You knew it was coming.

Humiliated by Watford on Saturday (November 20), going down 4-1 with very little effort and desire on the part of Manchester United, the final nail in the coffin was sealed for Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

The Glazers, who own the club, called an emergency board meeting on Saturday and decided to get rid of the once “baby-faced assassin” who has now prematurely greyed and looks haggard and defeated – a broken man.

Some say he should have gone after the 5-0 battering by Liverpool but the board kept faith with him hoping he could turn things around. A top-four place was still there for the taking. Then came the 2-0 defeat by bitter rivals Manchester City, the blue part of Manchester. Again the Red Devils put in another abject display with fans and pundits alike roasting the Manchester United manager over the coals.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær has lost seven of his last 13 games, unacceptable for a manager who heads one of the top brands in world football.

The club penned a statement that read: “Manchester United announces that Ole Gunnar Solskjær has left his role as manager. Ole will always be a legend at Manchester United and it is with regret that we have reached this difficult decision. While the past few weeks have been disappointing, they should not obscure all the work he has done over the past three years to rebuild the foundations for long-term success.”

“Ole leaves with our sincerest thanks for his tireless efforts as manager and our very best wishes for the future. His place in the club’s history will always be secure, not just for his story as a player, but as a great man and a manager who gave us many great moments. He will forever be welcome back at Old Trafford as part of the Manchester United family,” the club continued.

“Michael Carrick will now take charge of the team for forthcoming games while the club looks to appoint an interim manager to the end of the season.”

Manchester United went on a spending spree over the last three years recently bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo and Jaden Sancho but have failed to create a team, and instead, is creating a formation of superstars.

Solskjær always seemed to have his authority and ability to do the job undermined and questioned. It was a 400-pound gorilla he had to carry on his back.

Sir Alex Ferguson brought glory to the club and retired with yet another Premier League win in 2013. He too, endured a period where he struggled, failed to win games and faced the prospect of being sacked. Given time, boy did he turn it around and then some!

Once Sir Alex departed, the assumption was the good times would just keep coming but that is never the case.

David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and now Solskjær could not fill his shoes, Ferguson left a big footprint, redefining what it means to be a successful English Premier League manager who wins all before him.

All the pundits say it is unacceptable for Manchester United not to now be challenging for top honours but men rise and fall, “everything has its time,” as ‘Butch’ Stewart would say.

Many are too young to remember Bob Paisley managing an all-conquering Liverpool. It took decades before Klopp brought Liverpool back to a team that wins both Euro Champions League and English Premier League, displacing Manchester United as the number one team in the land.

No team has a right to laurels – it is earned. Manchester United will struggle to make the top four and will have to battle to still remain in the Champion’s League.

Its defence is woefully inadequate and leaks goals like a sieve. Maguire is far too slow and cumbersome on the ball. Manchester United find it difficult to keep a clean sheet and right about now can rely on only Ronaldo to regularly bang in goals.

Of course, the Glazers will look for a superstar manager to produce a quick fix. There is talk that the Frenchman and former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is the answer with Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers also in contention.

As Sir Alex once said, “Winning is a habit”.  Manchester United has lost that habit.