When Uwe Rosler was confirmed as the new manager of Leeds United in May 2015, the German became the 17th different boss to have inherited the Elland Road hotseat in some capacity since the turn of the millennium.
Some of those men, such as John Carver and Eddie Gray, were only ever in temporary charge, but there was also plenty of permanent appointments, including that of Kevin Blackwell.
The former goalkeeper had arrived with the Yorkshire club as part of Peter Reid's coaching staff in 2003 and he remained in that position when Gray took over on an interim basis.
It was in June 2004 that Blackwell was handed the reins himself, with many having suggested that he was simply holding the fort until a more glamorous name arrived.
However, initially Blackwell defied the doubters as he somewhat steadied the sinking ship that had been Leeds. In 2006 he guided the team to the final of the Championship playoffs, only for Watford to run on out 3-0 winners. It was an encounter that marked the beginning of the end of Blackwell's tenure.
From their opening eight games of the new campaign, Leeds won just twice under Blackwell's stewardship. During that period, the Whites found the net on only four occasions, which in turn saw them slump to second from bottom in the table - their lowest ever league position.
It proved to be too much for chairman Ken Bates, who wielded the axe nine years ago today, despite the fact that Blackwell had overseen a 3-1 League Cup win over Barnet the previous evening.
A statement from the Championship outfit's board read: "The board of Leeds United have today terminated the contract of manager Kevin Blackwell.
"The club would like to place on record its thanks to Kevin for the work he has put in over the past three and a half years, the past two and a half of which were as manager. No further comment will be made at this time."
As for the sacked Blackwell, he declined to comment on his departure. However, he did launch legal proceedings against Bates later on as a result of comments made by the Leeds official in an interview with The Sun newspaper.
Meanwhile, Leeds struggled as caretakers Carver and David Geddis both had brief spells as the main man, before Dennis Wise was hired.
The club, though, was on a downward spiral and in May 2007 it voluntary entered administration. That meant a 10-point deduction and it confirmed relegation down to League One.
Liam Apicella
