After a solid start to the season that included a draw with Chelsea and win over Manchester United, a very poor run of form has seen Garry Monk become the latest victim of the Premier League's managerial merry-go-round.
The former Swansea player was today sacked by the club after a run of 11 games where he could only muster one win, and ultimately was enough to cost him his job.
Monk took over the Swansea job after the departure of Michael Laudrup, and while he was an unexpected choice at the time, managed to stabilise the club which had looked to be in a period of turbulence at that point.
A 3-0 loss at home against Leicester on Saturday was to be his last game in charge, as his side was comprehensively outplayed by the league leaders, with Riyad Mahrez scoring a hat-trick.
They were not only beaten, but outplayed at their own game in that match, as Leicester passed them off the park. The strong performers in his squad during that early period faded away, and he was left with little to call upon to turn the situation around.
Speaking to Off The Ball earlier this year about his success (up to that point) Monk outlined the achievements he had overseen at the club in his time there: "We beat our best ever points tally. There were numerous records: we had our highest place finish in the Premier League, clean sheets, goals scored, most wins, all of those things are what you're trying to fight for and you set those targets for players to want more rather than settling for average or doing just enough".
In a statement on the club website, chairman Huw Jenkins said "The decision has been made very reluctantly and with a heavy heart. To find ourselves in our current situation from where we were in the first week of September, and considering the drop of performance levels and run of results over the last three months, it has brought us to this unfortunate decision today".
Although it is still early to talk about potential replacements, there have been rumours that Monk was under pressure for a number of weeks, and among the names mentioned were former manager Brendan Rodgers and David Moyes.
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