Simple is the Reason of My Heart

Firing of BPL Football Managers and Maximal Efficiency

Till today, since the beginning of the Barclays Premiere League, eight out of twenty football managers are already replaced. Sometime back, together with two economists (Toke Aidt and Daniel Sgroi) and another fellow physicist in Cambridge (Bill Saslaw), we co-wrote a research paper entitled "Power Laws, Maximal Efficiency and the Turnover of Sports Managers" (which was published in Physica A and got some press attention in the UK after the World Cup 2006). Yes, I have done the "freaknomics" type research by looking at the phenomena of sports managers being fired for all sorts of reasons. It was the research that I have done on the football clubs that eventually led me to watching the Premiere League football till today. It was one of the most enjoyable and multi-disciplinary research collaborations for me. In this short blog entry, I will explain the research work with a "freaknomics" tradition and explain why the current firings will continue to happen because of  market efficiency in the Premiere League.   

Sic Transit Jose Mourinho

The most shocking news that happened this morning is that my favourite Premiere League manager, Jose Mourinho has just parted in "mutual consent" with Chelsea. Nothing is predictable in football, given a defeat, two disappointing draws and lack of attacking football, thanks to the micromanaging nature from the owner. Of course, with a legendary record of no defeats in home turf and a few trophies include two Premiership titles, 1 FA and 2 league cups, he has been one of the best football managers that I have seen and inspired me in many fronts. Of course, I wish him all the best. I do have to thank him for giving me a team to support after many years of being an anti-Manchester United fan. He has inspired me on many occasions and I say, "Au Revoir, Jose Mourinho, the Special One, we will miss your presence and good luck for your future." Of course, I cannot imagine the outcome between Chelsea against Man-U in Old Trafford this weekend. It's not the best of days since I am also on medical leave due to a flu bug.

Why I support Chelsea FC

Van Tan wrote about how she started to become an Arsenal supporter recently. I believe that I am one of the rare breed in Singapore because I support the team and the manager that everyone hates. In Asia, a significant proportion of the population either likes Manchester United, Liverpool or  Arsenal.  Actually, I never started watching Premier League football until I was working on a research paper on football managers and economics. Since I am a total anti-Man-U fan, I need to find a club that have a suitable amount of chance beating them. I am not a fan of Arsenal and Liverpool because I don't like red jerseys. I used to hover between Real Madrid and Spurs in 1990s.  Until Jose Mourinho came to Chelsea and muttered that famous line, "I am the Special One.", I realized that he's the manager with the philosophy who finally convinced me to support Chelsea. So, I will talk about what aspects of his management philosophy I like.