What happens to first time managers?

Since 2020, 73 managers landed their first senior job in the EFL. More than half never got another chance.

Oli Trussler-Jones

For many EFL managers, pre-season is a well-trodden path. It’s a bit of warm-weather training, some downtime with the local press, and a couple of friendlies for supporters to read too much into.

For four managers, though, this marks the very beginning of their journey. Chris Cohen (joint with Tom Shaw), Chris Hogg, Aaron Ramsey and Martin Drury – the new appointees at Lincoln, Northampton, Oxford and Huddersfield respectively – are leading teams for the first time. They are the latest four of 73 managers who’ve been handed their first senior job by an EFL club since the beginning of the 2020/21 season.

How did those other jobs turn out for this cohort of first-time bosses? And, crucially, what happened next when the first job ended?