Why Tim Sherwood Is The Main Winner Of Spurs' Season.

As Tim Sherwood gave his thoughts over ITV's coverage of last night's Europa League final, you heard the satisfied tone of someone who wouldn't change a thing about the last six months. A man who knew what he was getting himself into, knew he would be sacked before the year was out, and knew he would actually be more employable at the end of the line.

How many managers at Championship level, which is where Sherwood will inevitably end up, can say they have managed in European competition? Very few. He is already right at the top of many wish-lists I'm sure. Before Spurs handed him a permanent contract, many chairmen would be a bit wary of the unknown if considering Sherwood for their club. Whether this is accurate or not, he now gives the impression of carefree attacking throwback football, which always attempts to outscore the opposition. Remember that opening bout against Southampton where he selected four attacking midfielders, two strikers, and came back with three points? That's what most top brass will think of when Tim's CV drops onto their desk.

Spurs fans will tell you that Sherwood lacked a real style of play, that he basically put his best players on the field and prayed for a bit of inspiration or magic. Fortunately for him, Emmanuel Adebayor and Christian Eriksen provided that magic. But even that supposed reliance on Adebayor makes Sherwood look good, as he was the one who brought the Togo man out from the cold, after Andre Villas-Boas' ill-fated tenure. AVB also got much less out of Eriksen than Sherwood did. There is a place for Sherwood in the managerial jungle, and his time as 'supply teacher' at White Hart Lane has done more for him than six months at a lower league side.

Sherwood is a man who thrives on attention, and in Spurs' car-crash of a season, he walks away unscathed, with an un-bettered win percentage, and a lot of sympathy. He was never going to get them into the top four, and to be honest, given time, Villas-Boas would have proved a better long-term bet. Both are now history though, and arguably better off.

Not So Keen Anymore..

It's finally happened. Steve Kean has fallen on his own bluntest of swords, resigning as Blackburn boss after a turbulent 22 months in charge.

In truth this has been coming since the day he took office, and the inevitability was underlined by relegation from the Premier League earlier this year, and that laughable Shebby Singh press conference threatening him with the sack on the eve of the new Championship season filled the Sky Sports News 24-hour bulletins with worrying ease.

Any Seinfeld fans amongst these readers will no doubt see shades of George Costanza in Kean's steadfast refusal to quit. Even Costanza knew the game was up when he found the door to his office plastered over. One can only imagine when the penny dropped for Kean.

The decision he took can hardly come has a complete surprise, but the timing of it was somewhat unexpected. Earlier that same day he insisted that "positive talks" had been held with the board. Certain sections (probably the majority) of the Ewood Park fanbase would still call this outcome positive.

Rovers have been the butt of far too many jokes since the Venkys takeover, and while the target of most of fans hatred has been removed of its own volition, the board must now fear that they themselves will become the sole destination of dissent. Tim Sherwood is rumoured to be the man wanted to take Blackburn back to the Premier League.

Kean's successor will have an admittedly solid base to work from, and a strikeforce containing Jordan Rhodes and Nuno Gomes will not require much tweaking to score the required goals. However a greater sense of unity is surely required. Ironically the man to get this job done would probably be Sam Allardyce, the vanquished ex-boss whose sacking started this epic downward spiral. It has certainly be a couple of years to forget for those in blue and white.