Manchester United staff are fearful of what the future will hold after the club decided to part ways with Dan Ashworth after just five months.
The axe fell on Ashworth before he could impact the club – 159 days after being appointed as sporting director.
After aggressively pushing to secure Ashworth’s services from Newcastle United, including a lengthy gardening leave, the hierarchy has decided to pull the plug on a sporting director admired by many for his work at Leicester City and the Football Association.
It turns out Ashworth’s managerial recommendations led to his sacking, although it is understood that Sir Jim Ratcliffe was not impressed by his overall contribution since moving to Old Trafford in the summer.
An official statement from United on Monday revealed Ashworth’s exit.
The Glazers were incompetent owners for 18 years, and there’s certainly been a lot of change since Ratcliffe became a minority shareholder. The British billionaire has been reckless in his approach to cut costs at Old Trafford.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s recklessness leads to fearful staff
Morale at Old Trafford is low. It doesn’t help that Ruben Amorim’s side are struggling to win football matches, after picking up just four points from his first four games in charge.
One staff member told the Telegraph: “If they’re prepared to do that to a sporting director hired at great cost after five months, what about the rest of us?”
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From 250 redundancies to increased ticket prices, INEOS’ reputation is starting to take a twist. It doesn’t bode well for their best-in-class policy that the arrival of a prominent executive was short-lived.
Other sources suggested they were “looking over their shoulder”, which means INEOS have created an environment of uncertainty for staff. Another said, “It’s not a nice place to be at the moment.”
Results on the pitch don’t help matters and leaks are starting to form within the workforce at Old Trafford, with murmurs of disgruntlement aired by multiple sources.
Manchester United sporting director dilemma
It remains to be seen if United will seek a replacement for Ashworth or if they will give someone like Omar Berrada or Jason Wilcox more responsibility.
There are links to Paris Saint-Germain executive Luis Campos, who is reportedly targeted by Arsenal, but they are inevitable in a world full of clickbait.
One fear many fans had when INEOS appointed several executives was who would be responsible for leading the club. Is it perhaps a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth?
With uncertainty growing as to whether INEOS know what they’re doing, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co need to make wiser decisions before it’s too late.
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