http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25502002
Ex-Spurs boss David Pleat on new head coach Tim Sherwood
Tottenham announced on Monday that Tim Sherwood was the new head coach of the club, signing a deal until the end of the 2014-15 season.
Sherwood, who captained Blackburn to the Premier League title in 1995, played 118 times for Spurs between February 1999 and January 2003 and has been on the coaching staff at White Hart Lane since October 2008.
Former Tottenham boss David Pleat, who managed Sherwood during his time with the club, gave his thoughts on the appointment on BBC Radio 5 live.
Here is an English coach getting a glorious opportunity at a big club
Pleat: "Opportunities come in different ways, but initially he gives Tottenham some stability and he has some credentials; he is ambitious and a leader. I look back to when he was at Blackburn with Alan Shearer, David Batty, Chris Sutton and Graeme Le Saux - some big players. But he was the leader and considered the man who spoke for the team.
"He is a hard-working guy. He has developed, and, along with Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey, helped develop some good players that have emerged this season."
His appointment is a huge risk isn't it?
"Every manager is a risk - there are no messiahs out there. Everyone thinks they can do it - you have all these experts that phone in - but I think Tim will do OK. He will get respect, he understands the game and importantly can communicate.
"He will be steady and will not get carried away. It's a very big club and I believe he has certain qualities that will stand him in good stead."
What is an OK first season for Sherwood?
"The club are currently seventh in the Premier League, but will be after continual improvement. Tim has got two quite good players in each position and he will improve the way they play, and that will satisfy their supporters.
"I saw some of their Europa League games against some poor opposition and the slow passing and the square passing gave no opportunities for forward players to receive the ball. Jermain Defoe, although he scored a few goals in Europe, suffered, as did Roberto Soldado, but Tottenham will get the ball forward quicker now.
"They would love to get into the Champions League and it will be very hard for that to happen, but they must aim for the top six and they are currently outside that."
Will he be a 'yes' man to chairman Daniel Levy?
"He will not be a 'yes' man. He is quite opinionated and will have to temper his views. His confidence and influence helped players like Steven Caulker and Andros Townsend survive the usual cull at 18 or 19 years of age. He has Jake Livermore away [at Hull], Tom Carroll at QPR, the boys at Swindon [Ryan Mason, Alex Pritchard and Grant Hall] are doing very well so he has a mentoring element of younger players about him."
Would he have been better off working his way up through the leagues and proving himself?
"There are different ways of getting that first opportunity and many internationals have gone straight into management and failed miserably as they had high standards as players and could not cope with less talented players."
What will Tottenham fans' expectations be?
Analysis
"It is a really big call because Tottenham are expected to be a top six team in the Premier League and that is what Tim Sherwood will be expected to deliver, with absolutely no managerial experience.
"This is the biggest gamble chairman Daniel Levy has taken for a long, long time.
"Sherwood now has to work with players at a whole different level; players with massive egos who will be banging on his door wanting to know why they are not in his team.
"It is not an appointment that is going to please all the fans, because some of them wanted a bigger name with more experience.
"This is a big call for Levy too. This is a reputation call for him because if this goes wrong then people will question what he has done."
"Spurs have a reputation of playing in a certain way. Their supporters appreciate individual talented players whether it be Paul Gascoigne, Jimmy Greaves or Glenn Hoddle. They have always had great players but have always played a certain way, and that's important to the Tottenham fans.
"He will not play with a holding player, just because everyone else thinks you have to have a holding player.
"The club had to retain some stability. After the decision was made to sack Andre Villas-Boas, they had to get something in place quickly. If they had changed it and brought a new man in, it would have taken him a few weeks to get things sorted.
"Sherwood will bring in initial stability and is someone who has knowledge of the club and how it works. Having done what they've done, I think they've made a sensible decision.
"He will communicate his thoughts to the board, the football directors and the supporters. It will be more comfortable for him than it was for Andre Villas-Boas."
David Pleat was speaking on BBC Radio 5 live.
Ex-Spurs boss David Pleat on new head coach Tim Sherwood
Tottenham announced on Monday that Tim Sherwood was the new head coach of the club, signing a deal until the end of the 2014-15 season.
Sherwood, who captained Blackburn to the Premier League title in 1995, played 118 times for Spurs between February 1999 and January 2003 and has been on the coaching staff at White Hart Lane since October 2008.
Former Tottenham boss David Pleat, who managed Sherwood during his time with the club, gave his thoughts on the appointment on BBC Radio 5 live.
Here is an English coach getting a glorious opportunity at a big club
Pleat: "Opportunities come in different ways, but initially he gives Tottenham some stability and he has some credentials; he is ambitious and a leader. I look back to when he was at Blackburn with Alan Shearer, David Batty, Chris Sutton and Graeme Le Saux - some big players. But he was the leader and considered the man who spoke for the team.
"He is a hard-working guy. He has developed, and, along with Les Ferdinand and Chris Ramsey, helped develop some good players that have emerged this season."
His appointment is a huge risk isn't it?
"Every manager is a risk - there are no messiahs out there. Everyone thinks they can do it - you have all these experts that phone in - but I think Tim will do OK. He will get respect, he understands the game and importantly can communicate.
"He will be steady and will not get carried away. It's a very big club and I believe he has certain qualities that will stand him in good stead."
What is an OK first season for Sherwood?
"The club are currently seventh in the Premier League, but will be after continual improvement. Tim has got two quite good players in each position and he will improve the way they play, and that will satisfy their supporters.
"I saw some of their Europa League games against some poor opposition and the slow passing and the square passing gave no opportunities for forward players to receive the ball. Jermain Defoe, although he scored a few goals in Europe, suffered, as did Roberto Soldado, but Tottenham will get the ball forward quicker now.
"They would love to get into the Champions League and it will be very hard for that to happen, but they must aim for the top six and they are currently outside that."
Will he be a 'yes' man to chairman Daniel Levy?
"He will not be a 'yes' man. He is quite opinionated and will have to temper his views. His confidence and influence helped players like Steven Caulker and Andros Townsend survive the usual cull at 18 or 19 years of age. He has Jake Livermore away [at Hull], Tom Carroll at QPR, the boys at Swindon [Ryan Mason, Alex Pritchard and Grant Hall] are doing very well so he has a mentoring element of younger players about him."
Would he have been better off working his way up through the leagues and proving himself?
"There are different ways of getting that first opportunity and many internationals have gone straight into management and failed miserably as they had high standards as players and could not cope with less talented players."
What will Tottenham fans' expectations be?
Analysis
"It is a really big call because Tottenham are expected to be a top six team in the Premier League and that is what Tim Sherwood will be expected to deliver, with absolutely no managerial experience.
"This is the biggest gamble chairman Daniel Levy has taken for a long, long time.
"Sherwood now has to work with players at a whole different level; players with massive egos who will be banging on his door wanting to know why they are not in his team.
"It is not an appointment that is going to please all the fans, because some of them wanted a bigger name with more experience.
"This is a big call for Levy too. This is a reputation call for him because if this goes wrong then people will question what he has done."
"Spurs have a reputation of playing in a certain way. Their supporters appreciate individual talented players whether it be Paul Gascoigne, Jimmy Greaves or Glenn Hoddle. They have always had great players but have always played a certain way, and that's important to the Tottenham fans.
"He will not play with a holding player, just because everyone else thinks you have to have a holding player.
"The club had to retain some stability. After the decision was made to sack Andre Villas-Boas, they had to get something in place quickly. If they had changed it and brought a new man in, it would have taken him a few weeks to get things sorted.
"Sherwood will bring in initial stability and is someone who has knowledge of the club and how it works. Having done what they've done, I think they've made a sensible decision.
"He will communicate his thoughts to the board, the football directors and the supporters. It will be more comfortable for him than it was for Andre Villas-Boas."
David Pleat was speaking on BBC Radio 5 live.
