Heading into Erik ten Hag's 50th Premier League game as Manchester United manager, the bookmakers were confident it would be his last.
After nine defeats from the first 17 games of the season, Ten Hag was deemed the most likely Premier League manager to lose their job, with some markets offering odds which implied a 50% chance of his departure.
A scratchy 1-0 win over Luton Town afforded Ten Hag some breathing room and time for introspection. With three transfer windows and half a century of top-flight games under his belt, this Manchester United side is unmistakably cast in a shade of Ten Hag.
Yet, for all the doom and gloom, Ten Hag's record - domestically at least - compares surprisingly well with his peers among the division's elite.
Erik ten Hag's record after 50 Premier League games
Ten Hag is the fifth permanent option the club have blindly plumped for to fill the gaping void left by Sir Alex Ferguson's departure a decade ago.
David Moyes, the first 'Chosen One', didn't even make it through his first season, let alone to 50 Premier League games. Ten Hag's return of 96 points over his opening half-century is better than Jose Mourinho (95), Louis van Gaal (94) or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (85) could muster.
Only Ferguson, who was already a reigning Premier League champion by the time he racked up 50 matches in the competition, can top Ten Hag's points haul with 103.
Pep Guardiola's record after 50 Premier League games
Pep Guardiola may be billed as the best coach in the world by almost every opposition manager he comes up against in the Premier League these days, but his first season in England was a chastening experience.
Despite a riotous start, Manchester City slumped to third in Guardiola's inaugural campaign in 2016/17, a whopping 15 points behind Antonio Conte's Chelsea. The Catalan coach admitted that the season had been "a lesson for me" and described a lack of silverware as "a disaster".
Nevertheless, by the time he racked up his 50th appearance in the competition, Guardiola's side were on their way to his first league title and had amassed 112 points. Only three managers in the competition's history - Mourinho (126), Conte (118) and Carlo Ancelotti (114) - have won more points from their first 50 games.
Jurgen Klopp's record after 50 Premier League games
After Jurgen Klopp's third Premier League game as a manager, he was asked if Liverpool could win the title. "Are you crazy?!" Klopp snapped in surprise. The German coach had inherited Brendan Rodgers' hodgepodge of a squad and finished his debut season in eighth.
However, the tenets of Klopp's heavy metal football were quickly evident. Across his first 50 games, Liverpool plundered 103 goals (for comparison: Ten Hag's United have managed 71). Guardiola hailed the German as "the best coach in the world for spectators" - which also hinted at the door Liverpool left open at the back; the Reds conceded 63 goals in the same time frame.
Mikel Arteta's record after 50 Premier League games
After Mikel Arteta's 50th Premier League game as Arsenal manager, a turgid 3-0 loss at home to Liverpool, the Spanish coach felt compelled to apologise to the club's supporters. Sitting tenth in the table in April 2021, Arteta was perhaps fortunate that COVID-19 allowed fans to only attend 12 of those largely indifferent contests.
Between Arteta's debut on Boxing Day 2019 and his half-century outing 16 months later, as many as seven teams had accrued more points than Arsenal's 75. Without Arteta nattering away in his ear, Guardiola's Manchester City racked up 117 points in this window.
Arteta would eventually turn it around - across his next 50 matches in the competition, he could boast 100 points - but he was entirely reliant upon the patience of Arsenal's owners which is rare to find in a Premier League boardroom.
How Erik ten Hag's record after 50 Premier League games compares to Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp & Mikel Arteta
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This article was originally published on 90min as How Erik ten Hag's record after 50 Premier League games compares to Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp & Mikel Arteta.