Following Manchester United's damning 3-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Liverpool on Sunday, Jose Mourinho was touted as the bookies' favourite next to face the axe.
Indeed, that prediction would later turn out to be true as the 55-year-old was sacked on Tuesday morning by the Red Devils.
While questions were asked whether Mourinho would make it to Christmas or not, the statistics surrounding United's disastrous start to season proved that the club needed a change of management sooner rather than later.
With the season approaching the midway point, United managed to win just seven of the 17 league games – their joint lowest number of victories at this stage in the Premier League era.
It doesn't stop there as Mourinho's men have already conceded 29 times this season, the most at this stage and even more than the whole of last season.
Their leaky defence meant United recorded their lowest points total which has left them sixth in the table and 11 points off Chelsea in the Champions League places.
It hasn't always been like this for the Special One.
Since bursting on to the scene with Porto, Mourinho changed the football landscape as he enjoyed trophy-laden spells in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain before returning to the United Kingdom for his second spell at Chelsea.
The 55-year-old was then sworn in at Old Trafford after failed spells from David Moyes and Louis van Gaal left the club in turmoil since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.
However, despite winning the Europa League, League Cup and Community Shield during his first season at Old Trafford, Mourinho was continually questioned as to whether he could lead United back to their glory days.
The Portuguese boss managed to finish second behind Manchester City last season but with his woeful start to the current campaign, Mourinho's overall win record at United is 58.3 per cent, the lowest yet during his managerial career.
And while his record at United has bettered that of Van Gaal's and Moyes', the club's board decided enough was enough before showing him the exit on Tuesday morning.
All stats courtesy of Opta