Over in the EPL, meanwhile, two managers found themselves slapped in the face and divorced from their clubs. League life now resumes without the coaching craft of a Smith and a Taylor.

Derby County and Leicester City's decision to part with their respective bosses was not met with a great deal of surprise. Jim Smith, we hear, had taken the Rams as far as he could. Peter Taylor, the man whose genius stroke it was to make David Beckham England's captain, did not have what it takes at this level. With the Rams and Foxes propping up the EPL table, an early change was easy to make. Yet both men can feel hard done to be dumped in such a manner, and the prognosis for both their clubs is still bleak.

Sixty-one next month, Smith already had made clear his intention not to seek a contract extension at the end of this season. His assistant, Colin Todd, would take over and the Bald Eagle would "move upstairs." As it is, Todd, no spring chicken himself at 52, takes the reins now, with Smith declining the offer of a trial separation. Hard as it is to picture Smith on the training field, you have to think Todd was already coaching the team. So what exactly has changed?

A year ago, Derby's miserable tally of five points from their first 11 EPL games of the campaign prompted the decision to ask Todd for assistance. With five points from seven matches, Smith had better results this year, but the Rams' malaise runs much deeper than points.

Heavily in debt, forced to sell Rory Delap to Southampton this summer, Derby management still saw fit to pay top dollar for the services of Fabrizio Ravanelli. Now more players have to be sold, while the White Feather still pockets his hefty wages. As Middlesbrough fans will tell you, that equation leads to relegation.

As for Todd's track record, getting Bolton relegated in 1998 and taking Swindon to the 2nd Division drop zone is, well, not good.

Smith's Derby had, in fact, only one bad result this season, last month's controversial home loss to Leicester. That game gave Taylor breathing room, and if his defense had been able to concentrate for five more minutes in their next outing against Middlesbrough, his romance with the Foxes may have been allowed to bloom again. West Ham, Ipswich and even Fulham, after all, still have just one win so far this season too.

Taylor's main failings were the loss to Bolton on opening weekend (again, largely the fault of his defense), having no more money to work with due to Leicester's new stadium project, and not being Martin O'Neill.

Successor Dave Bassett isn't O'Neill either, but does at least know how to work on a shoestring budget. At 57, he also is set in his ways, and those ways do not produce stylish teams. As for Bassett's past, his specialty is getting teams promoted, not saving them from the drop. His Sheffield United team was relegated from the EPL in 1994. At Nottingham Forest, this "Houdini" managed 17 EPL games without a win before begging to be released.

Apart from having their hands tied financially, Derby and Leicester have suffered a lack of goals. Three seasons ago, even when finishing mid-table, the Rams and Foxes mustered just 40 goals each. Last season, the two clubs averaged just a goal a game, with only relegated Coventry and Bradford scoring less times. Five goals each this year isn't getting it done either.

Todd and Bassett must change their clubs' philosophies. If not, the management changes are merely cosmetic. The Rams and Foxes have to follow the example of their Midlands rivals Aston Villa. Banish the miserable policy of playing five at the back, switch to 4-4-2, and allow players creative freedom. It could be the only solution, and it has to be better than going out with a whimper.

Derby and Leicester have little else to play with. Glamorous they ain't.

The glamour boys of Liverpool and Leeds start the coming EPL weekend off with a titanic tussle and the league-leading Whites will not be short on confidence either after putting six goals past Leicester in their midweek Worthington Cup match. A third Leeds win in the last four visits to Anfield would see some seriously red Reds faces on the banks of the River Mersey.

Red card-loving Red Devil Roy Keane meanwhile again will be banned for Man Utd's visit to Sunderland, where two Black Cats took an early bath last time these teams played, thanks to a certain Mr. Graham Poll. Can we assume Sir Alex will instead let the opposition again take a three-goal lead and then come out to play in the second half? It was fun at Spurs, after all.

The third of Saturday's featured matches sees the final member of the EPL's leading trio, Arsenal, travel to Southampton. The Saints got their last ever win at The Dell against the Gunners. At what price a first St. Mary's success? Dream on.

Blackburn stretched their unbeaten home record to six games by beating Middlesbrough in midweek, so West Ham's visit on Sunday should not pose too many problems. Hammers' boss Glenn Roeder is, of course, the next EPL manager with his head on the chopping block. A few home games might help.

Aston Villa then puts their unbeaten record on the line against a Fulham squad winless away from their cozy London Cottage, but doing fine on their own turf, as they convincingly demonstrated on Wednesday against Derby in the Worthington Cup. The Rams stay in the capital to play Spurs on Monday, and Todd will be lucky to start a honeymoon period at White Hart Lane.

Derby fans can not expect a return to their championship winning years of 1972 and 1975, and even their love affair with Todd, a Rams player in those days, is unlikely to be one to remember. Derby and Leicester may have new men in their lives, but the champagne's already flat and the roses are wilting.