Having spent £100m in his quest to try and bring the League Championship back to Anfield, Gerard Houllier won't be the beneficiary of the next batch of Liverpool transfer cash - wherever it might come from.
With new investors about to come on board and inject multi-millions into the club, the Liverpool board has decided to make it a clean sweep by clearing out the old before bringing in the new, with a whole host of names being bandied about as Houllier's potential successor.
Despite the fact that Houllier achieved his season's target of providing Champions League football, Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry told a lunchtime press conference: "The board decided change was necessary if we were to realistically challenge for the title next season."
The news ends weeks of speculation about the future of Houllier who took charge at Anfield six years ago and, whilst delivering a host of domestic and European trophies during his reign, his team's failure to close the gap on the big three this season has ultimately cost him the job he cherished.
Houllier handled his exit today with all the dignity he has displayed throughout his Liverpool reign and he was keen to point out that the decision had been taken mutually, with he and the board agreeing a parting of the ways was best for the football club, and the players and staff who remain.
"I'd rather have stayed as manager but I leave on good terms with everybody. I may have left Liverpool, but Liverpool will not leave me," said Houllier. "This club is in my heart and I will always be a Liverpool fan."
Houllier added: "The reason why we have agreed to part company is because of the sudden and excessive pressure on the board and myself.
"The pressure I can cope with, some of you (the media) have tested me over the last ten months, but I thought it could be harmful for the players in next season's campaign. I thought also it could jeopardise their performances and their achievement - that it why we have agreed to come to this decision.
"I have always said, and I have never moved from this, that the club comes first. I am not here for myself, I am here for the club. That is why the club will always come first for me."
Houllier, who won five trophies in 2001 and won the League Cup for a second time in 2003, but failed to return the club to the past glories of the 1970s and 1980s, also told the club's website that he would be leaving with fond memories.
He said: "I have four special memories that I take away with me. Michael Owen scoring the winner against Arsenal with his left foot (in the FA Cup final), Gary McAllister being handed the Man of the Match award against Alaves (in the UEFA Cup), the mosaic when I was recovering from heart surgery and Steven Gerrard taking his daughter around the pitch on the last day of the season."
"I arrived here six years ago as a Liverpool supporter and I leave as an even bigger supporter. I may have left Liverpool, but Liverpool will not leave me. I will return to watch the team as a fan."
As for his likely successor, take your pick from any of the following: Alan Curbishley, Rafael Benitez, Martin O'Neill, Gordon Strachan, David O'Leary or what about Kenny Dalglish making a sensational return to Anfield. Who's your money on?
