Seriously...who’d be a manager?
It’s that time of year again.
No, not the countdown to Christmas – though that looms as well.
No, not my birthday, you all missed that as well. And it’s definitely not summer anymore either, that’s for sure.
Instead it’s time to crank it up, with the managerial merry-go-round now in full swing.
It happens every year. And usually it is St Mirren that herald it in.
Of course, that’s not this year – for once we are all happy with the man in the dugout.
But that hasn’t stopped other sides from deciding that enough is enough with the first quarter of fixtures nearing a close.
Peter Houston this week departed Falkirk for pastures new, or pastures old if he continues to warm the hotseat in the BBC Radio Scotland studios like he did between jobs the last time.
And then there was the surprising sacking of Ross County boss Jim McIntyre.
But such is the fickle nature of modern football that we should no longer be surprised by quickfire decisions from the boardroom.
Long gone are the days of a manager lasting a decade. The likes of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger-esque tenures are a dying breed.
In Houston’s instance, it is hard to argue with the reasoning behind new Falkirk chair Margaret Lang deciding that enough was enough.
Zero wins from the Bairns’ opening seven games may not rank up there with St Mirren’s disastrous start to last season, but it could be argued that the parallels are frightening in that Falkirk are massively underachieving against sides many expect them to comfortably see off.
But what his sacking, or mutual decision if you believe the press release waffle that comes with each of these calls, does show is that there is a distinct lack of loyalty among football these days.
It doesn’t take a MENSA member to work out that players are in it for the money.
Even in the junior ranks players will jump ship for the sake of a fiver a week, even if their new club is more than a fiver of petrol away.
Rarely do you have a player hang about now when there is a better offer on the table elsewhere, financially at least.
But when it comes to managers, the loyalty appears to be in short supply the other way around.
Houston, himself a Falkirk legend from his playing days, has transformed the Bairns in recent years from also-rans to a team to be reckoned with.
In what has been the most competitive Championships in recent memory, Houston continuously had Falkirk battling at the right end of the table, getting into the play-offs each and every time.
They really should have won promotion two years ago but simply ran out of steam in the second leg of the play-off final with Kilmarnock.
Those recent runs, combined with the lack of a Hibs, a Hearts or a Rangers in the league had led many to tip them to win promotion or the title this year.
Instead, Falkirk haven’t got out of the traps. And the axe fell on Houston.
So how much time does previous success buy you?
And I’m not saying it should buy you any time at all. But seven games following three years of relative success doesn’t sound a lot.
But playing devil’s advocate – it is a move that could turn out for the best for Falkirk.
And it’s the same thought process that crossed many minds when Alex Rae suffered the same fate at St Mirren last season.
The season has still only just begun. And if a manager can go in there and get the ball rolling straight away then there is still time to salvage the season and potentially get themselves back up the league and towards the play-offs.
If St Mirren had left it a week later, or left it completely, would they have remained in the Championship last season? Probably not.
But it is all down to getting the right man. Had St Mirren selected John Hughes would they have stayed up? Not a chance. They struck the jackpot. Now Falkirk need to do the same.