Rafa is used to being at clubs with plenty of money to spend and he's been successful at most of them. Last season, comparatively, he was at a club with more money than competitors and we got promoted. Guiding us to be champions was still a great achievement but not unprecedented because Chris Hughton, of much lesser reputation, had done the same. Now he finds himself at a club which has less to spend, or at least less money made available by the owner, and his record this season so far is no better than Pardew or McClaren. Indeed if we keep losing games the right comparison might eventually be with Carver. Unlike many who post on here I have no strong feelings about Rafa. My motto is 'by their fruits shall ye know them' i.e. by results. I hope he can turn things round because no one, or at least very few, want the disruption caused by a change in manager but if it looks like he can't I see no reason for not doing what most clubs facing relegation do and that is to gamble with changing the manager -and it is a gamble. This might seem very unfair because undoubtedly Rafa hasn't been given enough money to spend but we could debate What Ifs all day and night and it wouldn't change present day reality. We are where we are and have to look to the future not debate the past. Relegation again would be a disaster. We wouldn't come straight back up. We might even do a Sunderland. Twice we've left a change in manager to the last 10 games and it hasn't worked. I hope reinforcements come in January but whether they do or not if we're in the bottom 3 by the end of Jan and there's no sign of a turnaround that would leave 13 games to go so a decision, in my view, would have to be made. The end of Jan wouldn't leave Rafa with much time to integrate new players bought in Jan but there again to leave a new manager with fewer than 13 games wouldn't be very fair on whoever. No doubt some will say who have I got in mind as a replacement. I haven't. But I don't know all the names available. I'd like Big Al but there's little hope of that and no hope under Ashley nor might Shearer want a relegation struggle with a squad he hadn't picked. I hope that with players returning from injury and hoped-for new recruits in Jan we can pick up so the question of a new manager will be academic. But things don't look too good at the moment. Football is a cut-throat business and there's little room for sentiment. All managers know that.