And so the cycle continues. Now the challenge facing Sabri Lamouchi is to be the man who finally breaks it at Nottingham Forest. In more ways than one.
For eight consecutive seasons in the Championship, the man who has occupied the home dugout at the City Ground has not survived in his role until the following May.
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Not since Billy Davies, during his first spell in charge in 2010-11, has a Reds manager completed a full season without being shown the door – and even he was ushered out of the exit in the summer of 2011, following defeat in the play-offs.
It can be considered both the symptom and the cause of the club’s persistent failure to escape the clutches of the second tier.
Many of the departures were both understandable and justified. Others have begun to look like hasty decisions, in the fullness of time.
Either way, this summer has seen the tide of change roll in again, with Lamouchi the latest man handed the not insignificant task of ending Forest’s exile from the Premier League; the latest man to start a fresh chapter of life on the banks of the Trent, as the big kick-off loomed on the horizon.
Forest will hope that, this time, the script reads slightly differently. At the very least, they will hope it manages to find a way into its second act, without a change of leading man. Seeing that happen would mean Forest were at least on the path towards the success they crave.
If Lamouchi is still in charge in May, there is a very good chance that will mean he has inspired the push for promotion that, like numerous men before him, he has been tasked with delivering.
This year has already seen not one, but two managers depart, with Aitor Karanka’s tenure ended in January and Martin O’Neill’s dismissal confirmed in late June.
Both, for different reasons, were ultimately unavoidable decisions.
Karanka’s relationship with the hierarchy had broken down. O’Neill’s issue was that support for him in the dressing room had dwindled, particularly following the decision by his assistant, Roy Keane, to walk away.
Prior to them, Mark Warburton (2017-18), Philippe Montanier (2016-17), Dougie Freedman (2015-16), Stuart Pearce (2014-15), Davies (for his second spell in 2013-14), Sean O’Driscoll (2012-13) and Steve McClaren (2011-12) have all followed the same path, starting the campaign as manager – and departing before it had ended.
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Among that run Steve Cotterill also had nine months in charge from October 2011, without the luxury of even being in charge for a pre-season. While Alex McLeish lasted barely a month, before deciding that it was not the right job for him.
There have been three different owners during that time; three different hands on the tiller, in Nigel Doughty, Fawaz Al Hasawi and Evangelos Marinakis. All different characters, all with a different approach to achieving the same ambitions. But who have all still overseen a similar cycle of change.
Off the pitch, there are many reasons for Forest fans to be hugely positive under the guidance of the Greek shipping magnate, who has restored the club’s place in the community, as well as forging ambitious plans for the redevelopment of the City Ground and a revamp of the training facilities at the Nigel Doughty Academy.
At the end of this season, a very different cycle of change will begin, as the Peter Taylor Stand is demolished, to be rebuilt as the central part of work to transform the stadium into a 38,000 capacity Champions League standard venue.
On the pitch, Forest remain a world away from those remarkable European successes that they achieved with the Miracle Men, under Brian Clough.
Those heady days continue to cast a shadow of expectation over the club, even four decades later. But there is, nevertheless, the usual, familiar annual sense of optimism and hope gradually flowering around the club, where Lamouchi’s passion and drive has quickly had an impact in the dressing room.
The 47-year-old was previously a managerial target at sister club Olympiacos, where his handling of big, strong characters in the Ivory Coast squad and the early success he had enjoyed at Rennes, had put him on their radar.
But it has been at Forest where he has ultimately ended up – and where he has quickly got down to work, following the latest jab at the reset button.
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Several players have spoken positively about the blueprint Lamouchi wants to implement – and about how clearly he has outlined that vision.
The former midfielder’s roots may be French, but there have been no issues at all with communication. Lamouchi has explained exactly what he wants from his players and why he believes it will work for them in the Championship.
His attention to detail has even stemmed as far as instigating a change in dugout for the coming campaign.
Lamouchi has changed the home dug out to the one nearest the Bridgford Stand, as that is the end they traditionally defend in the second half of games.
He feels he is valuable for him to be able to offer encouragement to his defence in the final stages of games, particularly if they are looking to hold on to a lead as injury time approaches.
“It is about my defence. Tonight, I was closer to them in the second half (against Real Sociedad). I was able to shout for them to push, to get out of the box.
“It was not enough in this game, as we conceded an equaliser. But I just wanted to be closer to our defenders. And we cannot move the dugout further down the stand…
“Many games they are decided in the last minutes. We need just to be closer to them in those moments. If you are at the opposite side, it can be difficult.”
Very different to the occasion when Ron Atkinson, while waving cheerily at the home crowd, simply failed to navigate his way to the correct seat, when taking charge of the Reds for the first time.
And, barring a difficult lesson learned about defending set-pieces in a 3-0 drubbing by Olympiacos, pre-season has inspired as many reasons for encouragement, as it has of concern.
While the dress rehearsals went well enough, Forest did manage to fluff their lines on the opening day, as West Brom became the first side to deliver an opening day defeat at the City Ground since 1983.
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There is still time for Forest to make further new additions — and the hierarchy have a track record of doing decent business late on in the window.
But they have already assembled a squad for Lamouchi to work with that looks well stocked in most of the key areas.
Wide men Albert Adomah and Sammy Ameobi arrive with experience of Championship football and, in Adomah’s case, also with the knowledge of how to win promotion, having done so with both Aston Villa and Middlesbrough.
We must wait to see how the likes of Tiago Silva, Yuri Ribeiro and Alfa Semedo settle in, having arrived from Portuguese football. Forest will hope they are more like Joao Carvalho than Diogo Goncalves.
While, between the posts, Forest were privately thrilled to have signed Aro Muric on loan from Manchester City, with the goalkeeper regarded by Pep Guardiola as being a potential No 1 of the future for them.
The Kosovo international appeared to suffer a case of the jitters as he made his bow for Forest, with Muric making mistakes with both West Brom goals, as he allowed a shot from Kyle Edwards to slip from his grasp, before he was beaten by a cross from Matt Phillips.
The second owed as much to bad luck as it did bad judgment, but it was still not the ideal start for Forest, before they visit Leeds this coming weekend. More signings will arrive between now and deadline day — including a right back to replace knee injury victim Tendayi Darikwa — as Forest throw their weight behind another manager or, more accurately, head coach in Lamouchi’s case.
Whether the change in job title is something else that can help inspire a change in fortunes remains to be seen.
There is an air of familiarity to things as Forest head into a new season under another new boss, with that same sense of hope that, this time, it will turn out to be the winning formula.
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As we wait to see how Lamouchi and his new signings settle into Championship football, nothing is certain.
But Forest fans will nevertheless dare to dream, once more, that this could finally be their season, as they look to break free of that all too familiar routine.
(Photo: Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
