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Hello! Dan Ashworth’s reign as Manchester United’s sporting director is over. We’re hoping he didn’t bother to move house.
Coming up:
United u-turn: Ashworth leaves club after five months with staff stunned
(Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)
It’s coming to something when Andre Onana meeting a shot straight at him with the resistance of a hologram (below) was only the second most embarrassing occurrence at Manchester United on Saturday.
Within an hour of a 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest, the club’s sporting director, Dan Ashworth, was summoned to a meeting with CEO Omar Berrada and was told he would be leaving the club. A much trumpeted appointment in July, Ashworth survived in the post for five months, barely enough time to organise his desk.
A statement from United said the decision was reached “by mutual consent” and reading our analysis of Ashworth’s shock exit, this is an occasion when that diplomatic phrase probably rings true. Jim Ratcliffe, the head of United minority shareholder INEOS, had doubts about Ashworth’s effectiveness. Ashworth was starting to feel marginalised. In operational terms, they weren’t aligned.
But this is a bad look for several reasons. Firstly, United shed blood, sweat and tears taking Ashworth from Newcastle United. Secondly, he was supposed to be part of a modern, extended managerial framework designed to take them back to the top. And thirdly, this is more money wasted — something INEOS is making a habit of.
A £2m cost to hire
United targeted Ashworth months before they were able to appoint him. Newcastle dug their heels in and refused to let him go easily, demanding a high fee in compensation. The eventual cost of hiring Ashworth was in excess of £2m ($2.5m).
That he ran out of road so quickly is indicative of the lack of joined-up thinking at Old Trafford. On Ashworth’s watch, United retained Erik ten Hag against their better judgement in the summer, only to sack him in October at a cost of £10.4m. They spent close to £200m on players for Ten Hag in the most recent transfer window, but those players are now in the hands of Ruben Amorim, a coach whose system is nothing like the Dutchman’s.
Whether Ashworth deserved to carry the can for all that is a moot point, but certain things about him frustrated Ratcliffe. Ashworth, we’re told, was devoid of a definitive answer when it came to who should replace Ten Hag. It was noted in various quarters that Berrada led the bid to hire Amorim. Ashworth also irked his boss by asking to use a data company to identify the best candidate. Ratcliffe thought Ashworth should have had that knowledge himself.
With hindsight, journalists at Old Trafford realised something was wrong when Ashworth was randomly escorted through the press conference room after the defeat to Forest. He was on his way to meet Berrada, with his time up.
PR problem
INEOS, which has been in charge of sporting decisions at United for 10 months, is not exactly winning on the PR front. Its strategic thinking has been error-strewn and costly and the mistakes with Ten Hag and Ashworth come against the backdrop of mass redundancies at United, instigated by Ratcliffe, and a ticket price rise to £66 per person, with no concessions.
In the meantime, United sit 13th in the Premier League. Amorim, who became head coach four weeks ago, has generated no discernible new boss bounce at all. He doesn’t get a free pass at Old Trafford — nobody does — but until United stop functioning like the Keystone Kops, they might as well have a hologram in the technical area, too.
News round-up
Sliding doors: Cucurella slips up (twice) but Chelsea still go second
Marc Cucurella spent part of yesterday’s match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea auditioning for Disney on Ice — losing his footing before both of Spurs’ goals and eventually changing boots — but it’s Ange Postecoglou who remains on the thin stuff.
Spurs had matters in hand with an early 2-0 lead, but between their inherent flakiness and Chelsea’s soaring confidence, it all fell apart. A manic 4-3 defeat hasn’t dissuaded Jack Pitt-Brooke from thinking Tottenham should stay the course with Postecoglou. Nonetheless, the Australian needs a big Christmas.
As for Chelsea, set no limits. Cole Palmer scored twice, including a Panenka penalty that Fraser Forster instantly knew was in (above), and he’s up to 48 Premier League goal contributions for the club — just ridiculous. He’s the sort of player who wins a team a title and, as Liam Twomey writes, it’s getting harder to rule Chelsea out of contention.
Arsenal continue to hover after a 1-1 draw with Fulham, a game that had them thanking their lucky stars for set pieces again. But a Liverpool and Chelsea head-to-head for top spot would be the title race nobody expected.
🎙️ The latest Totally Football Show wasn’t totally complimentary about Spurs. You can listen here.
Galaxy glory: LA win first title in a decade — so what now for MLS and Apple?
Baby in the trophy 🥹🏆@RiquiPuig x #MLSCup pres. by Audi pic.twitter.com/5JV0ghgmFk
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 8, 2024
For LA Galaxy, a first MLS Cup in 10 years. For New York Red Bulls, the wait for a maiden crown goes on. The Bulls fell short in a 2-1 defeat on Saturday, failing to break the ceiling again.
Galaxy had no Riqui Puig — sidelined by a torn ACL — but no Puig, no problem. They worked his midfield area to good effect. The 25-year-old couldn’t dunk the ball in the net, so he dunked his son in the trophy instead.
So ends MLS’ 2024 season and the second year of its $2.5bn broadcast deal with Apple. That contract has eight more years to run and Paul Tenorio wrote about whether the decision to put MLS fixtures behind a paywall with one provider is paying off.
Apple does make some matches free to air and Saturday’s final was one of those. It might be partly down to the Lionel Messi effect, but play-off viewing figures were up by about 50 per cent and MLS sounds pleased with its subscription rate. You get the sense of a model heading in the right direction, but the true test of the Apple deal will be how popularity ranks in 2033.
The $1bn question
A last word on FIFA’s Club World Cup (CWC) before it gets forgotten about for another few months.
This piece by The Athletic asked a great question: why has broadcaster DAZN paid $1bn for the CWC’s TV rights when the competition is essentially inaugural? And a bit on the hoof? And far from certain of catching the public’s attention?
DAZN has been incurring heavy financial losses. It’s gone big on rights that no other outlet seemed to really want. Turning a profit on its CWC investment will be a challenge and it’s putting a hell of a lot of faith in FIFA’s new toy. The world governing body feels like the winner here. As ever.
Quiz answer
Salah has assisted and scored in 37 Premier League games, and Wayne Rooney in 36. They’re one and two in the all-time top 10 — but did you get the rest of the list?
It was: Thierry Henry (32), Alan Shearer (31), Andrew Cole (28), Frank Lampard (27), Kevin De Bruyne (27), Son Heung-min (26), Teddy Sheringham (23), Dennis Bergkamp (23), Harry Kane (23).
Around The Athletic FC
Catch a match
Serie A: Monza vs Udinese, 2.45pm/7.45pm — CBS Sports, Paramount+/OneFootball; Premier League: West Ham United vs Wolves, 3pm/8pm — USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports; La Liga: Getafe vs Espanyol, 3pm/8pm — ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports 1.
And finally…
(Manchester United; design: Eamonn Dalton)
A more touching tale from Manchester United, where former players, coaches and officials have been paying tribute to Kath Phipps, the much-loved training ground receptionist who had worked for the club for 56 years and died last week aged 85.
The stories about her speak to a certain truth in football: for all the huge profiles and personalities in the game, the employees held in highest esteem are very often the ones we never see.
(Top photo: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
