In the end, the only surprise was the timing. West Bromwich Albion and Alan Pardew were always going to part, but the club had resolved to maintain the status quo until the summer.
A quite awful first-half in the defeat to Burnley altered that approach, and the board finally accepted keeping Pardew was doing neither him nor them any favours.
Nevertheless, it seems odd to make the change now with six games left and survival a long-since departed hope. Done earlier, after defeat to Huddersfield say, and who knows?
It was clear at that stage the relationship between Pardew and his players had seriously broken down and would not produce a positive culmination to the campaign.