Wayne Rooney has been sacked as manager of Birmingham after just 83 days.
The former England captain oversaw just two wins in 15 games as Blues went from sixth to 20th in the Championship.
Here, the PA news agency looks at seven other high-profile managers who saw appointments go horribly wrong in short order.
Claudio Ranieri – Fulham – 106 days
(November 14, 2018 – February 28, 2019)
Former Chelsea boss Ranieri returned to west London in November 2018 boasting a resume that included Leicester’s famous Premier League title, the Coppa Italia with Fiorentina and the Copa del Rey with Valencia. His first match in charge was a dramatic 3-2 win over Southampton to end a two-month winless league run, but it was one of only three victories in 17 games in charge before he was sacked.
Tony Adams – Portsmouth – 106 days
(October 28, 2008 – February 8, 2009)
Former England captain Adams stepped up from his role as an assistant at Pompey after Harry Redknapp left for Tottenham in October 2008, but the ex-Wycombe boss lasted only three-and-a-half months. Adams took only 10 points from 16 league games in charge and his win percentage of 18.2 across all competitions remains the lowest of any manager in the club’s history.
Bob Bradley – Swansea – 85 days
(October 3, 2016 – December 27, 2016)
Bradley’s appointment in south Wales brought much intrigue as the man who had enjoyed great success with the United States became the first American boss in the Premier League. But he was always up against it, with the supporters’ trust – who held a 21 per cent stake in the club – immediately issuing a statement criticising his appointment. They proved to be right as Bradley’s 11 games in charge delivered only eight points and the Swans conceded three or more goals eight times.
Frank De Boer – Crystal Palace – 77 days
(June 26, 2017 – September 11, 2017)
Former Netherlands star De Boer was an eye-catching appointment at Selhurst Park as he promised to usher in a new possession-based strategy in south London. But after going through the pre-season, De Boer lasted just four league games, none of which brought so much as a goal or a point, before being replaced by Roy Hodgson.
Brian Clough – Leeds – 44 days
(July 22, 1974 – September 12, 1974)
After Don Revie led Leeds to the league title in the 1973/74 season, he left for England and was, stunningly, replaced by his most-outspoken critic. Clough had previously called Leeds “dirty” and even called for their demotion, and he did little more to endear himself during six abrasive weeks in which he alienated the club’s players and won only one of six games. Clough’s revenge for his dismissal was to join Nottingham Forest a few months later, going on to win two European Cups.
Alex McLeish – Nottingham Forest – 40 days
(December 27, 2012 – February 5, 2013)
Former Scotland boss McLeish made his name north of the border, twice winning the title with Rangers after guiding Hibernian to promotion as champions in 1999. But in England, spells with Birmingham and Aston Villa had already gone sour before a dismal 40 days in charge of Forest, where McLeish won only one of seven games before a fallout with chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi.
Steve Coppell – Manchester City – 33 days
(October 6, 1996 – November 8, 1996)
Former Manchester United winger Coppell pitched up on the other side of town in October 1996 to take charge at Maine Road. This was an age when City were in a state of perpetual chaos, with chairmanship changing hands three times in short order and the club bouncing between divisions. Results were not Coppell’s downfall – he won two and drew one of his six games – but after just a month he left citing stress, soon returning to Crystal Palace.
Italy win shows 'true face of the France team', says Rabiot
Adrien Rabiot believes Sunday's win over Italy showed "the true face of the France team" as they secured top spot in Nations League Group A2.
The midfielder headed home twice in their 3-1 victory, meeting excellent deliveries from Lucas Digne on both, with his second goal restoring the all-important two-goal cushion that ensured they finished above the Azzurri in the group.
This comes after France had failed to find a way past Israel in a frustrating 0-0 draw last time out.
However, Sunday's victory ensured France will be seeded in the quarter-finals draw as they seem to have put their disappointing Euro 2024 campaign, in which they won just twice as they struggled in front of goal, behind them.
Les Bleus also avenged the 3-1 defeat to Italy on home soil in the reverse fixture, something Rabiot said was playing on their minds while they prepared for their trip to San Siro.
"It's been a long time since we've played a match like this, that we haven't fought in this way all together, until the end," he told TF1.
"We also had the objective of winning with a two-goal difference, we did it. But frankly, the mutual aid that there was in this match, the combativeness, the team spirit, it's to be highlighted. Frankly, we enjoyed playing this match.
"It was a different context [Thursday]. Above all, there was a revenge to be taken compared to the previous match against Italy, who had come to win at home. It's a great evening. I hope we will continue to show this face. It's the true face of the France team."
Digne officially got two assists in the victory, but he also played a big role in France's other goal – his free-kick rattled the crossbar before bouncing in off the unfortunate Guglielmo Vicario.
In fact, France scored three goals from set-pieces in a match for the first time since 1991, when they netted three times from dead-ball situations against Albania.
"[The free-kick is] a technical gesture that is worked on in training. The more you do, the more automatic it becomes, and it pays off," Digne said.
"Offensively, it's not bad at all. As a defender, I would have preferred to finish with a clean sheet, but we can't have everything. We finished first, it's great.
"We had a revenge to take from the first leg, we wanted to show a completely different face. And in addition to our slightly worse match against Israel... We really wanted to show that this jersey is close to our hearts. The whole group was present. It was really a complete match."
France's Nations League quarter-finals will be played in March.
Israel 1-0 Belgium: Shua late show proves decisive
Relegated Israel stunned Belgium 1-0 in their final Nations League game as Yarden Shua's late goal earned them their first win in the competition this season.
The Red Devils, who were without a number of key players for the tie in Hungary, were masters of their own downfall as they gifted Israel the winner with four minutes left on the clock.
In a cagey first half, Eli Dasa breached Belgium's backline 24 minutes in and beat Koen Casteels with a crisp low effort, only to be denied by the foot of the far post.
Casteels was alert just before the break, getting down low to push Dor Peretz's low drive away from the bottom corner.
Domenico Tedesco's half-time team talk looked to have buoyed his side as they upped the pressure, with Lois Openda hitting the side netting before Johan Bakayoko forced a fingertip save out of Daniel Peretz just after the hour.
However, in their rush to find a winner, Belgium were caught playing out from the back. Dor Peretz latched onto Matte Smets' loose backpass, and though he was bundled over in the box, Shua coolly picked out the bottom corner.
Israel finish bottom of Group A2 and are automatically relegated to League B, while Belgium sit above them due to a superior goal difference in their head-to-head record –they now have a relegation play-off to overcome.
Data Debrief: Tough times for Tedesco
It has been a Nations League campaign to forget for Belgium, who managed just one win and finished with a whimper as they went winless in their final four matches (D1 L3).
They just edged the shot count in Budapest, having 12 attempts to Israel's 10, but without the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne to call on, they lacked a clinical edge.
While Belgium struggled in attack, their defensive struggles will also be a worry for Tedesco. They failed to win any of the four games in which they fell behind in the group, earning just one point from a losing position.
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
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