Unai Emery replaced former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa with the resurgent Midlanders forcing Chelsea to finally swing the axe on Graham Potter.
The Premier League giants have sacked the ex-Brighton coach after just seven months in charge and an entire season of disastrous and expensive investment at Stamford Bridge.
The club has spent hundreds of millions on mid-rate players across long-term contracts as US owner Todd Boehly finds out quickly that you can’t just throw money at the Premier League.
Whilst Graham Potter was never likely to turn the Chelsea job down, the former Osterdund coach was a surprise appointment following the sacking of Champions League winning manager Thomas Tuchel.
As the Londoners toil in the Premier League – they are currently 11th in the standings – it was 9th place Aston Villa and Unai Emery who struck the fatal blow.
Graham Potter joins Steven Gerrard on Premier League scrap heap
Goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn signalled the end of the Graham Potter Chelsea experiment but it also gave an insight into the growth of Aston Villa post Steven Gerrard.
Whilst Steven Gerrard has curried favour with disgruntled supporters in recent weeks, to many the former Rangers boss blighted his time in Glasgow by jumping ship mid-season to Villa Park.
Rangers might’ve gone on to reach the Europa League Final but they fluffed the league title and now find themselves behind Celtic having gone through Giovanni van Bronckhorst and called for Michael Beale to return.
The sacking of both Steven Gerrard and Graham Potter – who’re among 13 coaches to be given their Premier League jotters this season – is a lesson in the competitiveness of the English top flight.
Only the best coaches will survive in this battleground and amid international footballing egos, the billions of pounds on offer and the pressure of survival, this cartoon cavalcade isn’t stopping any time soon.
In hindsight, perhaps Steven Gerrard regrets leaving Rangers the way that he did and at the time that he did, but like Graham Potter he got a rude awakening after walking out on a good thing.
Sometimes the grass isn’t greener on the other side and as both lament short-lived and failed stints at the top table, there’s no telling when their time will come around again.
