Team Focus: New Manager Impacts

With almost a quarter of the season already vanishing before our very eyes across Europe's top 5 leagues, the fans of clubs who appointed new managers in the summer have started to form opinions of the men at the helm.

In total there were 23 managerial changes over the course of the summer, and here we will ascertain those to have had the biggest impacts on results thus far, be it in a positive or negative fashion.

We have overlooked the changes at promoted Serie A sides Pescara and Sampdoria in the interest of fairness. Meanwhile, we also didn't consider ex-Palermo boss Guiseppe Sannino, who lasted just 3 games in charge under notoriously trigger-happy chairman Maurizio Zamparini, whittling our list down to 20.

To gauge the best and worst impacts thus far, we have looked at each new manager's results at the start of this season and compared these to their predecessors' results at the end of last season. There have been 8 games in each of the top 5 leagues barring Ligue 1, where there have been 9, so we have looked at 9 games from each season in France and 8 in the others.

Findings Explained

The research brought some interesting results and here we will talk about the most significant among them, starting with the teams to have seen an upturn in fortunes since they changed managers.

The most positive impact of the 20 here has come from Marseille's Elie Baup, despite a recent slump in form. The former Ligue 1 champions sailed to 6 successive wins at the beginning of the campaign, though a 3-match winless run has seen them drop to second. Nevertheless, after three years out of the game Baup's return was a resounding success following a torrid campaign under now France boss Didier Deschamps.

The former international midfielder managed to win just 8 points from his last 9 league games in charge of the club, with Baup amassing more than double (19) over the same number of games.

Serie A is a league renowned for enduring managerial merry-go-rounds every season, with a number of Italy's club chairmen and presidents quick to throw their toys out the pram. However, of the 5 managerial changes before the season began this summer (excluding those not considered for the reasons mentioned previously) all have brought success of sorts.

The biggest increase in results, picking up 18 points from a possible 24, has come at Lazio since Vladimir Petkovic replaced Edy Reja. The Bosnian has led his side to third in the table, while fierce rivals Roma have also had an encouraging start under the ever-entertaining, if not ever-praised stewardship of Zdenek Zeman. The Czech returned to the Stadio Olimpico 13 years after first managing the club and has picked up 14 points in 8 games in charge, with predecessor Enrique managing just 9 in his last 8 at the helm.

Perhaps the most interesting results found on the peninsula here surround Vincenzo Montella, widely lauded by the Italian press for the job he is doing at Fiorentina. Although the football has been fluent from The Viola and the signings eye-catching, the former Roma forward has picked up 1 fewer point from his first 8 games in charge than Rossi and Guerini managed between them in the last 8 matches of the 2011/12 season.

In addition the man that replaced Montella at Catania, Rolando Maran, has picked up 6 more points in his first 8 games in charge of The Elephants than the Fiorentina boss managed in his final 8 matches at the club. So, although Montella is receiving much praise for his development as a manger, the results here are far less flattering.

Unsurprisingly, the team to have changed manager and won the most points this season are Barcelona, following Pep Guardiola's decision to take a break from the game. His replacement, and former assistant, Tito Vilanova has successfully managed to pick up where the great man left off and has in fact picked up 3 more points (22) than Guardiola did at the end of his tenure with the club.

Moving to those that have not had the desired effect, it is Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert that has picked up fewer points at the start of his new job than any other incoming manager this summer. However, the meagre 5 points the Villans have accumulated is the same as their much maligned ex-manager Alex McLeish managed in his final 8 games at the club, so to say the younger Scottish model has had a detrimental effect would be premature.

Interestingly, another change that has had no impact on results over the same span of games from the end of last season, Andre Villas-Boas has picked up an identical number of points (14) at the start of his time at Tottenham as Redknapp managed at the death of his.

Joining Montella among the names to have amassed fewer points than the previous men in charge are the likes of Rodgers and Pellegrino, picking up 1 fewer point than their predecessors at Liverpool and Valencia respectively. However, the two teams to have made the least progress under their new bosses are Nice and Augsburg, who were the only German outfit to reshuffle at the top this summer.

Rene Marsiglia was somewhat surprisingly ditched by the French outfit despite a tally of 14 points from his final 9 matches in charge, with replacement Claude Puel managing just 9 in comparison. Meanwhile, the resignation of former coach Jos Luhukay has left Augsburg really struggling. New manager Markus Wienzierl has picked up just 6 points from his first 8 games, while the Dutchman amassed 12 in his final 8 in charge, with a difference of 6 points fewer representing the worst impact of all the managers here.