Jamie Carragher believes Aston Villa may have sacked Steven Gerrard because they feared the atmosphere at future games would become "toxic".
Villa acted shortly after Thursday's 3-0 Premier League loss to Fulham, a sixth defeat in 11 games for a Villa side who have won just twice in the top flight this season.
Carragher and Gerrard were long-standing Liverpool team-mates and remain close, to the point they had been discussing Villa's upcoming games just days ago.
However, Carragher was not surprised Villa opted for a change of head coach.
Speaking on Sky Sports News, Carragher said: "I don't think it was too much of a shock that the news came out. It was just whether the Aston Villa board would let Stevie take the [next] game because it's so close around the corner on Sunday against Brentford.
"But the reaction of the Villa fans, maybe they felt the crowd would be a little bit toxic on Sunday and better for all parties to part ways."
Carragher is intrigued to see whether Gerrard jumps back into a coaching role in the coming months, or whether he keeps his distance for a while.
Gerrard enjoyed considerable trophy success at Rangers but could not replicate that with Villa, departing after just under 12 months at the helm.
"I'm really not sure whether Stevie would go back in or wait 12 months," said Carragher. "I spoke to him a few days ago about the upcoming games for Aston Villa, and he's not daft, he knows the situation.
"It will be really interesting, that's not something I've spoken to him about, whether he's the type of guy who wants to be manager for the next 20 years or he's maybe picked certain jobs that really appeal to him. I think that's what he's done in the first few jobs that he's picked.
"Whether Stevie would drop down to the Championship, I'm really not sure."
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe said the sacking was a reminder of the "volatile" nature of being a Premier League boss, and he expects Gerrard to find another club before long.
"I'm disappointed for Steve. I think he's a very good manager," Howe said at Newcastle's press conference ahead of Sunday's meeting with Tottenham.
"It just goes to show the short-term nature of everyone's thinking. I've got no doubt on his quality and I'm sure he'll be back very soon."
Villa on Friday announced the departure of five of Gerrard's staff, including former Scotland captain Gary McAllister. He has left the club, along with Neil Critchley, Tom Culshaw, Jordan Milsom and Scott Mason
They have put first-team coach Aaron Danks in temporary charge, meaning he will lead the side for the Brentford game.
Chief executive Christian Purslow said Villa's target "of continuous improvement" had not been achieved under Gerrard, adding: "The process of appointing a new head coach is under way and we will update supporters as soon as possible."
Al Hilal 3-1 Al Fateh: Neves on target as Saudi giants close in on title
Al Hilal moved 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League as Ruben Neves scored in a 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Friday.
Former Wolves star Neves slotted in from the penalty spot in the 74th minute, as Al Hilal completed a rapid comeback.
Having fallen behind to Lucas Zelarayan's 57th-minute opener, Al Hilal responded swiftly through Micheal before Salem Al Najdi fouled Mohammed Al Qahtani in the penalty area.
Ex-Barcelona winger Cristian Trello and Al Fateh coach Slaven Bilic were booked for their complaints, with Neves making no mistake, paving the way for Ali Al Bulayhi to seal victory in the 15th minute of an extended period of stoppage time.
Data Debrief
Al Hilal have now won 21 games on the spin in the league. They have scored 86 goals across their 28 matches this season, winning 26 in total.
They had 19 shots on Friday, accumulating 2.34 xG to Al Fateh's 0.25, with pass-master Neves creating three chances to go along with his goal.
Pochettino urges Chelsea players to have more self-belief
Mauricio Pochettino has reminded his team to respect themselves as they prepare for another tough game against Aston Villa on Saturday.
After being knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City last Saturday, the Blues were thrashed 5-0 by title-chasing Arsenal in midweek for their 11th defeat of the season.
Chelsea still have an outside chance of finishing in the top seven as they sit just three points behind Newcastle United with two games in hand.
Asked if his side are capable of putting the disappointment of their last two results behind them, Pochettino said: “Lack of belief, in the circumstances, sometimes happens.
“We tried to realise how we need to behave when the game is tough when the demands are so high. We need to try and be more strong and to trust in the way that we play, in our philosophy, in the way we prepare the games.
“We need to be positive, and we need to be strong and believe tomorrow we can have a good game, good attitude, good approach. We are going to compete again with another team, fighting for the top. We need to think we are Chelsea and respect ourselves."
RFEF elects Rocha as new president
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed Pedro Rocha as its new president.
Rocha has been elected as Luis Rubiales' replacement, despite being under investigation for corruption.
He had been serving as interim president since Rubiales resigned in September over the scandal caused when he kissed player Jenni Hermoso following Spain's Women's World Cup triumph in August.
In a statement released on Friday, the RFEF said: "Pedro Rocha has today been proclaimed the new president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), after having received the support of the majority of the assembly members of this institution that governs Spanish football.
"The process followed the procedure agreed by the Electoral Commission, which met this morning, and the timetable that was established for these elections."
Rocha has been under investigation since earlier in April, after the RFEF's headquarters was raided by police last month. The Spanish government announced on Thursday that it would be stepping in to oversee the running of the organisation.
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