Fulham Chairman Shad Khan's decision to turn to Felix Magath was not a knee-jerk reaction to Liverpool's stoppage time winner at Crave Cottage.
Khan witnessed the 3-2 defeat on Wednesday from the directors' box and spent four days in London acting upon his concerns about the trends which started under Martin Jol and showed no sign of altering under Rene Meulensteen's leadership.
The team were without a win in the Barclays Premier League since January 1, there was the worrying inability to keep out goals and an embarrassing defeat at home in the FA Cup against Sheffield United of League One.
It was a trend highlighted by the fact Fulham had led three times in the last two games - at Manchester United and at home to Liverpool - and yet emerged with only one point at a time when so many of their relegation rivals were showing signs of fight, picking up points and gathering momentum.
Khan did not make up his mind after Steven Gerrard scored from the penalty spot to fuel Liverpool's title hopes. His mind was already made up.
He could not detect any signs of progress and is determined to do all he can to keep Fulham in the top flight this season.
To him, watching the team struggle must have felt exactly as it did when watching Jol's team. He had changed the manager but little seemed to have changed on the pitch - regardless of whether Fulham were home or away or in the league or the cup.
The chairman was not prepared to stand idly by and see his team slide towards relegation in his first season at Craven Cottage. Khan is not the type of owner who enjoys hiring and firing his coaches, he likes to build relationships and bonds of trust with his staff over time but he is determined to be proactive.
That's why he brought in Meulensteen in November and then backed him with funds in the January transfer window, including the club record £12million signing of Kostas Mitroglou and that is why he has grasped the nettle and moved him on so quickly when he realised nothing had changed.
Khan is braced for criticism from those who will claim he does not understand English football but those Fulham fans who jeered and booed Meulensteen and his assistant Ray Wilkins during the FA Cup defeat to Sheffield United will be aware that their team have not been performing.
They may have flattered against Manchester United and Liverpool but he was concerned about the pattern over several recent weeks, as were director Mark Lamping and chief executive Alistair Mackintosh.
He felt Fulham's season had reached a crossroads and he had to act before it was too late.
Magath will be the first German manager to operate in the Premier League.
The futures of Wilkins and technical director Alan Curbishley are unclear.