As the first weekend in October has drawn to a close, it has provided a number of headlines both on and of the field in the English Premier League.

A defeat at home for Chelsea provided the public with an insight into Jose Mourinho's current mindset and it has to be said it wasn't pretty. Comparison's have been made with Kevin Keegan's famous "I'd love it" rant. Enough said for now. Draws for both Sunderland and Liverpool resulted in both their managers being jettisoned. The results themselves were probably irrelevant, however, as the writing was on the wall for both Dick Advocaat and Brendan Rodgers before a ball was kicked.

Then, Manchester United travelled to the Emirates, knowing a win would take them back to the Premier League summit only to be blown away within 20 minutes and be sent packing with a heavy 3-0 defeat. Does this mean that Louis van Gaal now comes under scrutiny? In a normal world, no. In the football world, maybe. It wasn't the defeat, it was the nature of the defeat that was most worrying for those concerned at Old Trafford. Arsenal were devastating, but United could not cope in any area of the pitch. It wasn't until Arsenal seemingly took their foot off the gas that United got a foothold in the game, but the horse had long since bolted.

He is not under pressure in reality, nor should he be, sitting third in the league even after the defeat. However, there are some aspects of the other goings on that may just make waves across the ocean and sow the odd seed of doubt in United's less than popular owners minds. They are American, and both 'managerial changes' this weekend also came at the hands of American owners.

Advocaat had enough?

In Sunderland's press conference prior to their weekend game, Advocaat was quizzed repeatedly whether the game with West Ham would be his last in charge, so there was clearly something afoot. Advocaat side-stepped the questions, but ultimately the rumours turned out to be true. He stayed on as manager in the summer after saying he would retire, so it may be that he decided enough was enough. Whether he went of his own accord or not is irrelevant. Ellis Short, Sunderland's owner, is rather trigger happy and this marriage had run its course.

Advocaat kept Sunderland in the Premier League last year after taking over from Gus Poyet with the club staring relegation. That achievement is about par for the course these days at the Stadium of Light. Premier League status, no more, no less and you have done your job. Advocaat was the third manager in three seasons. We await the fourth.

Rodgers simply not good enough

Van Gaal had nationality in common with Advocaat, but in terms of the actual job, he is much more on a par with Rodgers. Liverpool are steeped in history, and their fans expect success, so the pressure is different to that of Sunderland. The media spotlight is also so much greater, that every aspect of their job is scrutinised. There is no hiding place, and you have to be a big character to survive the daily challenge. Rodgers was never up to the job, and this weekend's announcement was only an eyebrow raiser from the perspective of timing.

When Fenway Sports Group took over, they wasted no time in sacking Roy Hodgson, who had been in the job a matter of months. They installed Kenny Dalglish as the manager and curried favour with supporters. There was no sentiment shown at the end of the season and Dalglish was also moved on. The owners cited the appointment of Rodgers was part of a more long-term strategy. All seemingly fair enough, but Rodgers had done nothing in his career to suggest he was up to a job of this magnitude. His CV compared to his predecessors was laughable. A promotion to the Premier League with Swansea and a blueprint for playing nice football? On that basis, the list of candidates could have been extensive.

Having been given the job, he had an underwhelming start finishing seventh, before he came close to becoming a legend. He got Liverpool within a whisker of the championship but his lack of a plan B allowed Crystal Palace to score three late goals and cancel out a 3-0 lead, before Steven Gerrard did his famous slip and the title was gone. The following summer Luis Suarez was sold, and that was pretty much it for Rodgers because his transfer dealings were so awful it was impossible to replace the goals that Suarez scored.

The men signed to replace the goals were Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Divock Origi. Origi was immediately loaned out, Lambert was sold this summer after one season, and Balotelli was loaned out this summer also. On occasions, Rodgers opted for no out and out centre-forward last season. Of course, the season ended badly with a 6th place finish. His arrogance to think he could handle Balotelli shows he is not the man he thinks he is. There is a parody account on Twitter called 'Deluded Brendan' that mimics Rodgers. It could have taken its ammunition using direct quotes from the man himself in recent weeks. He complained recently of a witch hunt in the media, and even up to the weekend was insistent that the club were moving forward.

When all said and done, the only strange thing about his sacking was why it never happened in the summer, and why give him another substantial amount of money to spend yet expect results after only eight games. His previous forays into the transfer market brought scant reward, so what the Fenway Group thought would change is only their guess.

Deja Vu Jose

Although Mourinho doesn't have an American owner his boss, Roman Abramovich, has not been known for his patience. The return of Mourinho was meant to be a rekindling that was meant to last. It may still do, but when you have had a terrible pre-season, been involved in a scandal with the clubs physio, dropped your legendary captain and overseen the worst Chelsea start in over 30 years, it might not be the time to be shouting the odds.

Mourinho doesn't do quiet, and maybe armed with a contract until 2019 he felt he was on solid ground after the home defeat to Southampton to announce that he was Chelsea's best ever manager and sacking him would be saying that everything that goes wrong lies at the managers door. Well, there was a hastily arranged board meeting at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, and whilst the thumbs went up for keeping 'The Special One', he may want to curb the outbursts if he wants to remain in his post.

He was right in his claims as he is the best Chelsea have ever had, and he should keep his job, but we have been here before in his first spell. There wasn't so much off-field shenanigans, but there were poor results and he paid the price and even if Chelsea do want more long term association with their managers, Abramovich can change his policy in a heartbeat if he feels he is being pushed into a corner.

Glazers show patience

Both Mourinho and van Gaal will be safe as long as there are no further distractions off the field. The results will have to follow, there has to be progression and for United and van Gaal they must mount a serious challenge for the title and ideally win some kind of trophy. If not, there may be a decision to be made but he has a further season after this on his contract, so it would still be a surprise if United do choose that they choose to depart.

The Glazers have their fingers in other sporting pies, and they have owned the Tampa Bay Bucaneers American football team since 1996. In that time, they have only had five head coaches so it suggests that patience is something they understand and they are prepared to let a manager get things right. However, if you look a little closer, they have had three coaches in the last five years, all of whom have enjoyed no success. So, van Gaal may yet find himself under the spotlight if he is not able to add to his considerably successful CV.

The one thing that stands van Gaal in good stead is his demeanour. Apart from the one rant regarding Sam Allardyce's suggestion that United went long ball in a particular game, the Dutchman dominates his press conferences. He owns them, and either has a calm demeanour or is almost hyperactive but he is in control of his own destiny. He brings a huge amount of honesty to his media duties, and even after defeat, or if he is delivering criticism of an individual, you don't feel he is being unnecessarily negative. He is just being honest, but his persona gives the sense that he understands what went wrong and it won't happen again.

It's a long season, but you can expect the Dutchman to see it out whatever happens. This weekend's events have parallels only on a few levels, and you can expect van Gaal to leave no stone unturned to ensure his time at Old Trafford does not blot his copybook.

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