for different….needs.
Dan Ashworth - Newcastle DoF currently tending to his garden
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
Why's that?
that's a good point yeah
would be hilarious it be if he just gets to walk with no compensation or further gardening leave
Absolutely huge for us that Dougie has seemingly turned Newcastle down and signed a new contract at Palace, he is the most important man at the club by a country mile. I have no worries about who we sell this summer as long as he's still there.
If it leaves Newcastle in the mud then even better, have heard an awful lot about what a small club we are and what a huge and irrestistable step up they'd be for him over the last few weeks. Probably delays things a bit longer for Utd mind.
If it leaves Newcastle in the mud then even better, have heard an awful lot about what a small club we are and what a huge and irrestistable step up they'd be for him over the last few weeks. Probably delays things a bit longer for Utd mind.
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Absolutely. There’s a reason “restraints of trade” exists in certain industries and at some executive levels - because as an employee, your employer can’t prevent you from exploring other opportunities in the market - it’s not “tapping up” ffs. Otherwise being forced to only ever work for one employer would be akin to some form of modern slavery.
Restraints exist for exactly that reason - they acknowledge your ability to leave but also acknowledge how your input and knowledge gained with them could benefit a competitor = restraint of trades, which are also only legally binding under certain conditions. I don’t understand how an employee (executive or not) can be “tapped” up in an illegal manner, as people seem to be trying to imply.
Tapping up doesn't apply here I am surprised to see Geordies lapping it up. It's also a strange hill for Newcastle to go to war over, his head has been turned because INEOS have his old friend in their ranks and surely it's frustrating but them making a big deal over this only prolongs and deepens the humiliation.
They were right in chancing their arm to try and get top dollar from a historically extravagant club. When they realized 20m wasnt on they should have stood down and negotiated in good faith whilst extracting concessions like 'you don't go for our summer targets' and Ashworth starts after the summer. Now they look petty and it won't help them secure a replacement because Ashworth is clearly held in high regard by the current generation of Sporting Directors.
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What a colossal bunch of idiots
this is never going to turn out well for them, is it?
even if they 'win' the case, what does it benefit them? A few more million does nothing for them, delaying his start with us doesn't do much for them either
on the flip-side it damages their ability to hire top talent if they build a reputation for throwing toys out of the pram when people decide to move on
I feel like they are trying to act like a big club by making a statement that other teams shouldn't go after their talent, but this strategy simply doesn't work
the only constructive way to keep top talent long-term is to build a club and environment that makes those people want to stay
Newcastle really are a pathetic club.
Yes they are, but to be totally honest I actually enjoy this sideshow for the time being. Entertaining stuff!
Some of the replies here are stupid, sound like little kids.
I get football is tribal but they’re living in some alternative reality it seems.
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Yeah, oil club trying to d**k swing because their feelings are hurt after suffering some rejection.
It's absolutely bizarre, almost unprofessional to want to go to war over a want away employee. A proud club would have quietly settled, quietly kept the score and exated revenge when an opportunity presents itself. Now they are just showing how hurt they have been by this and thus advertise their humiliation.
They have postured enough for their fans' but this is starting to hurt their image. Suppose they scuttle Ashworth's appointment by holding hard to the Gardening Leave, what do they really get besides being seen as petty and vindictive.
Probably even worse now that Freedman has supposedly rejected them and is signing a new deal with Palace. Going to be more butthurt feelings on Tyneside.
Yes its confidential so cant be shared with a third party
It pertains to him and his employment. There is nobody going to rule that he was in breach of confidentiality for sharing details of his own circumstances.
Or how much of a financial impact it would have on Newcastle, which would be the argument in the arbitration. I think Newcastle are actually going to come out with nish from this and I'm here for it.
Still a shame that all of this could have been avoided if you lot weren't being cheapskates.
Mate, your broke sheikh couldn't even afford Lingard for six months.
How much did Newcastle really ask for as compensation? There's been various reports.
I can't find a great number of sources for the often quoted £20m.
Luke Edwards ran with one of the first articles claiming we were asking for £10m - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2024/02/14/newcastle-man-utd-dan-ashworth-director-ratcliffe/
This is still very high (yes I can admit that as a NUFC supporter) but not completely ridiculous as a starting point for negotiations.
However 4 days later he jumps to £20m out of nowhere even while referencing his first article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...manchester-united-newcastle-20m-compensation/ This appears to be what everyone has taken and run with.
This all gets mooted, if you believe him that is, when you have Craig Hope's tweet from Late April saying we were never asking for £15-20m but that the manchester united regime were lowballing.
https://x.com/CraigHope_DM/status/1783958158102192594
My armchair estimate is £5-6m would have and probably would still see the job done. No, knuckleheads, you're not entitled to get him at the same price as we paid Brighton, that's not the way selling things works.
£20m, 10x what they paid to get him from Brighton. They are using the fact that it's us for cheap publicity because they are still an irrelevant club, irrespective of their corrupt owner's bank balance.
Strange arrogance from a fan of an uppity oil club.
Sensible post.
There is nothing wrong with that post.
There is no chance that Newcastle are asking for just 10m. Even back in feb they were asking for "more than 10m" and in April, Ducker claims we were 13m apart. So if Sir Jim wanted to pay 2m then they are asking for at least £15m, up to the 20m that's been reported from add-ons.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...nited-newcastle-dan-ashworth-13-million-deal/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal...nited-newcastle-dan-ashworth-13-million-deal/
It's all a bit of which "sources" you want to trust and I suspect we'll tend to side with the ones that support our own (widely different) narratives.
Craig Hope has been pretty reliable about us so I definitely put a lot of stock in his tweet and I do genuinely believe a deal for under £10m is still imminently doable.
For virtually anyone from the outside, Newcastle’s position just looks petty, small minded and vindictive. And it’s going to hurt them, because top professionals will now think twice about going there. These people are realists and know that you can be in vogue one minute and out of it the next. So all this work to tarnish Ashworth’s image, when he is well known, liked and respected in the industry, is only going to make potential replacements think “that could easily be me”. In fact, It looks like we’ve already seen it with their top choice Freedman, who has rejected them in favour of staying with Palace. Unfortunately, given the temperament of their owners, this is only likely to deepen their emotionally reactive response to rejection.
I’m not against clubs taking a tough stance and negotiating a fair deal, not at all, but from their unreasonable demands, to publicly playing it out in the media, and even running smear campaigns against an outgoing employee…..it’s not a good look. Unfortunately it’s exactly the sort of look you expect from Oil state owners who are used to bullying and buying to get their way.
I’m not against clubs taking a tough stance and negotiating a fair deal, not at all, but from their unreasonable demands, to publicly playing it out in the media, and even running smear campaigns against an outgoing employee…..it’s not a good look. Unfortunately it’s exactly the sort of look you expect from Oil state owners who are used to bullying and buying to get their way.
Yeah I find it hard to imagine Newcastle would be so out of touch to ask for £20m. If they wanted £5m though you ask for £7m, If United only offered £2m or so it was probably as a result of Newcastle askign for £10m.
Somewhere between £4-6m probably would have been fair.
Craig Hope is a Newcastle mouthpiece, and a reactionary tool. He’s now saying United were lowballing, but back in February he was saying Newcastle were asking for around 15m. He’ll say whatever he’s told to say, or whatever fits the narrative he wants to push.
They were known as the entertainers on sky !
Same with Luke Edwards. It's funny that this story is coming from those two.
His piece mentioned the 15m figure as "unconfirmed" though, no? Which was a refreshing way of saying "completely made up" instead of the usual "[media outlet] understands ..." phrasing.
Same here along with dibs on certain signings in the summer if he is to start immediately or a him starting after the summer window has lapsed. It looks like someone took it really badly at Newcastle and now spite seems to be the major motivating factor. I don't blame them for setting an outrageous fee, they had to take a chance just in case we still have muppets in charge but the moment it was rebuffed it was time to act like adults.
I'm happy to let this drag on. It only looks bad on Newcastle small time mentality and their arrogant owner. Now Freedman seems to reject them as well.
For us, we have Berrada and Wilcox doing the works for us. I'm very sure somehow we get inputs from Ashworth too while Newcastle is paying his salary.
There is only 1 loser here.
For us, we have Berrada and Wilcox doing the works for us. I'm very sure somehow we get inputs from Ashworth too while Newcastle is paying his salary.
There is only 1 loser here.
His exact words were:
“My understanding at the moment is – and again none of these figures are being confirmed officially – is that somewhere around £15m would see really swift progress. I don’t think Manchester United are going to go there – for now at least.”
And he’s now saying, in the same way, that United were lowballing.
He’s putting the information out there like he knows things, but making sure to firewall Newcastle from it in any official capacity and giving himself leeway to say completely the opposite later. So he’s either talking complete bollocks, then and now, or he’s pushing whatever narrative he’s being asked to push and using the typical journo bullshit qualifiers, so he can backtrack later and say something else.
Essebtially he has zero credibility on this subject. And looking through his twitter feed, zero credibility on any subject.
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Those reports were mostly from Luke Edwards who was peddling the narrative Newcastle wanted to push of "I never fancied her anyway", minimising his role. All the while asking for 15-20m in compensation for someone that wasn't so important to them - makes a lot of sense.
Really strange if your takeaway from all this is... that.
Asking £20m for a suit is unprecedented. It's not about United being cheap, but Newcastle being lunatics.