IT used to be one of the most hazardous professions going but, this season, being a manager in the top-flight has proved a strangely stable occupation.

For the first time ever, we have reached the middle of October without a single Premiership boss having lost his job. Either football has regained some of its sanity, or boardrooms up and down the county have run out of P45 forms.

Chelsea's complete dominance, and the continued strength of both Manchester United and Arsenal, have undoubtedly moved the goalposts in terms of what is deemed acceptable at most clubs.

With a top-three spot out of the equation, most chairmen in the country make avoiding relegation their number one priority for the season.

No matter how bad a manager you are, you are going to struggle to suffer that fate before Christmas.

Even for clubs such as Newcastle and Middlesbrough, who set their sights a little higher, success equates to a UEFA Cup spot and possibly a tilt at fourth. An odd defeat here and there will not render that objective impossible.

Money is also becoming increasingly tight at most Premiership clubs, so the financial costs associated with firing a manager are no longer the irrelevancies they once were.

Leeds were paying four different bosses when they were relegated from the top-flight - it is difficult to imagine the same thing happening today.

Nevertheless, someone will go soon and, unless things at Goodison Park start to improve quickly, that someone could well be Everton boss David Moyes.

Last season's successes might seem a long way off now but it is a good job Moyes' board have a decent memory span. Gate-crashing the top four in May is the only thing keeping him in a job.

Everton's calamitous start to the season has seen them crash out of the Champions League at the first hurdle, tumble out of the UEFA Cup at an identical stage thanks to a four-goal defeat in Romania, and win just one of their opening seven league games.

Such a poor run does not undo all of the good work Moyes put in last season but it comes dangerously close.

The Everton board have remained commendably calm so far but, if things have not improved by the end of the month, their patience will surely start to wear thin.

Given that the club's next two games are away to Tottenham and at home to Chelsea, the situation could well get worse before it gets better.

That would be harsh on Moyes, who has suffered injuries to a number of his key men.

But the difference between a run of 1-0 wins and a glut of 1-0 defeats is perilously small. A scuffed shot here and a missed tackle there quickly turn over-achievement into under-performance.

Given time, he will undoubtedly turn things around. But, even in an era of greater reflection, time is the one thing that is gradually running out.

It's quiet out there at the moment - too quiet - and, sooner or later, the silence will be broken.