Why Liverpool, Chelsea, Villa and West Ham should resist the easiest and laziest response to problems on the pitch
For a Premier League board, it is the easiest and laziest response in the book.
The team is not doing well, the fans are getting restless - sack the manager.
Carlo Ancelotti, Avram Grant, Roy Hodgson and Gerard Houllier all woke yesterday to find questions over their futures being voiced up and down the land, and directors with twitchy fingers may be considering pulling the trigger.
But when you act in haste, you tend to repent at leisure and while some managerial changes are inevitable, knee-jerk reactions others can lead to worse problems than sticking with the man in the job.
Do the West Ham board, for example, really believe that simply getting rid of Grant will improve things when there is not even enough money to bring in Steve Sidwell or Wayne Bridge on loan?
Houllier was brought in to change the culture at Villa Park, Hodgson was asked to take the helm of an already leaky ship, while Ancelotti was celebrating the Double eight months ago.
None of them have become bad managers overnight.
The treatment of Sam Allardyce and Chris Hughton before Christmas was just as scandalous.
In a league which is so congested at top and bottom, two wins can transform the picture just as swiftly as two defeats and change for the sake of change often brings chaos and confusion when calmness and clarity are what is really required.
For every Harry Redknapp at Spurs you have shedloads of Les Reeds, Iain Dowies and Brian Lawses - men who cannot turn around a ship heading for the iceberg.
Unless you can guarantee the next man in will really make a difference, you should stick with what you have and reassess in the summer.
The sacking season is a recipe for disaster.
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