Steven Gerrard was sacked by Aston Villa on Thursday night after winning just two Premier League games this season.
The writing seemed on the wall for a while, as Gerrard was warned by former Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher about two "major issues" he needed to resolve. Now his fate has finally been confirmed, it's fair to say he failed to find answers to those problems.
Carragher told Gerrard he needed to get the best out of Philippe Coutinho and fix his working relationship with Tyrone Mings as soon as possible. Gerrard was appointed Villa manager last November and made Coutinho his marquee signing two months later.
The manager needed Coutinho to become his talisman but after a bright start at the beginning of 2022 - scoring four goals and providing three assists in his first eight games - his form dropped off. The Brazilian has failed to be directly involved in a goal this term.
The Mings saga was even more of a problem. Gerrard controversially stripped the England international, 29, of the captaincy and dropped him for their opening game of the season against Bournemouth. He has since returned to the side but is struggling for form.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Carragher warned: "Take the example of Gerrard signing Philippe Coutinho. When the Brazilian joined Villa on loan it was presented as the kind of coup only a manager with Gerrard’s kudos could have inspired.
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"Now, because Coutinho has not delivered beyond his initial, encouraging promise, his signing is seen negatively, and one which had Gerrard’s fingerprints over it, especially as he is being picked ahead of Emi Buendia.
“What looked at the time to be a no-brainer deal will be remembered as a waste of the club’s resources unless Coutinho starts producing. It is too soon to completely dismiss that signing as a mistake, but he certainly needs to start justifying his salary.
"However, the other major issue of the summer - stripping Tyrone Mings of the captaincy - became much bigger than it needed to be."
Villa sacked Gerrard within hours of Thursday night's 3-0 away defeat to Fulham. "We would like to thank Steven for his hard work and commitment and wish him well for the future," said a Villa spokesperson as part of a very brief 41-word statement.
Gerrard was questioned about the sack after that game. "Inconsistency has cost us, that's the position we find ourselves in," he told BBC Sport. "I took over the team in a very similar situation. We've tried to recruit to get us out of that situation. I'm a fighter - it's in my DNA. I'll continue to fight unless I'm told differently."
Villa captain John McGinn defended Gerrard after the game. He added: "It doesn't matter who's in charge of that team. It's nothing to do with the manager - the players have to look at themselves in the mirror. We've definitely not lost faith in [the manager]."
