Meet five fired bosses who recovered quickly this season
This week I watched that hilarious episode of the hit TV comedy Alan Partridge, in which he had written his autobiography Bouncing Back.
It charted a would-be comeback from his disastrous broadcasting career and breakup from his wife.
That got me thinking about football managers who have been sacked but returned.
And this season there have been five bosses who have been shown the door but quickly returned to management.
Here I take a brief look at the managers who bounced back.
MICHAEL BEALE (Sunderland)
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IF you're managing Rangers and Celtic are above you, you're always standing on quicksand and he was thrown out of Ibrox.
But the Londoner – who left QPR last season just weeks after pledging his committed loyalty to them – took over at the Black Cats in December.
Like Alan Partridge, his story could be quickly shattered if he loses his job at the Stadium of Light.
Mackems fans were unfazed by the three straight defeats halted by Saturday's crucial 3-1 win against Stoke.
TONY MOWBRAY (Birmingham)
Speaking of Sunderland, what were they actually playing with by sacking Tony Mowbray?
This likeable man did a fantastic job for the Black Cats, getting them into the play-offs against all odds last season and knocking them around those spots again this time.
But he has found himself in self-inflicted chaos at St Andrew's after they decided the Wayne Rooney project wasn't a good idea after all. No, Sherlock, John Eustace made them fly.
Mowbray has won one and drawn the other of his two league games so far, with his priority simply being to keep Birmingham up. Groundhog Day for blues fans.
DARREN MOORE (Huddersfield)
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MADCAP Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri decided on the eve of the season to get rid of the manager who inspired his team to promotion.
Darren Moore had even helped his side come back from 4-0 down against Peterborough in the play-off semi-finals on the road!
The ex-West Brom boss took over at Huddersfield but has barely returned and finds himself in unreliable territory, having recorded three wins from 23 games so far.
MATT TAYLOR (Bristol Rovers)
After doing a good job at Exeter, he got a big break in the Championship when he was named Paul Warne's replacement at Rotherham last season.
Despite keeping the Millers in the second tier, they struggled this time and he was thrown out of the New York Stadium in November with the club's third bottom side.
But he quickly replaced gobby Joey Barton after his dismissal and made an immediate impact with four wins and a draw from his first six games. However, things have been tough since then and their 3-1 win over Oxford on Saturday ended a five-match losing streak.
GRAHAM ALEXANDER (Bradford)
THE Bantams boss has had some bad luck when it comes to losing his job at previous clubs.
Scunthorpe decided to get rid of him after he led them to the brink of the Championship, they are now in the National League North.
Numbnut Gary Neville madly dismissed the Burnley legend when they were unbeaten after five games and fifth in League Two… all this after taking Salford to the EFL and guiding them to an EFL Trophy final.
And this season, MK Dons wielded the ax after just 16 games, showing little patience.
Yet he has arrived at Valley Parade and despite a decent start they have gone off the boil and have not won their last seven League Two games. They should give him a summer to sort everything out and go again next season.
Nieuwpoort 'builders' work on Sundays?
Structural repairs must have taken place at the right time this week in Rodney Road, Newport.
Scaffolding suddenly had to be erected in front of some houses along the street running parallel to Rodney Parade in County.
Incredibly, those 'builders' were not only willing to put in overtime working on Sundays, but also stayed on site until well over a few hours after 4:30 PM.
That's what you call dedication. They must have great reviews on Checkatrade.
Alfie, 10, gives a Walsall team speech
WALSALL boss Mat Sadler made 10-year-old fan Alfie Donnelly do his team-mate for their League Two match with Sutton.
Alfie has multiple, complex heart conditions that require him to have open heart surgery four times.
The Saddlers invited the youngster to the training ground to meet and interview his favorite player Joe Riley, and to go to Bescot Stadium to rile up the players before kick-off and read out the teams over the PA system .
Boss Sadler said: “We all love Alfie. He is always smiling and an inspiration to us all.”
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Elokobi is exactly what the EFL needs
DEFINITELY any EFL club looking for a new manager should turn to Maidstone United's George Elokobi.
I ironically suggested that maybe even Liverpool should take a look at him!
But seriously, what he did before the FA Cup match against Ipswich at the Portman Road gates on Saturday was incredible: he gave the Maidstone fans alongside the players a passionate motivational speech from the heart.
This is exactly what football needs. There are too many idiots working at bigger clubs who want to prevent this kind of raw passion from happening or being seen.
We need less of them and more of George Elokobi.