Tim Sherwood Provokes Tactical Questioning Following Villa's Loss to Palace

SELHURST PARK — Tim Sherwood, a man not yet entirely separated from the joker reputation that severely undercuts and betrays his genuine managerial ability, provoked fresh questions about his tactical acumen on Saturday as his Aston Villa side lost 2-1 to Crystal Palace in south-west London.

Palace took the lead thanks to a mammoth Scott Dann header from a corner in the second half but were pegged back by debutant Adama Traore's blistering run and deflected cross-shot. Bakary Sako, also a debutant, bent a lovely finish in to seal the victory for the home outfit, but the feeling that Sherwood exposed his team unnecessarily seems inescapable in the aftermath.

The Villans had the better of the first half, shaping up in the midfield diamond often seen last season, with Jack Grealish leading the assault from the tip. They got the 19-year-old on the ball in good areas and thrived off his service; he poked several sweet passes into the channels, allowing Gabby Agbonlahor—good with his movement despite a horror show on the ball—to run the left side and pressure the Palace defence.

The No. 11 missed a great one-on-one chance after a slick pass from Ashley Westwood, then tore in behind on the left only to accidentally kick the ball with his wrong foot when attempting to cross.

Steve Bardens/Getty Images

Carlos Sanchez had what was probably his best game in a Villa shirt, dominating the central zones, slipping in to rob the opposition of possession and starting attacks from the back. The chances were being created as superiority told, but they were all squandered.

Alan Pardew acknowledged this by making two half-time changes. Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray came off for Dwight Gayle and Jordon Mutch in an attempt to shore up the middle and test Villa's back line with pace across the pitch. Sako took up a central striker's role in lieu of Murray.

Palace started the second half on the front foot and seized the initiative, in part thanks to Pardew's changes, which levelled the battle in the centre. Gayle saw a goal disallowed because it struck James McArthur in an offside position on the way in, then finally Dann netted after beating Ciaran Clark in the air.

But the breakthrough wasn't all Pardew, and all Palace. Moments before the corner was awarded, Sherwood took Sanchez off for Traore, opening up the centre of the pitch for inspection. Villa were immediately cleaved open centrally and forced to clear their lines in a panic, and seconds later the net was pierced.

Traore made amends, sort of, by rinsing Pape Souare and forcing him to divert into his own net, levelling matters, but Villa's open midfield beckoned more chances, and Sako obliged late on.

The key questions to mull over are: Why did Sherwood go for broke, sacrificing midfield stability away from home to essentially go 4-2-4, and how did Agbonlahor, who largely wrecked every attacking move he touched, complete 90 minutes?

The initial setup was excellent; Villa settled and dominated the early portion of play. But Sherwood flinched early and came out battered and bruised, ruing a 2-1 loss that really shouldn't have happened.

The former Tottenham Hotspur man has put to bed a lot of stereotypes about him since taking the reins at Villa in February, but the wider world still see him as a man who plays 4-4-2 attacking football and doesn't consider the bigger picture. No matter how many positive subtle strides he takes, afternoons such as this weigh heavily against the yardstick measuring his progression.

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