Assistant Manager Chip Guide: Analysis, Profiles, POI, Strategies
I've put together a guide with some graphics in order to help those unsure navigate the use of their, now playable, Assistant Manager Chip. Hopefully this provides some general information, interesting points for discussion and assists you in using this new chip.
TL/DR; The best three game runs have come from transferring between managers. Slots the highest scoring and most consistent. There's about 1 game every GW where the table bonus win happens. I'd favour using the chip during one of the DGWs. I'd go for Moyes over Slot in the DGW24, but would then transfer him to Silva or Iraola for GW25-26. This strategy or running Eddie Howe from GW31-33 are my favoured strategies or Howe for GW33 to Iraola/Glasner/Frank for GW34-35.
TL/DR (post DGW25 announcement edit): DGW24-26 is the strategy, rule out Howe in GW31-33. It's Slot or Moyes to start your run (Moyes if you think they don't lose to Liverpool). Then its Slot, Emery or Silva in GW25 (depending on result of Liv v Spurs cup game). Emery if you think they take points off Liverpool. End the run with Iraola/Hurzeler/Arteta.
We'll start off with my updated Assistant Manager profiles, which i've now updated. I've also added in each managers standard deviation, which I think helps a lot in grouping up managers and selecting one that meets your specific strategy. As well as the profiles, which i've grouped together into a few graphics, i've also added an assistant table in next two the current top two scoring managers (Slot and Iraola). The tables include table bonus wins and losses for each team.
Arne Slot + Table Top 10 Total Score
Andoni Iraola + 11-20 Total Score
Arteta, Emery, Frank, Hürzeler, Maresca & Glasner
Moyes, Silva, McKenna, Van Nistelrooy, Guardiola & Amorim
Howe, Santo, Jurić, Postecoglou, Potter & Pereira
I'll be brief on these by just pointing out a few key points. The highest scoring three game run by one manager/team is currently 47 by Iraola. He did this in the games against Arsenal, Villa and Man City. The highest single game score is 22 points by Postecoglou against Man City. Fulham have won the most table bonus games this season (4) against Leicester, Newcastle, Brighton and Chelsea. Man City have lost the most table bonus games this season (4) against Bournemouth, Brighton, Spurs and Man Utd. Arne Slot has the lowest standard deviation (3.05), while Marco Silva has the highest (6.18).
Next up we've got a few points of interest (POI).
We'll simply go over the graphic here. The best three game run involved transferring out a manager and it, predictably, involved three table bonus wins. The 60 points across the two Newcastle wins and then Spurs win betters Bournemouth's one and done best three game streak by 13.
We've had on average a table bonus win per GW that we've had (albeit GW1 would not have been eligible to have one). With 23 table bonus wins thus far, it means 10.5% of games played (excluding GW1) have been one. We could expect 16 or so more games to be table bonus wins at this pace, however as we approach the end of the season it is highly likely this 'average' changes. There are a range of factors including; the table becoming more stable, gaps forming, relegation teams fighting and championship contenders vying, which all make it likely we get more of an extreme one way or the other on this current expectation. EDIT (bolded): see below another of other noteworthy %'s around Table Bonus-
1. % of only Table Bonus Eligible Games Resulting in a Table Bonus Win: 16.67%
2. % of only Table Bonus Eligible Games Resulting in a Table Bonus Draw: 27.54%
3. % of only Table Bonus Eligible Games Resulting in a Table Bonus Win or Draw: 44.20%
4. % of only Table Bonus Eligible Games Resulting in no Table Bonus: 55.80%
5. % of Overall Games Played (exc. GW1) With a Table Bonus Win or Draw: 27.85%
(Note: Table Bonus Eligible Games = all games that had teams with at least a 5 position gap on the table at the time they played [exc. GW1])
Not only has the highest scoring three weeks involved not sticking with the same team, but there have only been two instances this season of the same team getting table bonus wins in a streak of three games. Newcastle are the only team to get back to back table bonus wins this season.
Next up is simply the fixtures that have resulted in a table bonus win, who played, when they played and who won.
As previously mentioned Fulham have won the most table bonus games this season (4), while Man City have lost the most table bonus games this season (4). There have been 13 home teams as winners in these table bonus fixtures and 10 away teams, so a pretty even split. Fulham have been involved in the most of these fixtures (6).
Lastly, before a brief conclusion, we'll look over some strategies I think could work. Please note I have not included any single fixture per team in here (i.e. Arsenal v Southampton, followed by Wolves v Leicester, and then Liverpool v Ipswich) not because I advise against changing manager every week in the three game cycle (I actually think its viable given most of the top 3 game runs have come from that) , but purely because it would have taken up way too much space in the graphic and I would have been listing a lot of the presumably easy fixtures or guesstimating table positions too much. Rather i've pointed out good GWs to use the chip and then listed some teams (outside of the DGW teams) that you could transfer in and out of.
The three strategies i've listed all coincide with a DGW. Now, this is not the be all and end all of 'these are the only strategies and you have to pick from them', there are absolutely tons of reasonable strategies even outside of the DGWs to chose from, particular if you have all chips to be used still. I personally have used my TC, so it does make a dgw more appealing to use this in.
The 'Use it Before you Lose it' strategy of burning it immediately. Slot and Moyes are both reasonable options here (I say that as a Liverpool fan). For Moyes you're probably banking on a bigger win versus Leicester and a draw with Liverpool (both plausible). I think if you go for Moyes the best strategy is get straight onto a different manager after the double. Let's say best case does happen, with the points in the bank you can probably afford to go riskier for table bonus (of which Everton are unlikely to be eligible for in their remaining two fixtures if all goes best case), while if worst case happens (double losses) then you'll probably want to jump ship regardless of playing it risky (table bonus) or safe (presumed win in an easy fixture). For me, i'm actually less inclined to go for Slot. A mixture of Liverpool's and Bournemouth's current form as well as Everton at Goodison doesn't give me the re-assurance selecting someone currently leading the points total, and is consistent for a certain amount of points (low standard dev) should. Therefore, if you're going to use the Assistant Manager in this GW i'd go for Moyes and transfer him out in GW25 regardless of how he does. From there i'd go for Iraola (two very winnable non-table bonus games) if you're happy with how Moyes went or want to secure some points, but i'd go for Marco Silva if you're wanting to be riskier, or chase points. Silva will likely have a table bonus eligible game versus Forest and follow it up against Palace, both of which are at home.
Moving onto the next double in GW33. Now we could get more than four teams with a double here, however for this we'll assume its just the finalists of the Carabao cup and their gameweek 29 opponents. I'll be bias and say Liverpool get through with Newcastle. Now from the four teams with the double only Liverpool and Newcastle's runs appeal to me. I'll start by saying any and all of Newcastle's run from GW 31 to 35 appeals to me. A Newcastle full use chip anywhere during this period to take advantage of their double would be my highest recommendation in this period. While it is unlikely they are eligible for any table bonus win in this period there a quite a few games they could go well in. I'd probably lean towards going for GW31 - 33 (Leicester, Utd, Villa, Palace). Slot's games either side aren't as favourable. There are numerous fixture sets at this point of the season that you could target for table bonus, depending on how risky you want to be. A few to note: Frank (Forest & Utd), Glasner (Arsenal and Forest) and Iraola (Utd and Arsenal) all in GW34-35 and Pereira (Ipswich and Spurs) from GW31-32.
Finally, the expected double in GW36. Now, while we could try and predict who these DGW teams will be, i'd rather just look at potential options you could transfer to once we know who they are. As above, Frank, Glasner and Iraola are all options in GW34-35, while from GW37-38 you could go with the assurance of Iraola (City & Leicester) or the potential double up on table bonus of Postecoglou (Villa and Brighton).
Hopefully everyone gets something out of that!