The talk of a new manager bounce is a phrase often repeated in football, but does it happen often at Sheffield Wednesday? We have had quite a few managers come in when results were floundering, but how many achieved that bounce? Is this something that is necessary, or is it a meaningless cliché?
Tony Pulis
This is certainly an example of when there was no new manager bounce; indeed, things were flat for his massive 10 games in charge. He was appointed after the sacking of Garry Monk to arrest a decline in form. Although not known for champagne football, he did seem a reasonable choice to firefight a season. However, the image of him wearing a baseball cap with a hastily sewn-on Owls badge summed up his time at Hillsborough. It wasn't the right fit, and there was a clear difference of opinion on the product on show. It is not surprising this appointment was doomed, due to an instant fallout with our clown of an ex-chairman. I certainly don't buy into Chansiri's claim he was trying to damage the club. I think it is clear Pulis was shocked by what he was taking over and believed he would get a chance to fix it in the next transfer window, but Chansiri disagreed. If we go back to football, it was poor, and I don't think the players were buying into his methods. A record of one win in ten, with just seven goals scored, simply isn't good enough, and it is telling that he has not managed since.
Alan Irvine
If you mention this name, then it's not going to bring back fond memories. However, he can claim a new manager bounce, which ultimately turned to deflation. He took over after the sacking of Brian Laws, whose last 10 games did not produce a win. I was quite fond of Laws and have some happy memories of his reign, but a change was needed to arrest the terrible form. Under Irvine, the Owls won their first three games, including two away games, easing relegation fears. This brought some temporary hope, which ultimately turned out to be false. In his first 10 games we won five, which is a reasonable return for a relegation-threatened team. However, all this good work was undone as we won only two of our last sixteen games to seal relegation to League One. The next season we won our first four league games to go top of the league. There is no need to go over what happened next.
Steve Bruce
Steve Bruce can claim to have the most unusual new manager bounce in Wednesday history. After he was appointed, we went undefeated in the next three league games. The catch was that Bruce was on holiday and not in the dugout, leaving Lee Bullen to pick up the slack. I always found this arrangement odd, and I think it's unique in the world of employment. Bruce then did enjoy a new manager bounce, with one defeat in his first 10 games and a total of 19 points from a possible 30. After a 3-0 win against Forest, the idea of a late play-off surge did seem reasonable. However, a slower finish saw us finish 12th, followed by a controversial exit that summer. If he had stayed on, there is a chance he could have put us on a firmer footing, but ultimately Chansiri could undo other people's good work with ease.
Dave Jones
Dave Jones brought the ultimate new manager bounce, and it helped us nick automatic promotion from the Blades. There will be defenders of Megson who will claim it was just Megson's team and Antonio was key. This was a team built by Megson, but ultimately our form had dipped, and Mandaric made the brave call to sack him. Dave Jones came in, steadied the ship and took an incredible 32 points from a possible 36 at a critical stage of the season. He was thrown in with no time to settle and had to start getting results instantly. It is easy to forget this, and it was not just another promotion battle; it was against our bitter rivals. There were some huge away wins against Huddersfield and Brentford as we held our nerve in the run-in. The football was an improvement on Megson's as well and was enjoyable to watch. I think it's a shame that after promotion the relationship soured, and ultimately his sacking was the correct decision. But he deserves credit for that run-in in the 2011/12 season, and it will surely remain the most successful and significant new manager bounce in our history.
Dave Challinor is next
I think there is no doubt that there is an expectation on this appointment to see a sharp turnaround in form. We have slipped down the form table but are still within touching distance of the play-off places. If he can produce a strong start, then it can produce a springboard to push on for the rest of the season.
I do think it won't be an easy task, as our squad has not clicked so far this season and injuries won't go away. For this level, we do have some quality players, but that does not guarantee success. He needs to quickly find a settled formation and playing style to get more consistent results. If the Plymouth game is postponed, it will give him more time to implement his ideas before a trip to Oakwell. It will certainly be the biggest challenge of his career so far, so hopefully he can rise to the occasion. I'm not demanding promotion this season, but a slow start will do nothing to ease the frustrations felt within the fanbase this season.