James Morrison mirrors Tonda Eckert as Southampton head to West Brom
It has been a whole year since Will Still was dismissed as Southampton manager.
The entire Still reign just feels like a horrible nightmare now, as ever since he departed, the Saints have been on the rise.
Indeed, Tonda Eckert has turned around the fortunes of the club in a remarkable manner, with the South Coast side only three points off the top two in the Championship at the time of writing.
When Still was sacked, the Saints loitered in a grim 21st spot in the league, with Eckert now ready to deliver a promotion come the end of the season.
Appointing Eckert was an inspired decision
It's amazing to think that the general feeling when Eckert was handed the temporary reins was one of bemusement.
Nobody really knew who the German was, as the 33-year-old had only been at the club for a couple of months in an U21 coaching capacity, before he was handed the main manager job temporarily.
The decision to give him the job immediately after Still, and then hand him the permanent reins, has proven to be a masterstroke, as from the 46 Championship games he has overseen, he has collected a stunning 28 victories.
The only blemish on his managerial CV to date at St. Mary's is the whole Spygate fiasco, but he is undoubtedly a very talented manager, and just the breath of fresh air the South Coast side needed, after the complete car-crash of Still, who managed just two second tier wins as boss, in stark contrast.
West Bromwich Albion, who face off against the Saints mid-week, have their own Eckert figure in the dug-out, arguably, as the Baggies gambled on their own interim stint last season, when they were in a spot of bother, and it has worked a treat.
West Brom have their own Eckert
Unlike Eckert's sudden arrival into the dug-out, though, James Morrison is an instantly recognisable face to Baggies supporters.
Indeed, Morrison would play for West Brom a staggering 349 times as a player, but having a legendary status on the pitch doesn't always mean you're going to be well-suited to the pressures of managerial life at your beloved club.
Yet, the 40-year-old ended up being just what the doctor ordered for the West Midlands giants, like Eckert ended up being a change for the better at St. Mary's, with Morrison helping the Baggies climb out of the relegation zone last season, after the disastrous Still-like spell of Eric Ramsay.
Now, he has West Brom in the promotion conversation, next to the super confident Saints, with seven Championship victories next to his name this season, which included a 3-1 scalp away at West Ham United last time out.
As John Homer put it in June, who is the Baggies' official club supporter's chairman, he has just managed to "bring the best" out of players who had previously left the Hawthorns masses frustrated, with Isaac Price up to four goals and two assists for the season, when he had blanked under prior regimes.
Finn Azaz had never grabbed a single goal or assist under Still, yet he has 14 goals and 15 assists under Eckert, as two very exciting attacking teams, spearheaded by promising, and well-respected, managers butt heads on Tuesday night in the pick of the bunch from the mid-week clashes.
