Harry Crowe and Ewan West have taken a closer look at eight former newbie managers who have previously taken charge of Boro, Newcastle and Sunderland. Scroll down and flick through our picture gallery to see if they’ve been a hit or a miss in the dugout.
1. Bryan Robson (Middlesbrough) - Hit - (Appointed May 1994, aged 37. Dismissed December 2000)
Robson began his managerial career as a player-boss at Boro in 1994. In his seven years at the Riverside, the Teessiders reached – and lost - three Wembley finals and twice won promotion to the Premier League. Having brought players of the calibre of Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli to the club, it's little wonder the Robson era is recalled fondly. Photo: Mark Thompson
2. Gareth Southgate (Middlesbrough) - Miss - (Appointed June, 2006, aged 35. Dismissed October, 2009)
Southgate took over at the Riverside in 2006 and guided Boro to a 12th-placed finish in the Premier League in his first season. Things went wrong in the 2008/09 campaign, though, as one win in 18 games saw Boro relegated after a 2-1 defeat to West Ham. That proved the beginning of the end, with Southgate’s signings – most notably, £15m striking flop Afonso Alves – also dragging him down. Photo: Laurence Griffiths
3. Roy Keane (Sunderland) - Hit - (Appointed August 2006, aged 35. Resigned December 2008)
Keane signed a three-year deal on Wearside, and took Sunderland from the foot of the Championship to promotion in his first season. Sunderland stayed up the following season, despite a 7-1 drubbing at Everton which Keane described as a career low point. But patchy results early in the following season – despite an historic home derby victory over Newcastle – and talk of dressing room unrest led to Keane deciding to quit. Photo: Matthew Lewis
4. Osvaldo Ardiles (Newcastle) - Miss - (Appointed March 1991, aged 38. Dismissed February 1992)
Having led Swindon to promotion to the top flight in 1990, former Spurs hero Ardiles was warmly welcomed on Tyneside. But while Newcastle fans warmed to Ardiles’ brand of passing football and his willingness to blood talented youngsters, results in the old Division Two nosedived. Having won just 21.3% of his games in charge, and with United having gone bottom of the table in a crushing defeat at Oxford, Ardiles was sacked. Photo: Steve Morton