Geraint Williams has left Colchester United by mutual consent.
The U's have acted following the club's poor start to the Coca-Cola League One season. The last straw for chairman Robbie Cowling was the disastrous 3-0 home defeat against MK Dons, when sections of the supporters chanted for Williams' head.
In a statement, Cowling said: "It is with considerable regret that I have to report that Geraint Williams will be leaving his post as first-team manager of Colchester United. Following the 3-0 defeat against MK Dons, and the manner in which the team was defeated, it was mutually agreed between the board of Colchester United and Geraint, that both parties would be best served if Geraint stood down from his role and that a new manager was appointed. In my opinion, Geraint was badly let down on Saturday by some of his players who failed to play for him, some of our supporters who failed to support him and by myself for failing to publicly back him before it was too late."
Colchester have named assistant boss Kit Symons as caretaker manager following Williams' departure who obviously has a shot at the title full time.
However, forgetting the usual mention of Tilly going to the north of Essex, the ex-Leicester, Plymouth ect. boss Ian Holloway is looking for a job and could be interested.
Would Alan Curbishley be willing to slum it for a season or two, the chairmen has the dosh to tempt him and he wouldn't have to commute too far from his Essex home?
Do Shrimpers care? (Well we might do by the time November 1 comes around!)
Williams himself had spent a decade at Colchester having joined in 1998 as a player, before becoming a coach, then manager in 2006 following the departure of Phil Parkinson.
He guided the club to the best-ever finish in 2006/07, when they ended up 10th in the Championship, before being relegated the following season.
Many may believe he has been treated harshly as Williams performed a minor miracle keeping them up the season Southend returned to the third tier of British footaball.
With a number of expensively bought new players it takes time for a team to meld as Tilly has found out at Roots Hall, with not so much dosh to spend it has to be said.
In this day and age it's very rare though for a chairmen to give his manager the time he needs, so pats on back to Uncle Ron for seeing in Tilly and Brush two of the brightest coaches in the football league and hopefully will get rewarded once again sometime next Spring.