It has crept up on us quite quickly this year. No, not Christmas – but Sacking Season in English football.
Early-season optimism has dwindled for many clubs up and down the land, prompting trigger-happy owners to get agitated and make changes in the managerial department.
On Sunday, four bosses in England’s top four leagues got the chop – and all happened to be homegrown coaches: Gary O’Neil (Wolves), Russell Martin (Southampton), Des Buckingham (Oxford) and Matt Taylor (Bristol Rovers).
There are now just two English bosses in the Premier League, compared to 16 Italians in Serie A, 15 Spaniards in La Liga, 10 Frenchmen in Ligue and the nine Germans in the Bundesliga.