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It really is staggering that after just over three and a half years in the job he has now reached 11th place although a closer examination should suggest we shouldn't even be mildly surprised. When John Gregory left Villa Park yesterday Aston Villa became the 32nd club to have lost the manager they started the season with.
Some have been sacked, some to go to other jobs and others just resigned but the casualty list with still over a third of the season to go is over 33%. Fourteen of the current First Division clubs have changed manager since the beginning of 2001 and a staggering 12 don't have the same manager they ended last season with. That is a 50% turnover in eight months.
Chairmen respond to bad results and often with a less than satisfactory change, take a look at what has happened at the Unprofessionals since Hell-Wood brought in Carlton Palmer to replace Andy Kilner.
At Burnley we know all about the constant changing of managers. We are a club that over the history have given managers a chance but in two spells we played the game of changing managers.
The first occasion was in the eighties, we were struggling at the wrong end of Division Two in January 1983 when Brian Miller was sacked. In July 1986 just three and a half years later Miller was back. In between there had been Frank Casper, John Bond, John Benson, Martin Buchan and Tommy Cavanagh and between them they had turned us into a less than successful 4th Division outfit.
It took time to start the climb, there were hiccups on the way but by the mid 90s we were in a better position. Then, when Jimmy Mullen went we had another run of managers. First there was Adrian Heath but when the going got tough Heath got going, then it was Waddle and all that needs to be said has been said and finally Stan Ternent. Stan arrived not much over two years after Jimmy Mullen had left and although we were in the same division we were once again in a right mess and had only survived in the last game.
Again it took time to get us moving in the right direction again but now in his fourth season in charge Stan has hoisted Burnley back up to where we are now, one of the top few sides in the First Division.
It all suggest stability is a good thing and that you should stick with your managers long term. How long though before the next one goes? How long will it be before Stan reaches the top ten?
One thing for certain is he will be in the top ten at the start of next season, Sir Alex Ferguson's departure from Old Trafford will ensure that. Who would argue though that it could be even earlier?
The current top ten are,
Dario Gradi (Crewe Alexandra)
Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
Alan Curbishley (Charlton Athletic)
George Burley (Ipswich Town)
Peter Reid (Sunderland)
Barry Fry (Peterborough United)
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal)
Brian Laws (Scunthorpe United)
Ronnie Moore (Rotherham United)
David Moyes (Preston North End)
Would anyone dare suggest that any of those ten clubs are not in a better position than when their current manager took over?