Dan Ashworth's Manchester United exit has sent a shockwave around Old Trafford - here, Mirror Football looks at whether the club should hire a replacement and what the much-praised sporting director should do next
Dan Ashworth will no longer be sharing the directors box with Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Dan Ashworth will no longer be sharing the directors box with Sir Jim Ratcliffe
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Image: Getty)
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Dan Ashworth’s departure from Manchester United on Sunday is one that has sent a bombshell through Old Trafford.
Heralded as one of the best sporting directors in the world by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ashworth leaves just five months after a publicly acrimonious move from Newcastle United.
No party has come out of the situation looking good, with Ratcliffe’s decision-making being called into question following such a high-profile courting of the sporting director in February, and Ashworth being criticised for decisions such as opting to keep manager Erik ten Hag in the summer.
So, what next for United and Ashworth? Writers from our Analytic 5 newsletter have had their say below. You can also sign up to Analytic 5 in order to get the latest football analysis by filling out the form below or clicking this link.
Were you surprised at Ashworth's departure?
Ross Gregory: Given how long they waited after headhunting him, to then part company with Ashworth so soon into his tenure has to be seen as a shock of sorts. Ashworth’s strength is in building structures and philosophies behind the scenes, and is less strong in areas such as recruitment. United felt they needed a proper structure to run the club, and Ashworth has a close relationship with Sir Dave Brailsford, who remains a key player at the club. But, at a club looking to get back at the top tomorrow, perhaps Ashworth's philosophy doesn't align. He is more of a builder behind the scenes than a quick-fix merchant and it's clear his ideas clashed with Ratcliffe's.
Tom Doyle: I was stunned - I thought the news alert on my phone was a typo. Ashworth was rated "10 out of 10" by Ratcliffe, chosen as best-in-class. The fact that he is out five months after arriving following United's bitter public tussle with Newcastle speaks to the chaotic nature of Ineos' control so far. BBC Sport reports that Ashworth was 'frozen out' by other United chiefs for opting to keep Erik ten Hag in the summer; if that's the case, it's no shock his position became untenable, but it speaks to big problems at United that won't be solved by this decision alone.
David Byrom: It’s difficult to say. There’s obviously a surprise considering they went all-in on Ashworth in such a public chase to appoint him and paid Newcastle so much money for him but, at the same time, it probably shouldn’t come as a shock that a hastily-assembled new management structure has a few kinks to work out.
For me, the biggest surprise is probably the timing - Ashworth had one transfer window at United and, even then, it felt more like Erik ten Hag was still running the show in terms of who was signed. So Ashworth hasn’t really had a chance to put his stamp on the club, meaning we don’t really know if it would have worked out or not.
What does this say about INEOS' running of Man Utd?
RG: Two words. Chaotic and ruthless. Giving Ten Hag a new contract only to then sack him a couple of months later with a huge compensation pay out, then fork out millions more to land Ruben Amorim, was confusing enough. Now more millions has been spent on parting company with Ashworth, having paid Newcastle £3m to prise him over from Tyneside. It’s a ruthless approach ultimately, and says a lot about Ratcliffe’s approach to business. But on top of the ticket price hike, the redundancies and the transfer window, there is actually a third word we can use, one of Ratcliffe’s own, to describe Ineos’ running of the club. Mediocre.
TD: This doesn't reflect well on anyone involved. United paid Newcastle between £2-3m for Ashworth, and he will likely be paid compensation for this exit. With Ten Hag's severance package tacked on, Ratcliffe is burning through United's limited millions on hiring mistakes at the same time as raising Old Trafford ticket prices and making huge redundancies at the club.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has made a huge call in letting Dan Ashworth leave
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Image:
Getty)
Ratcliffe is said to have wanted to sack Ten Hag in the summer, but allowed the likes of Ashworth and CEO Omar Berrada to make the final call: that feels like a cop-out. The fact Ten Hag stayed is on Ratcliffe's head: he took too long to make the wrong call on Ten Hag; let's see if he's jumped the gun on Ashworth. The Glazers were rightly criticised for being distant owners, but Ratcliffe's messy hands-on approach reeks of incompetence so far. If a man of Ashworth's reputation can be shown the door so soon after he was so publicly courted by United, you'd be forgiven for wondering just how solid the foundations are at Old Trafford.
DB: INEOS will say that it shows they are ruthless and can cut their losses rather than going down the route of sunk-cost fallacy. If the reports that Ashworth favoured appointing Gareth Southgate over Amorim are true, then it both suggests a culture clash between INEOS and Ashworth, and that the sporting director had already been sidelined if he was overruled for his new choice of manager.
However, the critics will say that this is the latest misstep from INEOS, who in their short time in charge, have already created a lame-duck manager situation, spent millions in the transfer market without sufficiently improving the squad, cut hundreds of jobs and raised ticket prices.
To now have parted company with a sporting director that Ratcliffe labeled ‘one of the best in the world’ just 10 months ago and who was so publicly courted suggests an ownership structure that is yet to fully get to grips with how to turn the club around. If they are still putting plans in place after taking charge in February, then it shows there will be no quick fix for Man Utd’s problems, and that any talk of radical overnight change was premature.
Do they need to hire an Ashworth replacement?
RG: With Ratcliffe, Brailsford, Berrada, Jean-Claude Blanc, Jason Wilcox, Christopher Vivell, Colette Roche, David Harrison and various other executives, United probably needed to fetch a couple of emergency chairs out of the shed to fit them all around the boardroom table for Christmas lunch. Wilcox may step up in an interim capacity to cover some of Ashworth’s duties, so short-term it’s not a necessity.
TD: I'd say yes, but the real answer lies in what went wrong in the first place. If it was 'too many cooks', then Berrada and technical director Wilcox will assume greater responsibilities; the latter is already reported to be assuming Ashworth's duties in the interim. Vivell, the temporary director of recruitment, could also sign on permanently.
If United are to appoint a new sporting director, then at minimum Ratcliffe will have to outline the role more clearly and ensure a new recruit has not only the expertise, but the personality to slot into this new hierarchy; not an easy task in any high-profile business. The most important decision Ratcliffe can make now is not necessarily hiring a direct replacement for Ashworth, but ensuring each role is defined, accountable and offering real value.
Jason Wilcox could step into Dan Ashworth's role
DB: As Ross and Tom say, there’s no shortage of people at Old Trafford who can have a say on the way the football side of Man Utd is run. Whether they opt to hire a replacement or promote from within, the one thing that INEOS need to ensure is that a power vacuum isn’t created by Ashworth’s departure.
Amorim has probably welcomed Ashworth’s exit as it means he could have a greater say on United’s approach in the transfer market, with the manager having already said last month that he wanted the final say on who the club signs.
Yet the club cannot allow Amorim carte blanche in the transfer market, as they are still paying the price for giving previous managers a similar free reign, with each of their managers since David Moyes inheriting a Frankenstein squad that is in need of serious overhaul.
Would a sensible sporting director have sanctioned big-money deals for the likes of Antony and Mason Mount? Probably not - and it’s important for them to put a structure in place that will avoid similar mistakes.
What next for Ashworth himself?
RG:Gardening leave, no doubt. An area he now excels at! Ashworth will be snapped up by someone, for sure. His name has already been linked with Arsenal - looking to replace Edu - and various other roles. He won’t be short on offers. But his next move needs to be carefully thought through. The once glittering CV has a few stains on it now. He jumped ship from Brighton to join Newcastle, then jumped ship again when Man Utd came calling. His reputation in the garden is starting to trump that of his boardroom ability. England and the FA’s DNA was a high point, as was his work at Brighton. But the whiff of Mark Sampson, Sandro Tonali, Sam Allardyce, Brailsford, Ten Hag, loyalty and more is starting to linger around him.
TD: Gardening leave would be ironic, given Ratcliffe's disdain for it while he was trying to nab Ashworth from Newcastle! Ashworth has plenty of industry friends and his work at Brighton, England and Newcastle speaks volumes; few if any will blame him for being turfed out by the billionaire owner of a club which is on the road to becoming a laughing stock. Arsenal need a sporting director after Edu's departure, and Ashworth worked closely with the Gunners' managing director Richard Garlick at West Brom. He may also take some time out after a hectic 2024, but one thing is for certain: Ashworth will land on his feet. Will United?
DB: I disagree with the idea that Ashworth’s stock is still high after his exit. He jumped ship from Newcastle United after just over 18 months, during which time the club’s two most successful signings - Sven Botman and Alexander Isak - were linked with transfers to St James’s Park before Ashworth had even arrived. Newcastle’s high-profile mistake of signing Sandro Tonali shortly before a betting ban does not reflect well on their recruitment under Ashworth, either.
Whilst young English talents such as Tino Livramento, Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall were also signed on Ashworth’s watch and are now flourishing, it’s difficult to escape the feeling that Newcastle haven’t fully realised their potential since their takeover, and Ashworth has a part to play in that.
Considering sporting directors are hired for their continuity and ability to put long-lasting plans in place, Ashworth’s last two jobs lasting under two years and then a handful of months could well put clubs off appointing him.
Whilst Brighton are still seeing the rewards of his time at the club and the national talent pathway has gone from strength to strength after his introduction of ‘England DNA’, it feels like Ashworth needs to pick his next job wisely in order to ensure it’s a success. Going back to basics at an ambitious mid-sized Premier League club could go a long way to helping him restore his reputation.
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