In-Season Head-Coach Dismissals and the Performance of Professional Football Teams

37 Pages Posted: 14 Oct 2014

See all articles by Jan C. van Ours

Jan C. van Ours

Tilburg University - Department of Economics; University of Melbourne - Department of Economics

Martin van Tuijl

Tilburg University - Tilburg University School of Economics and Management

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Date Written: October 2014

Abstract

This paper studies the causes and consequences of in-season changes of the head-coach of association football teams. We exploit data from the highest level of Dutch professional football during 14 successive seasons. An in-season change of the head-coach depends on recent match results and the difference between actual results and expectations as measured using bookmaker data. We find that, after the head-coach has been replaced, teams perform better than before. However, the performance is also better than before for a control group of coach replacements that did not occur. From this we conclude that replacement of head-coaches does not improve team performance.

Keywords: association football, coaches, performance

JEL Classification: J44, L83

Suggested Citation

van Ours, Jan C. and Tuijl, Martin van, In-Season Head-Coach Dismissals and the Performance of Professional Football Teams (October 2014). CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP10191, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2510048

Jan C. Van Ours (Contact Author)

Tilburg University - Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands
+31 13 466 2880 (Phone)
+31 13 466 3042 (Fax)

University of Melbourne - Department of Economics ( email )

Melbourne, 3010
Australia

Martin van Tuijl

Tilburg University - Tilburg University School of Economics and Management ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

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