In the end, the baby-faced assassin had to be taken out by his own club.
Manchester United simply had no option but to pull the trigger on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Saturday's catastrophic 4-1 debacle away to Watford.
Solskjaer had limped on, despite humiliating back-to-back home defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City, but the Vicarage Road massacre proved a new low and the point of no return.
Four points from 21 meant the United hierarchy had to act, despite them having rewarded Solskjaer with a new three-year deal in the summer, after season-on-season progress under him.
With no sign of Solskjaer being able to halt the slide, the 48-year-old was sacked, just a month short of his three-year anniversary at Old Trafford, United now looking for a fifth manager in the eight years since Sir Alex Ferguson left.
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Discontent among players about the tactical shortcomings and defensive naivety of Solskjaer and his staff - Mike Phelan, Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna – led to many of the United squad losing faith in them and their ability to lead the team to consistent winning performances.
Solskjaer’s perceived favouritism towards players, irrespective of their form, is said to have caused friction with some of his squad, the Norwegian stubbornly refusing to rotate.
Eric Bailly questioned Solskjaer why Harry Maguire was picked ahead of him in a 4-2 defeat at Leicester, despite not being fully fit, while Donny van de Beek’s continued omission is said to have baffled many of
United’s players.
United goalkeeper David De Gea summed up the mood among the players with a brutally honest interview in the wake of the “embarrassing” Watford loss when he said “we don't know what to do with the ball” and “for sure, something is very wrong”
Although there was never outright hostility from United's players towards Solskjaer, as there was with Jose Mourinho in the toxic final months and weeks of his turbulent reign, players lost faith in his ability to lead the team out of their current crisis with every humiliating defeat.
That came to a head on Saturday at Watford, with United once again lacking defensive discipline, organisation and any semblance of belief, their shortcomings ruthlessly punished and seized upon by Claudio Ranieri's side.
With United facing Villarreal tomorrow in a crucial Champions League group stage game, followed by huge Premier League encounters against Chelsea and Arsenal, the decision was taken to give Solskjaer his marching orders now, while there is still a chance of salvaging the season.
Although Solskjaer was unable to take United back to the status of title contenders and, ultimately, champions, the iconic former striker deserves credit for rebuilding the squad and restoring confidence in the wake of the turmoil left behind following Mourinho's exit.
Third place in his first full season was followed by last season's second-place finish, with the summer signings of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and returning hero Cristiano Ronaldo offering United fans hope of a genuine title challenge for the first time since Ferguson stepped down in 2013.
But emphatic wins over Leeds and Newcastle proved a false dawn, as draws against Southampton and Everton, and defeats to Aston Villa, Leicester, Liverpool, City and ultimately Watford exposed the ongoing shortcomings in Solskjaer's squad and the coaching undertaken by him and his staff.
Two clean sheets in 25 games in all competitions says everything about the deficiencies within Solskjaer's coaching set-up, with United's defensive naivety leading to a goal difference of minus one after 12 league games.
The writing was on the wall for Solskjaer when Ferguson was captured on film criticising his decision to start Ronaldo on the bench for the 1-1 draw with Everton, saying “you should always play your best players”.
Ronaldo did little to hide his dismay with the decision, muttering his displeasure for all to see as he strode straight down the tunnel at the final whistle, piling even more pressure on Solskjaer, who was a dead man walking from then on.
As the search begins for a new United boss, the fifth in eight years since Ferguson brought the curtain down on his glittering 26-and-a-half year reign, Solskjaer's standing among the Old Trafford faithful remains intact, despite the ignominious manner of the end of his spell in charge.
His legendary status was cemented with the dramatic late winner to clinch the Treble in 1999, and as manager he steered United back on course, but came up short when it came to delivering trophies, the yardstick by which all Old Trafford managers are ultimately judged.
