The plot of the ever going Managerial Merry go round thickens...

Why does irony consistently personify itself in pure form in the footballing world? The phrase "Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction" keeps appearing in the bedazzled minds of footballing fans across the planet, the question just reared its ugly head once more. This time last year, had you placed a bet that Pardew would leave West Ham and join Charlton, and Curbishley visa versa, you would have probably been laughed at or told that you had a screw loose somewhere upstairs. But as of Christmas eve, a reality check was needed for both sets of fans of these two prestigious London clubs. Roughly half a year after his emotional, and slightly suspicious departure from Charlton Athletic after 15 years at the helm, Alan Curbishley has taken over at West Ham. And take a wild guess who has just recently replaced his tenure at the Valley? None other than West Ham's recently axed boss, Alan Pardew.

They may share the same first name, but their styles of management differ vastly, in my opinion. Curbishley is the embodiment of Mr Consistency, play it safe, a restricted... cautious approach. Whereas on the other hand, Pardew is a rip roar gung ho type of person who at one point had over six strikers on the books at West Ham last season. This dogged approach led West Ham to a respectable mid table finish last year, and a matter of milliseconds away from the FA Cup, ruined by a Steven Gerrard blockbuster.

Given this, it will be very interesting to see how both clubs respond to the man management styles of either Gaffer. There will certainly be more immediate scrutiny on Curbishley at West Ham, given their steep footballing tradition - coupled with the fact that billionaire Icelandic entrepreneur has just taken over the club (the man who showed Pardew the door with no hesitation). Despite that, there could be more long term pressure on Pardew at Charlton. The reason I say this is because of Charlton's recent antique-like premiership stability; if Charlton are to go down, Pardew will shoulder the majority of the responsibility - although his two predecessors (Reed and Dowie) haven't exactly done him any favours in the league table or transfer market. Charlton's supreme expectation of their Premiership status will keep that sand clock running in the back of Pardew's mind. His desire for attractive football and a rip roar mentality may have to take a back seat to common sense, and reality.

That reality is, in fact, that both managers are under immense pressure to reverse the fortunes of their respective clubs. The pair go head to head in February, we should have a clearer picture by then of the pending fate of Curbishley and Pardew who have just exchanged a totally unexpected round of musical chairs.