Back in 2018, Gareth Southgate came across as the best thing since sliced bread.
He gave in-form players a chance rather than relying on those at the big clubs and the English public fell in love with his slick beard and waistcoat.
The summer of two years ago was fantastic as the former defender took England all the way to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
However, life comes at you fast and football is often a ruthless game. Southgate is now finding that out the hard way.
This international break has been one of the least convincing during his reign in charge of England, which considering they still beat the number one ranked team in Belgium says a lot.
For much of that game, they struggled and then a defeat against Denmark was a particular low point. Southgate has been relying on defensive set-ups and thus, it was unsurprising that they didn't score against the Danes.
Consequently, they sit third in their UEFA Nations League group and are now having to play catch up.
They have a certain Harry Maguire to thank for that too. He earned a red card after just 31 minutes in what was one of the most shambolic England performances off all time.
There have been a fair few throughout the last 20 years, so sit back and remember some of these absolute horror shows...
2002 - Seaman left with egg on his face
It might be a little harsh to start with David Seaman but his performance against Brazil at the 2002 World Cup is remembered for all the wrong reasons. He is one of the best goalkeepers England have had but on this occasion, he was totally embarrassed by the brilliance of Ronaldinho.
The tricky forward let fly with a free-kick from 40 yards which sailed over Seaman's head and went into the top corner. England, as a result, were knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-finals stage.
2007 - Scott Carson mistake
Fast forward five years and it's another absolute howler from an England goalkeeper. This one, however, was even worse and cost England a place at a major tournament.
The wally with the brolly will live long in the memory for that horrendous night for Steve McLaren at Wembley and he primarily has Scott Carson to thank. Croatia's Nico Kranjcar let fry from distance and the 'keeper let it straight through his arms and into the back of the net. Carson then went onto concede two more as England lost 3-2. As a result, they didn't qualify for Euro 2008.
2010 - Rob Green howler
This is the worst mistake yet and cost Green his England career. He was immediately replaced by David James for the rest of the 2010 World Cup and who can blame Fabio Capello for taking that decision.
Clint Dempsey's speculative effort from range was rather tame but Green somehow spilt it into his own net as the Three Lions drew 1-1 with the USA in their opening game of the tournament. A nightmare start.
2010 - Emile Heskey's touch of a donkey
England vs Algeria is one of the worst matches played by the Three Lions at a major tournament in recent memory. The match finished 0-0 and that was hardly surprising when you play Heskey upfront in a 4-4-2.
As he galloped down the right-hand side, he threw in the most awful looking step-overs before crossing the ball straight out of play. Enough said.
2010 - Rooney's jibe at the supporters
In the same match, England's all-time record goalscorer looked incredibly poor and alongside the woeful Heskey, the Three Lions never looked like scoring.
The Guardian gave Wazza a match racing of just 3, describing his display as the following: "An absolute stinker, his worst display for England. First touch and distribution like a park player and also appeared exhausted."
After the match, Rooney got stuck into the England supporters, screaming to the cameras: "Nice to see your own fans booing you." Not the best of ideas, Wayne.
2010 - Uncharacterically poor John Terry
Terry is one of the most decorated players to play the game from an England perspective but at the 2010 World Cup, he looked anything but commanding. His performance against Germany summed it up, earning a match rating of 4/10 from Goal. Terry catastrophically misjudged a long ball which led to a goal from Miroslav Klose as the Three Lions conceded four times.
As far as defensive performances go at a major tournament, this is up there as one of the worst. Terry was simply running around like a headless chicken.
2012 - Shawcross dominated
This definitely has to go down as one of the worst performances we have ever seen from an England international. The year is 2012 and the Three Lions are taking on Sweden when Ryan Shawcross is given his first cap in the 75th minute.
At the time England are winning but after Shawcross' introduction, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores three goals including a remarkable overhead kick. Roy Hodgson's men are consequently downed 4-2. A terrible display.
2016 - Joe Hart's nightmare
Goalkeeping horror shows seem to follow England around like they're going out of fashion and at Euro 2016, Joe Hart looked like he wanted the ground to close in and swallow him up. He made an error against Wales in the group stages but against Iceland, he cost his team the match, allowing Kolbeinn Sigthorsson's effort to somehow go through him completely.
As a result, England were knocked out and left to feel the effects of one of the most embarrassing nights in their history.
2016 - Rooney losing the ability to kick a ball
Rooney may have scored against Iceland during that same game but besides that, he was quite frankly abysmal. The BBC gave him a rating of 4 and described the display as one that "might just have been his worst England performance."
The striker's passing was lacklustre and he was also outjumped for Iceland's opener. Not a great night for someone who has given so much to English football.
2018 - Henderson going walkabouts
This might not be up there as one of the most outstanding candidates but in the World Cup semi-final two years ago, Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson looked completely out of depth.
Of course, he's gone onto do great things since, but this was not his finest moment at all. Henderson was lumping balls forward and making passes to absolutely nobody. He must have been seeing things because half of the balls he tried didn't fall to anyone in white.
A baffling display from the midfielder.
2018 - Jones' play-off calamity
Did Phil Jones really go to the World Cup two years ago? It almost defies belief, especially when you consider his display in the third-place play-off vs Belgium.
There's a reason that his career has been in limbo for a few years and his performance on this occasion was abject to say the least. He was in no man's land for Belgium's first goal and was then made to look like an amateur by Eden Hazard for their second strike of the game. Not Jones' finest afternoon by any stretch of the imagination.
2020 - Harry Maguire vs Denmark
So here we are, back at square one. Maguire is the most expensive defender of all time but he looked anything but an £80m player when England lost 1-0 to Denmark. He was off-balance, misplaced passes and then to make matters worse, was sent off after just 31 minutes.
The BBC's Phil McNulty summed things up beautifully: "This was 31 minutes of unrelenting misery for Harry Maguire. He put himself under pressure with a reckless early challenge and his performance afterwards was simply awful, leading to that lack of control for the second yellow.
"Maguire's confidence looks shot and he is a liability at present for club and country."