A year ago, Steve Bruce stood on the touchline at Newcastle's St James' Park with a rather grim face -- he was waiting to be sacked.
A few days later on Oct 20, the deed was done, although the term used was "by mutual consent".
Last weekend, Bruce was again standing on the touchline, this time at the Hawthorns with an equally grim face, waiting to be sacked by West Bromwich Albion.
And the axe fell although the club preferred to say they had "parted company" with the 61-year-old manager.
October is definitely not a happy month for Bruce, who incidentally is the ninth Championship manager to "move on" this season.
Many are wondering if Bruce might finally call it a day as he has looked distinctly weary of late. Or will he be tempted for one last ride on the managerial merry-go-round?
In his 24 years in football management, Bruce has actually had more success than many would think.
He won promotion to the Premier League four times, twice with Birmingham City and twice with Hull City.
He had been hoping West Brom would be his fifth success but an eight-game winless run put an end to those dreams.
The West Brom fans had been on his back and with the club lying in 22nd place the writing was on the wall.
Last weekend, he was roundly booed by the Baggies' fans after the disappointing 0-0 home draw against Luton. But in typical defiant fashion, he vowed to carry on.
After last week's game, he told the media: "I'll never quit when I'm up against it. I've quit to get a better job…but I will not walk away."
Bruce has experienced some rough times in recent years. He suffered plenty of abuse at Newcastle for his team's dogged style of play.
But with unpopular owner Mike Ashley still at the helm and money for transfers not forthcoming, there was little Bruce could do but play for survival.
Some would say he did well to keep a poor Newcastle side in the Premier League for two seasons.
His very last game at Newcastle also happened to be his 1,000th match as a manager.
While Bruce was compensated financially by Newcastle, that was not really the point.
As a Geordie himself, he has always supported the Magpies and it must have really hurt being rejected by the fans.
Regular chants of "We want Bruce out" were hard for him to take.
"It has taken its toll on my whole family," he admitted.
At least at the Hawthorns, he didn't have a cabbage thrown at him, something he experienced in his final days at Aston Villa in 2018.
It prompted Bruce to comment: "It sums up the society we are in at the moment. There is no respect for anyone."
Bruce had a successful playing career as a central defender, highlighted by a nine-year stint at Manchester United where he won three Premier League titles.
He also scored a handy 36 goals for United. Despite impressive club performances, he never played for England.
He had an interesting relationship with former United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Bruce called him the "toughest, meanest competitor I have ever met. To be any use to him you have to win."
Since ending his playing days, Bruce has managed 11 clubs, beginning with Sheffield United in 1998 but left after a year citing turmoil in the boardroom.
His second job was at Huddersfield but that didn't work out too well either. After a promising start results fell away and once again he was sacked.
Huddersfield chairman Barry Ruberry, who had persuaded Bruce to take up the job, admitted: "The biggest mistake I made was that I thought that a great footballer would make a great manager."
Bruce has certainly done the rounds including managerial stints at Wigan, Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday.
Perhaps it is time for Bruce to reinvent his writing career.
While at Huddersfield, he wrote three "thriller" novels -- Striker! Sweeper! And Defender! featuring a football manager who solves murder mysteries.
Perhaps the next should be entitled Winner! That might just cheer him up.