You know this, but yesterday Dick Advocaat resigned and Brendan Rodgers was sacked. One did it because he doesn't need the hassle, the other went because his club want better and they know this is a great time. Liverpool did it because it was hard. The easy thing would have been to use the excuse that players need time to bed in and eight games is never really enough. But it is, when added to all the other information you know.
And while I've never before entertained the possibility of relegation for Aston Villa, because it was clear there were three sides that were worse than us, it appears right now what we are one of the three worst sides and this, with all the other information we know, isn't news and shouldn't surprise. I think it might be time for Aston Villa to act, even though Tim Sherwood is different and even though I had hoped he could be the one, despite at the exact same time thinking it was and is a massive gamble.
Sherwood says all the right things and apparently has this football philosophy. But you or I can say the right things and you and I probably have a philosophy of how the game should be played. And you know what, you or I would have been hard pressed to have done worse this season. Four points from 24! Alarm bells should be ringing.
And not that we need to, but lets remind ourselves of something; before Sherwood was appointed he'd had half a season at Spurs and then got fired. And after joining us, he moved us up one place. Sherwood was always a big gamble. But I like to think it was the type of gamble taken by someone that had a plan.
The sad truth is, it doesn't take this long to figure out your way of playing football and it's not as if he hasn't had the time. He had all summer and a pre-season to figure out how he wanted to play football. The players have had a lot of time to work that way in training and become comfortable with their roles and the formation. Then he goes and sends out three central defenders against a single striker, at home to Stoke.
But don't take my word for it, look around. Look at the likes of Pardew and Ranieri, it's not taken them this long. What Pardew has achieved at Crystal Palace this season is nothing short of fantastic and while we all know he's going to drop away, it wont be because he changes anything, it will be because other teams figure it out or he loses key players.
I'm sorry Tim, but it's question of the day time
And the thing is with Tim, it's not just the results or performances. He doesn't come across like the boss. He comes across as that mate we've all got only interested in a good time. But it's the mistakes that tip it all off. It's not as if the three central defenders was the first one, it's the latest in a long line. It's hard to argue with someone that says Sherwood is out of his depth.
So it's in the title; is it time to call it a day on Tim Sherwood? If we act quickly, could we get the manager that is likely to end up at Sunderland. Do we want Brendan Rodgers (please nobody say yes to this) or do we look for someone already in a job?
It's sad that we're only eight games in and this is where we are but look at all the information, it's not surprising. And the worst part of all this for me is this; we just have to hope we can get Sam Allardyce and that he sees the potential in the squad. We give him the ten or 11 games until January and give him £10mn and whatever he can raise to keep us up.
It's not as if we were going to win the league and the truth is, if you were given the option of entertaining football or Premier League survival, you'd pick the latter. Sam isn't my ideal choice for manager, but neither is playing in the Championship. But I do know that from the top there is no ambition at Aston Villa, so this is possibly the best we can hope for until we get a new owner. And it's also sad to write that too.