Why it was time for Rochford to move on

The same week Stephen Rochford embarked on his first of three underwhelming Connacht championship campaigns with a visit to Ruislip, another manager familiar with some football grounds in London as well as working with top players for a support base craving silverware brought out a book called Quiet Leadership.

In between his stints coaching Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Carlo Ancelotti reflected on his style of management and the nature of the job, observing that there was a process which he termed as "the leadership arc”.

First, there’s the courtship when an interested party identifies you and tries to procure your services. Then, there’s the honeymoon period when you’re given time to establish yourself, but only a limited period of time. Then, if you’re lucky enough, comes some level of success and stability. But eventually, this stability plateaus and cracks appear in the relationship, leading, finally, to the breakup and an inevitable parting of ways.