We Watched Every Premier League Manager - Here's What We Found Out

If you went to watch a shot lucifer astatine nan weekend, it's apt you were glued to nan action connected nan transportation alternatively than what was happening disconnected it.

And nan first point you astir apt told your friends and family astir aft nan crippled was nan awesome goal, nan bonzer prevention aliases nan eye-catching accomplishment you witnessed.

It turns out, however, there's a full different sideshow happening conscionable a fewer feet from nan touchline.

"It's psychology successful action," said Dr Gillian Cook - elder teacher successful athletics and capacity psychology astatine Liverpool John Moores University. "Stress is incredibly high."

That sideshow, of course, is successful nan dugout and method area. And nan personification emotion nan accent is nan 1 responsible for what's happening successful beforehand of them - nan manager.

"They cognize nan power of what they do connected nan capacity of players," added Dr Cook, who has studied nan behaviour of managers.

"Can they power their stress? Are they capable to manipulate their ain emotions to thief their players execute aliases do they succumb to those emotions? Do they boil over? Do they get reddish cards which past will apt person a detrimental effect connected nan team?"

In an effort to reply immoderate of those questions, we sent a BBC Sport journalist to each 10 Premier League games during nan astir caller information of fixtures to intimately watch each head while nan action unfolded.

They recorded information connected wherever nan managers stood and really they interacted pinch those astir them, including their coaching staff, nan players connected nan transportation and nan lucifer officials.

Here's what we saw.

The Laws of nan Game authorities managers must stay wrong nan confines of their method area "except successful typical circumstances" - but that doesn't look to extremity them regularly crossing nan boundary.

On average, Premier League managers this play spent astir a 4th of games opinionated extracurricular of their area, getting that spot person to nan pitch, moreover though nan region gained could usually beryllium measured successful centimetres.

Part of that could beryllium down to visuals.

"The players spot you much and perceive you much and they tin really person feedback," said Dr Cook. "They besides cognize that you're there, truthful you tin person that monitoring effect connected them.

"You will spot nan managers constituent to their heads each nan clip to person that power connected nan players to enactment focused."

Another imaginable logic could beryllium for a head to beryllium unsocial pinch their thoughts.

When sitting successful nan dugout, a head will person their coaching unit astir them, positive substitutes and different unit members who could each beryllium voicing their opinions.

Former Leicester City leader Nigel Pearson said cancelling retired nan sound would beryllium a logic why he would spell to nan separator of his method area.

"Yes, location person been times I've done that," Pearson told BBC Sport. "There person besides been times I've asked personification other to spell retired truthful they tin clear their heads."

Dr Cook added: "It is simply a stressful situation successful a dugout pinch tons of different people, tons of different voices, and tons of opinions.

"If you spell retired of nan method area, it could really beryllium a measurement to thief alleviate your stress. You're getting distant from immoderate of that sound and imaginable sensory overload.

"We cognize from investigation that crowded spaces tin overwhelm nan senses and tin lead to feelings of overwhelmingness - you're not capable to deliberation and scheme and strategise what you're going to do next.

"So it could besides beryllium conscionable a measurement of trying to modulate your ain emotions."

When each is falling isolated connected nan pitch, a head tin play their portion successful trying to motivate their players and calm basking heads.

How this is done tin vary, from being an animated beingness to spur nan squad connected aliases providing an aura of calm successful nan dream it transfers connected to nan pitch.

On Saturday, Brighton were 2-1 down against Crystal Palace and chasing an equaliser. It each sewage a spot chaotic towards nan extremity of nan crippled arsenic 3 reddish cards were shown – 2 to Palace and 1 to Brighton.

Yet for nan mostly of nan 2nd half, and contempt having spent much than half of nan opening 45 minutes extracurricular of his method area altogether, Seagulls leader Fabian Hurzeler sat successful nan dugout, erstwhile he mightiness person been expected to beryllium driving connected his squad from nan separator of nan method area.

"There's a conception successful psychology called affectional labour," said Dr Cook. "It primitively comes from nan hose manufacture of work pinch a grin - it doesn't matter what you feel, you've sewage to enactment successful a definite measurement because that's what you deliberation is expected of you.

"If you're a shot head location is information suggesting that if you look calm, composed and successful control, that will transmit and convey to nan players. So nan much calm you look, nan much calm your players will be, and they'll past person nan headspace to spell retired and execute immoderate your gameplan is."

The weekend's action besides showed location are managers who for illustration to beryllium nan sole beingness successful nan method area, while others are happy to fto their assistants return complaint astatine times.

Brentford leader Thomas Frank, for example, often welcomed input from his staff, while Chelsea head Enzo Maresca successful nan other dugout seldom retreated to his chair to activity a 2nd opinion.

For Pearson, his coaching unit played conscionable arsenic an important domiciled arsenic he did.

He moreover utilized their different strengths to beryllium capable to guarantee messages were getting done to players connected nan transportation arsenic efficiently arsenic possible.

"You person to understand nan players you have," said Pearson, who was astir precocious head of Bristol City. "That is wherever I usage assistants to thief me.

"If you deliberation astir a coaching unit successful its entirety location will beryllium group who person definite connections pinch individual players that will person a meaningful effect. Rather than conscionable being location shouting conscionable to beryllium seen, it is much astir communicating pinch individuals connected nan pitch.

"You tin person players who are rather delicate and you person to beryllium mindful of really those players will judge Information. At Bristol City, for instance, pinch group for illustration Curtis Fleming and Jason Euell, they are some wholly different types of personalities. Use nan correct group to make nan connections."

However, Pearson said location were times it was basal to beryllium nan main beingness successful nan method area.

"There are times arsenic a head you person to beryllium visible and I deliberation that is much important erstwhile things are not going well," he said. "It is much important you sorb immoderate of nan negativity to let nan players to play."

When it came to interactions betwixt nan managers and lucifer officials, it was nary immense astonishment that was astir prevalent successful nan crippled containing 3 reddish cards.

Crystal Palace leader Oliver Glasner was astir perturbed arsenic his broadside had some Eddie Nketiah and Marc Guehi sent disconnected successful nan abstraction of 12 minutes.

Elsewhere, Fulham leader Marco Silva was truthful irritated astir a situation connected Rodrigo Muniz which went unpunished that referee Chris Kavanagh had to travel complete for a connection pinch him.

But does getting that irritated pinch officials thief nan players?

"On nan 1 manus you person nan affirmative of nan head shouting to effort to power nan determination that's being made adjacent time," said Dr Cook.

"But that is balanced retired by nan negatives because if you're a subordinate and you spot that your head is getting distressed aliases very overmuch doesn't work together pinch nan determination that's being made, that takes your attraction away."

Unsurprisingly, Tottenham head Ange Postecoglou became astir animated during a video adjunct referee (VAR) cheque - and we each cognize how overmuch he loves that.

Faced by a four-minute hold arsenic he awaited a decision, he appeared to play a crippled of rock, paper, scissors to item nan unpredictable quality of a VAR call.

"VAR is absorbing because successful nan past they put a heart-rate show connected Brentford head Thomas Frank and his bosom complaint went up from 60 thumps per infinitesimal to 108 thumps per infinitesimal erstwhile a VAR determination was being made," said Dr Cook.

"So what we saw Ange doing pinch rock, paper, scissors, I would suggest, could beryllium because he was trying to distract himself - that's different measurement that we tin modulate nan emotions."

Tracksuit aliases suit - it's a statement arsenic aged arsenic time.

So what did our information show us? Predictably, very little. Five managers wore tracksuit bottoms, 4 of them grounded to win. That's arsenic bully arsenic it gets.

While a manager's attire whitethorn person thing to do pinch what happens connected nan pitch, though, it does show america a spot astir them.

"We've each heard nan look powerfulness dressing," said Dr Cook. "If you're successful a suit, peculiarly according to investigation pinch doctors, they're rated arsenic having higher authority, higher powerfulness and higher credibility.

"Obviously, that's pinch doctors, not shot managers. But investigation pinch sports psychologists has recovered that if they deterioration tracksuits past their sports-specific knowledge is deemed to beryllium higher.

"So, arsenic a manager, what do you value? Do you want group to spot you arsenic nan authority fig looking different from everyone else? Or do you want to fresh successful in a tracksuit that will beryllium nan aforesaid arsenic your inheritance unit and beryllium seen to person higher sport-specific knowledge?

"Which of those you worth will past find really you want to dress."

We've pored done nan data, we've studied nan heatmaps, we've done nan sums. Lots of sums.

One point is clear - each head does it their ain measurement and sometimes that measurement is successful and sometimes it isn't.

But erstwhile we asked some Dr Cook and Pearson - coming astatine this from different angles - what it really each boils down to, they some utilized nan aforesaid word: authenticity.

"A cardinal conception successful guidance is trust," said Dr Cook. "Do you spot your manager? If you spot what they propose you should do, you're past much apt to activity harder. The harder you work, nan amended you're apt to perform.

"And are they acting nan aforesaid measurement successful training erstwhile they're distant from nan capacity arena? Or are they abruptly acting otherwise successful a stadium? Because if there's a quality there, past it comes distant arsenic it's not arsenic authentic.

"That tin past trim spot because 1 of nan cardinal factors that comes into spot is predictability and authenticity."

As Pearson, who has stood successful nan dugout arsenic a head for much than 600 games, concluded: "It's astir being authentic and making judge that group person nan information."