Rio Ferdinand compared Erik ten Hag's time as Manchester United manager to a boxer getting "knocked down" and "never recovering" after the Dutchman was sacked on Monday.
The Old Trafford hierarchy called time on Ten Hag's two-year reign after Sunday's 2-1 defeat by West Ham – United's fourth Premier League loss this season – left the Red Devils a lowly 14th in the table.
Ten Hag's position had been repeatedly called into question in recent weeks following several lacklustre results, with former United defender Ferdinand telling his YouTube channel: "Am I surprised? No.
"They kept the man in charge, season kicks in, I actually thought we were starting to see some new signs in the first two or three games, and then we get beat by Liverpool and never recovered.
"It was like a boxer getting hit and knocked down in the third round and never recovering and getting knocked out, knocked down, every single round on the way to the 12th round.
"And finally, we're here. The fight's been called off in the last round for the manager."
Ferdinand questioned whether Ten Hag's exit was part of a plan by co-owner Jim Ratcliffe to get former Old Trafford teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy, who will take caretaker charge, into the manager's position on a fulltime basis.
Van Nistelrooy and fellow assistant Rene Hake both left roles as first-team head coaches in the Eredivisie, with PSV Eindhoven and Go Ahead Eagles respectively, before joining Ten Hag at Old Trafford in pre-season.
"I think we'll see the method behind the madness in the coming weeks because if the two coaches, Ruud van Nistelrooy and his partner, stayed there, then I think this was done with the long-term thinking that this might happen," said Ferdinand.
He added: "My big thing is taking so long. One of the main best candidates that was sitting out there was probably Thomas Tuchel, but he's gone now, he's become England manager...I think Man United will be looking at that saying 'Maybe, is that one that got away?'"
- 'PRESSURE' -
Former United captain Gary Neville said Ten Hag paid the price for an "unacceptable" league position, with United in the bottom half of the table despite after Jarrod Bowen's stoppage-time penalty for the Hammers meant they left the London Stadium empty-handed.
"The big shock for me is how bad they (United) have been with the new signings that have come in," Neville told Sky Sports.
United spent over £600 million ($778 million) in the transfer market under Ten Hag, half of which went on players from Ajax – his former club.
"I felt as though they would have enough to be able to get a decent level of performance together after a smoother transfer window, and that Erik ten Hag would get a level of stability," said Neville.
"The fact that they are 14th is unacceptable. You can't be in 14th after nine or 10 games with the level of spend that's occurred without being under significant pressure – and that's what's happened."