football<\/a> he likes to play, but he\u2019s not there to be pretty and bring any youth academy players through \u2013 he\u2019s there to win and we\u2019ll see how he does at the end of the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIf he doesn\u2019t win anything or secure a top four finish, I don\u2019t see Conte being there after this season \u2013 but I don\u2019t see Spurs sacking him.\u201c<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Some Spurs fans booed off the players at half time, do you think they are overreacting with the club still in the top four?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cIf you\u2019ve just landed from the moon and seen Spurs fourth in the league and in the knockout stages of the Champions League \u2013 you\u2019d say they\u2019ve done well.<\/span><\/p>\nBut, the reality is we\u2019ve all watched it and I just feel we are papering over the cracks a bit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSpurs fans are not stupid \u2013 Mourhino took Spurs to top of the table at Xmas when he was in charge, but look what happened to him as soon as the results started to go the other way \u2013 the fans turned on him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI\u2019m not suggesting Conte is Mourhino, as he still looks hungry and shows passion on the touchline.<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/span>However, Spurs fans are just reacting to what they are watching. Unfortunately that place (Spurs) demands a style of play that Conte won\u2019t deliver – he\u2019s not going to change and why would he after being so successful guiding teams the way he has.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Do you think Conte will stay at Spurs if they miss out on top four or do not win silverware?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cI listen to Conte carefully and him saying he needs some help in the transfer market \u2013 but if he\u2019s not going to commit to the club, then why would you give him any money to spend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHe needs to have a conversation with the owners and they need to know \u2013 is he staying for the long-haul?<\/span><\/p>\nIf so, the owners can then persuade their top player to stay and recruit more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBut, Conte has already done well in the transfer market with Bentancur and Kulusevski both being excellent, so that should give the owners more confidence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Where do you think Tottenham will finish this season?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cI can see a top 4 finish and it will be a major disappointment if they don\u2019t \u2013 but everyone is fighting for the same prize.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMan City will win the league, then it\u2019s hard to not see Arsenal being in the top four.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhat\u2019s more nagging for the Spurs fans \u2013 is the way Arsenal are playing this season \u2013 they are brave, the manager trusts his players, they are entertaining and go toe-to-toe with whoever they face. Plus, they are top of the league.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nLiverpool will start coming in the second half of the season, but haven\u2019t been impressed with them. Man Utd and surely Chelsea have to get better and Newcastle have to be challengers for the top 4 too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI think Eddie Howe, at Newcastle, has bought well. He\u2019s been very astute with his signings and might get a few more in January, while he\u2019s also improved the players that were there anyway.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIn short, there\u2019s probably seven teams trying to get into 4 places, so it\u2019s going to be difficult, but Spurs certainly have a chance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Harry Kane was rumoured to want to move to Man City, do you think he will regret that decision after seeing Erling Haaland\u2019s success?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cEvery striker in the world, when looking at Man City, will be green with envy with the support acts he has. The service he\u2019s got would be a joy for an offensive player to play in the current City side.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nCity are the best team in the world. And the have the best manager in the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: If you were managing a team, would you rather have Haaland or Kane?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood: <\/strong>\u201cI\u2019d have them both!\u201c<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Do you think Kane will be at Spurs for the rest of his career?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cI can\u2019t see Harry going to any other Premier League side. He\u2019s not interested in the money \u2013 his motivation is about winning trophies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOutside of Man City \u2013 who is nailed on to win trophies? But, Spurs have as good a chance as any.<\/span><\/p>\nUnless he wants to try and go abroad \u2013 wherever that may be \u2013 I\u2019d never say never, but I doubt he\u2019ll want to play abroad at this moment in time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI see Kane seeing his career out at Tottenham. I think it depends a lot on the manager though \u2013 I think Harry likes Conte but he might not commit his future until he knows what the manager is going to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Who would you like to see Spurs sign in January?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cI can\u2019t see them spending a lot of money in January. If I was the owner I wouldn\u2019t until Conte commits his future further.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI wouldn\u2019t want to waste money on players that a potential new manager might not fancy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe main ingredient to all this is Antonio committing his future to the club for a longer period \u2013 then I think they will buy more.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Do you think Spurs can get past AC Milan?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cYes, I think Conte has the best record of any manager when facing AC Milan \u2013 so when the draw came out I\u2019m sure Conte was jumping up and down. In short, the draw could have been a lot worse.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Who do you think will win the Champions League this season?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cIf Spurs can\u2019t win it, then I really hope it\u2019s City \u2013 I love the way they entertain \u2013 love the manager and best we\u2019ve ever seen in the Premier League.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBut I\u2019ve been with City for the last four years and always failed, but this year with Haaland up front and his specialist subject scoring goals in the Champions League that might be the missing part of the jigsaw when it comes to City and winning the Champions League.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: What do you think about the news that Liverpool have been put up for sale?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cIT <\/span>all depends on who the buyers are really, I\u2019m sure it will be very attractive for a lot of potential buyers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Do you think Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool this season?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201c<\/span>No one is sacking him! The only way he\u2019s leaving is if Klopp decides he\u2019s taken them as far as he can.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHe\u2019s done so well for them \u2013 the fans and players buy into him and it would be very wrong for him to be sacked.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nQ: How would the Blackburn title-winning side of 95 fare in today\u2019s Prem?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s hard to tell with different generations \u2013 but I\u2019d like to think we’d be very competitive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWe played different styles, we could play football or have a fight with any team. We had the package, we had a group of leaders in the team who could find a way of getting over the line and obviously we had the best centre forward (Shearer) the league has ever seen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWe had the Haaland of the 90\u2019s!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Aston Villa won their first game with Unai Emery, how do you think he will fare there?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cHe\u2019s a very good appointment \u2013 the best possible person who was out there at the time. He did well at Arsenal and got unfairly ridiculed – I think he was close to achieving a lot there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI would have loved to see Pochettino go there and take on that project, but Emery is a very decent manager.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nEmery went off after Arsenal and did well in Europe, is back in the Premier League now and back at a huge club. He probably didn\u2019t realise just how big the club is before he walked in the door – but he does now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s a special place there and I really hope he can build something and they give him the opportunity. They\u2019ve got the finances and certainly got the fanbase and now have a manager that is willing to buy into a project.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Premier League Relegation Thoughts?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cForest and Bournemouth have little chance of staying up in my opinion, then it\u2019s out of Southampton and Wolves for the other spot.<\/span><\/p>\nFulham will be fine \u2013 they\u2019ve done great and have good players while I believe they\u2019ve learnt their lessons from when they came up before.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nQ: How will England fare in the upcoming World Cup?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cEngland will be getting through the group stage as normal, then it gets tricky. We\u2019ve got the offensive players to cause any team a lot of problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI\u2019m not sure Southgate will set them up in the way that will excite everyone, but he\u2019s done a good job till now\u00a0 (semi final and final), but needs to go the extra step this time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI would like to see them die on their sword and have a real go and go down fighting, but I\u2019m not sure Southgate will set them up like that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFor me this is possibly Gareth\u2019s last tournament so he might as well have a go \u2013 don\u2019t die wondering.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: What Stage should they reach for it to be classed as a success for Southgate?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cIs it good to finish in the semi and class that as a success? No one remembers the semi final teams, they only remember the winners, he needs to go for it and win it really for it to be deemed a successful World Cup<\/a>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Do you think England\u2019s WC betting odds are fair at around 8\/1?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cYeah, they are fair \u2013 possibly just a bit on the short side.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Who do you think will win the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong> \u201cIf I\u2019m betting with my own money I\u2019m backing Brazil. When you see their squad it\u2019s like the Harlem Globetrotters!! An incredible squad of players and if they can knit it all together they will take some stopping.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nQ: What would your starting XI be for the first game?<\/strong><\/p>\nTim Sherwood:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cMy starting 11 won\u2019t be the same as Gareth\u2019s \u2013 obviously, but if I was the manager it would look like this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nRamsdale, James, Walker, Stones, Shaw, Rice, Bellingham, Mount, Grealish, Foden, Kane.<\/span><\/p>\nSaka is unlucky and really putting his hand up for a start for me.<\/span><\/p>\nStones and Walker are our best partnership at the centre back – being they know each other\u2019s game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nJames and Shaw find the game easy and even though Shaw\u2019s decision making can let him down at times, I\u2019d still have him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nRice is the best holding midfielder – he\u2019s responsible and knows limitations.<\/span><\/p>\nBellingham, over the last few friendlies, has cemented his place in the team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMount you have to have in the team, as he gets up and down, scores goals and creates too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nI also feel, if you name a team without Foden and Grealish in then you\u2019ve missed a trick. These boys don\u2019t come around often and are special \u2013 if they were in the Brazil squad they\u2019d be playing for Brazil!!<\/span><\/p>\nKane \u2013 speaks for himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nMaddison \u2013 can\u2019t do anymore than what he\u2019s doing. I admire him as when Leicester were poor he was the one shining light they had.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHe showed a lot of character and knuckled down during that period so he\u2019s just unfortunate as there are so many good players in his position.\u00a0 But I do think Maddison should be on the plane \u2013 I really do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nQ: Do you think Gareth Southgate is the best man to take England to the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n