Dan Ashworth’s lack of proactivity in searching for an Erik ten Hag replacement is reportedly what sealed his fate at the club.
Ashworth, alongside Omar Berrada, gave an interview in September where they claimed that they had nothing to do with the decision to extend Ten Hag’s contract in the summer.
Reportedly, Sir Jim Ratcliffe did not believe them and he blamed Ashworth for his role in keeping Ten Hag at the club that would later cost them millions of pounds in compensation as the Dutchman was sacked just before Halloween.
The popular podcast, The Muppetiers, has backed up this information claiming that it is “totally accurate that Ashworth wanted to give Ten Hag more time.”
This is said to have contrasted strongly with Ineos’ thinking as they had reportedly given up on him “before they even got in the door.”
After the international break in October, Sir Jim Ratcliffe had supposedly become so irate with the situation that “somebody had to fix it or he would.”
Allegedly, this is where the real falling out took place as Ashworth was judged to be passive and did little to generate change in the managerial situation.
According to the podcast, the CEO Omar Berrada stepped up in the eyes of Ineos and “started looking at managers, making calls and getting in touch with people.”
The new owners were said to be highly impressed by Berrada’s “decisive” action in the club’s time of need and “Berrada started knowingly doing Ashworth’s duties.”
Jason Wilcox is also said to have caught the eye of the owners with his work and strong relationship with Berrada, as they were colleagues at Manchester City in the past and he was appointed at the request of the CEO.
Contrastingly, the decision to hire Ashworth did not come from Berrada and Sir Dave Brailsford had decided to hire Ashworth a long time before contact was made for the former City employee.
It has also been claimed on the podcast that “in the eyes of Ineos, there was total alignment between Berrada, Wilcox and Amorim over issues such as the squad, academy and recruitment” and this just was not true with Ashworth.
The Muppetiers also claim that it would not be a surprise if United decided not to replace Ashworth and re-distribute responsibilities from within and this ties in with a report relayed by The Peoples Person last night.
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