Tim Sherwood
After months of mockery over Tim Sherwood's media persona and solipsism (and I'm guilty too), he's doing an excellent job at keeping Aston Villa in the Premier League. Sherwood labelled the 1-0 victory over West Ham as a "big step" towards safety, but I can take that further. Villa are safe.
Before Manchester City's result against QPR, a Premier League table calculated since the beginning of March saw Villa sitting in fifth position, and no side had scored more goals in that time. Both of those facts were negated by City's 6-0 victory, but the point still stands: Sherwood has transformed Villa. Extrapolating his current record over the course of this season would put Villa in ninth, and he has also reached the FA Cup final.
There are caveats to his success, of course. Being the man to take over from the dour Paul Lambert was one of the most attractive jobs imaginable. Villa were in 18th place, but the quality of their squad belied that low standing. From such a funk the only way was up, and Sherwood has led the merry march.
Next season will be the biggest test of Sherwood's ability as a manager, the challenge of managing increased expectations. Until now, he is an effective short-term motivational fix, and nothing more. But he has at least earned the chance to prove his credentials.
Sherwood's methods are not particularly technical or complicated - he simply aims to make players enjoy playing the game. This is largely achieved by showering them with praise. Take Villa's four best players since Sherwood's arrival, for example:
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On Christian Benteke: "I don't know if there's a better striker in Europe right now. He's the best."
On Tom Cleverley: "He showed the quality he has. He works tirelessly. But he has more than that - he can burst forward."
On Jack Grealish: "He could be right up there amongst the best of them."
On Fabian Delph: "I don't want to go over the top, but Fabian Delph - there's not a better midfielder in the country at the moment."
It doesn't matter if such statements are inaccurate, fanciful or just ludicrously optimistic, just so long as it motivates the players to prove their worth. In Sherwood's defence, all four have done so in the last six weeks.
He remains a difficult man to like, but there can be no doubting Sherwood's ability to inspire players through the simple method of making them feel valued. There are still questions to be answered of his aptitude to do so in adversity but, for now, those issues have been pushed to the back of Villa fans' minds.
Sherwood's task at Villa Park is far from complete, but after plenty of sarcastic snidery, it would be crass to ignore his positive impact.
Tom Cleverley
"From my point of view to study at close quarters Messi, Xavi and Iniesta was invaluable. Messi is wonderful but I think I can model my game on Xavi and Iniesta" - Tom Cleverley, June 2011.
Number of league goals from Cleverley in his last three matches: 3
Number of league goals from Xavi and Iniesta this season: 2
Who's laughing now, eh? Well we are, still. But it's nice to see Cleverley's decline finally halted. Enjoying the collapse of a young English player's form is not a particularly pleasant pastime.
