Steve Bruce was handed his p45 by Newcastle earlier this week in the most unsurprising football story in recent times.
His team sat second bottom of the Premier League without a win from the opening eight games of the campaign.
Now, attention turns towards who will be the next to take on the position. According to The Northern Echo, both Steven Gerrard and Paulo Fonseca are keen on the role.
Whether it’s one of those two or another option that emerges remains to be seen. Here at Geordie Boot Boys, we’ve run the rule over the movers and shakers.
Who next for Newcastle?
Steven Gerrard
The ex-Liverpool man has certainly taken to management well. He’s now in his fourth season with Rangers and looks on course for a second successive Scottish Premiership title.
In 187 games in charge of Rangers, he has overseen 121 wins, with a victory ratio of 64%.
Of course, Scotland provides him with something of an easier challenge than the Premier League would and this move might represent a risk.
That said, Gerrard has to start somewhere in the English top-flight. As a young, progressive, modern-day manager perhaps he’s the vibrant boss Newcastle require right now.
Paulo Fonseca
Now, this would be exciting. The ex-Roma boss very nearly joined Tottenham during the summer but a deal fell through at the eleventh hour.
The 48-year-old has been out of work since leaving Roma in June, ending a two-year association with the Serie A club.
Fonseca falls into the bracket of managers who didn’t enjoy a sparkling playing career and is a firm student of the game.
In management, he has achieved a win percentage of over 50% in his last three jobs and his teams typically play extremely attacking football.
Lucian Favre
Just the mention of his name had Jim White screwing his face up on TalkSPORT but clearly, the host is a big fan of Steve Bruce and not German football.
If he was a fan of the Bundesliga he’d be aware that Favre isn’t a bad name to be thrown into the mix at all.
The Swiss boss left Dortmund with a win ratio of 62%, spending two-and-a-half years with the German giants.
He has also managed Nice, Borussia Monchengladbach, Hertha Berlin, FC Zurich and Servette.
Favre might not be considered the first, or even the best, choice. He would, however, provide a safe pair of hands.
Eddie Howe
Amid a plethora of high-profile links, one that won’t go away is the former Bournemouth manager, Eddie Howe.
It has to be said that given the stature of the other names, Howe does seem somewhat underwhelming.
Although he did a really good job with the Cherries, his meticulous style of possession-based football could take some time to settle.
One major positive to appointing Howe could be his relationship with Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser.
Howe got a tune out of both players at the Vitality Stadium and that at least might bode well.
Jose Mourinho
The wildcard option. It has to be said this one looks unlikely given that the Portuguese manager has only been in Roma for a matter of months.
He did recently laud the impact of Sir Bobby Robson on his career thought and perhaps managing Newcastle is one for Mourinho before his career finishes.
Right now, it’s almost impossible to think he’d come to St James’ Park. Not only is he newly appointed at Roma but a relegation battle at Newcastle is likely to be miles away from his thoughts.
This move could excite in the future but it certainly won’t be happening any time soon.
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