had no other choice. All of their preferred candidates would not join up in the middle of the season, and since Daniel Levy wasn’t particularly in the business of paying more compensation to hire Harry Redknapp again, Sherwood was the only option Levy had. He was an interim coach in everything but name. Because of the talent Levy and Franco Baldini amassed, Sherwood’s freedom allowed the players to go out and win games on their own. But when they needed a semblance of guidance, Tim was out-thought by a 15-year-old playing FIFA.

Sherwood’s record proved only two things – that talent alone can win games in the Premier League, and that just because you’re English doesn’t necessarily mean the media will love you wholeheartedly. If Villa go down, he’ll find that out quick.

Sherwood was never going to build a true legacy at Spurs, even if he brought Kane and Bentaleb to the world’s attention. He has a chance at Villa, even if he wants his reputation to be built on a legacy he doesn’t have.