A gloomy demeanour, tensions with the club hierarchy over signings, public criticism of his players... and finally the sack. Jose Mourinho's third-season syndrome has struck once again.
Manchester United's board finally lost patience with Mourinho halfway through his third season at the club and that means an extension to a trend that has dogged his otherwise hugely successful career.
Here's what happened during the third season in Mourinho's other managerial jobs and how the curse struck again at Old Trafford.
CHELSEA 2006-07
In the trophy cabinet: Premier League 2004-05 and 2005-06; League Cup 2004-05; Community Shield 2005
Following back-to-back Premier League title wins in his first two seasons at Chelsea, things started to unravel very quickly during the third season of Mourinho's first spell at Stamford Bridge.
Even before the season started, there were reports of friction with owner Roman Abramovich, with the signing of Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko a particular flashpoint.
Despite Shevchenko being one of the most prolific strikers in Europe, Mourinho had resisted his club record signing and wasn't happy that Abramovich insisted he play every game.
Though Chelsea would end the season with the FA Cup and the League Cup, they were off the pace in the Premier League, ultimately finishing six points behind champions Manchester United.
In the Champions League, they were knocked out on penalties by Liverpool in the semi-finals as a first final in the competition continued to elude them.
Though Mourinho completed the season and started the next one, the underlying tensions weren't far from the surface. He parted company with Chelsea on September 20, 2007.
Third season record: Finished second in the Premier League, six points behind Manchester United; reached semi-finals of the Champions League; won the FA Cup and the League Cup.
REAL MADRID 2012-13
In the trophy cabinet: La Liga 2011-12; Copa del Rey 2010-11
All was going swimmingly for Mourinho in the summer of 2012. He had just helped Real break Barcelona's stranglehold in La Liga and had been rewarded with a new four-year contract.
But Mourinho isn't the kind of manager to stay in one place for too long and tensions once again surfaced as the season wore on.
Though they started the season by beating Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup, their rivals set a scorching pace in the league and Real trailed by a colossal 18 points by the mid-way point.
Their on-field implosion came against the backdrop of Mourinho self-combusting off it. His rocky relationship with club stalwarts Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas created divisions between fans.
There was criticism of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and a falling out after the manager claimed his compatriot 'maybe thinks that he knows everything and that the coach cannot improve him anymore'.
Mourinho also declared war on the Spanish press after critical comments and publicly took aim at striker Karim Benzema - when main striker Gonzalo Higuain was injured, Mourinho said: 'If I can't hunt with a dog, I will hunt with a cat.'
The tension manifested itself in some ugly incidents such as when he poked Barcelona assistant coach Tito Vilanova in the eye during a touchline brawl and was sent to the stands during the Copa del Rey loss to Atletico Madrid.
After that match, Mourinho described the season as 'the worst of my career.' With everything up in flames, Mourinho departed the club by 'mutual agreement' three days after the end of the season.
Third season record: Finished 15 points behind Barcelona in La Liga; reached semi-finals of the Champions League, beaten by Borussia Dortmund; reached final of the Copa del Rey, losing to Atletico Madrid.
CHELSEA 2015-16
Trophy cabinet: Premier League 2014-15; League Cup 2014-15
Again, all should have been rosy with Mourinho in the summer of 2015 having guided Chelsea back to the pinnacle of the Premier League. Once again, he signed a four-year contract but everything soon fell apart.
On the opening day of the season, with 10-man Chelsea level at 2-2 with Swansea, Mourinho laid into team doctor Eva Carneiro when she ran on to treat Eden Hazard during stoppage time.
The revelations that followed, including allegations that Mourinho swore at Carneiro, were the beginning of his downward spiral at the club.
Chelsea were also in dreadful form on the field, losing seven of their opening 12 Premier League games.
When that record was nine losses from 16 games in December, with the club 16th in the table, Mourinho was sacked, his second spell with the club coming to a very abrupt halt.
Third season record (Mourinho sacked in December): Finished 10th in the Premier League; reached last-16 in the Champions League; reached sixth round in FA Cup and fourth round in League Cup.
MANCHESTER UNITED 2016-18
Trophy cabinet: Europa League 2016-17, League Cup 2016-17
Mourinho's first season at Old Trafford was, in retrospect, a success. Poor league form was offset by trophies, the League Cup and the Europa League, the latter meaning a return to the Champions League.
In his second season United couldn't lay a glove on Premier League champions Manchester City in the title race, although Mourinho said finishing second was among the greatest achievements of his career due to the comparative strength of his squad.
That did not sit well with fans and players, and felt even worse when rivals City and Liverpool continued to splash the cash and strengthen while United's big signings, most notably Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba, floundered. Mourinho also bristled at the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward for tightening the purse strings when major squad reinforcements were needed.
He not only publicly criticised the strength of his squad but also called out individual players, from Luke Shaw to Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly to Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and, again, that man Pogba.
His uneasy relationship with United's record signing deteriorated to such an extent that by the end the £89million World Cup winner was unable to even make it off the bench despite the team's woeful dip in form, a sight that jarred given their deathly dull football but understandable given the player's poor form and seemingly poor attitude.
As Mourinho grew ever more surly and irritated, undeniable parallels emerged with the third season of both his spells at Chelsea and also his time at Real Madrid. Then the inevitable happened.
Third season record (Mourinho sacked in December): United are sixth in the Premier League, 129 points behind leaders Liverpool and 11 points off fourth place; they have reached last-16 in the Champions League; they were beaten by Championship side Derby on penalties in third round in League Cup.