Chelsea are once again on the hunt for a new manager after announcing the sacking of Graham Potter after less than seven months in charge.
He was dismissed shortly after their disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.
Potter’s exit comes with the club sitting 11th in the Premier League standings, 12 points off the top four.
How Potter lost his magic
The Englishman was first brought in at Stamford Bridge in early September to take over from Thomas Tuchel – who was abruptly sacked himself.
Potter came off the back of a successful spell at Brighton, where he transformed the mid-to-lower table club into a side that punched above its weight, and even ended last season in ninth - their highest-ever Premier League finish.
Upon his unveiling at Chelsea, Potter was hailed as a manager who fitted the club’s vision and ambitions under new owner Todd Boehly and was seen as a part of the Blues long-term plan for success.
And Potter actually got off to a good start – going nine games unbeaten. Things, however, started going downhill just before the World Cup, with a succession of defeats in the EPL and a League Cup exit.
Post-World Cup, Chelsea won just three of their 13 league games and were booted out of the FA Cup.
By the end of his time at Stamford Bridge, Potter had a record of 11 defeats in 31 games since taking charge.
For a club that had spent over 500 million pounds on new signings over the summer, such a record was simply not good enough.
More managers more problems? Not quite.
Potter is the fifth Chelsea manager after Luis Felipe Scolari, Andre-Villas Boas, Roberto Di Matteo and Rafa Benitez to fail to reach the 50-game mark with Chelsea.
Surprisingly, despite the managerial merry-go-round, The Blues have not found success hard to come by… winning the EPL, FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League titles over the past six years.
What now?
Potter’s former assistant Bruno Saltor will take charge on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found. He will find himself thrown straight into the deep end, with an EPL game against Liverpool on Wednesday before a Champions League trip to Real Madrid next week.
As far as a permanent replacement goes, it is as good as anyone’s guess.
Former Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann is of course one of those being linked with the job, while there’s also been mention of Mauricio Pochettino, Luis Enrique, Carlo Ancelotti and even Zinedine Zidane.
Incidentally, Potter is not the only one who’ll have to update his resume.
Leicester City have also sacked Brendan Rodgers as manager, with the club currently sitting second from bottom in the league standings.
There have now been 13 managerial changes in the EPL this season, which is three more than in any other previous campaign.
