New Manager Effect[]
The new manager effect is an age-old phenomenon whereby a freshly appointed boss always wins his first game at club.
After a long period of poor results, a club is always delighted to welcome a new man to the hot seat, knowing that he will at least secure three points in his first game. He may even enjoy a honeymoon period.
Tactical use of the new manager effect[]
During the 1980 and 90s, a number of clubs in England began to realise the potential of the new manager effect and exploited its formidable power.
Towards the end of the season, struggling sides would often sack a manager every week in order to pull away to safety. This trend caused frenzied activity for the managerial merry-go-round which reached speeds of over 50 mph (managers per hour).
Southampton were able to stay in the Premier League for much longer than they had any right to courtesy of their groundbreaking research into the new manager effect.
While English sides largely manipulated the phenomenon sparingly, when news of the loophole spread abroad it caused chaos.
In Brazil, Flamengo were able to win the Campeonato Brasileiro in 1992 by dismissing a manager after every matchday. A total of 31 baffled coaches received their marching orders just hours after celebrating a winning start to their reign.
Although the stunt enabled Flamengo to win the title, it cost them dear as they were forced to pay £3.4bn in golden handshakes.
Since 2000, use of the new manager effect is limited in most countries and in England a new boss is instructed to lose at least one of his first three games saying: "There's lots of work to do, but I saw some positive signs from the lads."