Liverpool did what Manchester United are considering with Erik ten Hag - with one big difference

A manager of one of the most high-profile Premier League clubs being sacked in the October international break after two successive draws. We've been here before.

Erik ten Hag is fighting for his future at Manchester United but having jetted off on holiday this week, he will point to respectable draws at Porto and Aston Villa as evidence that he has earned the right to carry on. In isolation, both results are at least reasonable, certainly when put in the context of the 3-0 Old Trafford defeat to Tottenham that preceded them.

When United's executive committee met in London on Tuesday, they will have tried to see the bigger picture regarding Ten Hag. Five games without a win and three wins in 11 this season are perfectly acceptable reasons to believe the promised improvement isn't forthcoming.

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It is the kind of far-sighted, ruthless decision an ownership sometimes has to make to move a club forward. Joel Glazer, who has flown in for a meeting at Old Trafford and Tuesday's Knightsbridge talks this week, could ask his American counterparts Fenway Sports Group about that.

The Liverpool owners sacked Brendan Rodgers at this time of the season nine years ago. Rodgers had just overseen a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby, which came on the back of the same scoreline in the Europa League against FC Sion. Liverpool had actually beaten Aston Villa a week earlier, and Rodgers could point to a six-game unbeaten run, but the overwhelming view was that his time had run out at Anfield.

While Ineos talk of going through a process and refusing to panic, FSG had