On a night that saw Hull City dragged back down to the foot of the Premier League table, the axe was swung to end Mike Phelan's reign after just 83 days as the club's head coach.
Without a win since Nov. 6, banking just seven points from the last 54 available, it ought to have been a decision met with universal approval. Instead Phelan has found sympathy amid the dismay aimed towards the club's owners, the Allam family.
Unlike at Crystal Palace and Swansea City, two relegation rivals that let go of their failing managers in the closing days of 2016, there has never been a clamour for Phelan to be dismissed.