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This week’s weekly football phrase is ‘second season syndrome’ which is sometimes used when predicting a new season.
- Find out more about this phrase by reading the transcript below and listening to the audio.
- You can also find many more examples of soccer vocabulary by going to our football cliches page here and our huge football glossary here.
- This post also features in our podcast show, along with a main report and our weekly predictions.
Second Season Syndrome
Now in football we use the cliche second season syndrome to describe the drop in performance by a team or a player after a previously successful season. Now, a syndrome is a group of symptoms connected to a disease, so it’s a negative impact on the performance. So, when a team is promoted to a new division or a player emerges for the first time they sometimes perform better than expected which then surprises many people. However, as teams, managers and players become accustomed to these newcomers, it is often harder the second time round; meaning they don’t do as well as the year before. They suffer from second season syndrome.
- Example: Tottenham’s Harry Kane scored 30 goals in his first season but many people still feel he won’t do as well this season and that he might suffer from second season syndrome.
- Example: Leicester City survived on their first season back in the Premier League last year but we wonder if they can avoid second season syndrome and stay up again this year?
