Athletics coach Steve Magness has a nice article at his Science of Running blog, on intervention training studies and why many 'new' protocols might 'work' in the lab, but might not be giving the full picture in the 'real world'
"Too often we get caught up in isolation, and forget the complexity and interaction that surrounds the isolation."
In summary, we always respond to short term change, but that doesn't mean that change is in the right direction for the longer term for our performance goals.
This is a real problem with applied sports science research and it's application for coaches, and why while keeping current with the latest research is a good tool for coaches, changing programme direction as a result of research may not be a good strategy over the longer term.
Follow Steve on twitter @stevemagness