Club Sale | It’s done!

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diarm

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It would be nice to pinch someone off Chelsea next, just to put them back in their place.

The problem is I’m not sure if they have anyone worth taking.

Does that hottie physio still work there?
 

Slops

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AltiUn said:
I really didn't want INEOS initially, but all their early moves have been exactly the sort of thing I'd have wanted to see from any prospective owner. I've moved to the 'cautiously optimistic' camp.
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This yeah. I wasn't pro-Qatar but I was definitely cynical of a partial, rather than complete, sale of the club.

I still am, to be fair, and I hope this turns into one, but the club is, very abruptly, making all the right noises. Remains to be seen whether it translates into results, but you can't help but get a little excited.
 

sewey89

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He single handily relegated Southampton last season and he's ex City and Leeds. Don't want. Jim Out.
 

Widow

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Licha-Vidic said:

  • Why Manchester United want Dan Ashwort
  • Manchester United have identified Dan Ashworth as their first-choice candidate to become sporting director as part of the overhaul of football operations led by incoming minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
  • Ashworth has informed Newcastle United of an approach by United but club-to-club contact is yet to be made formally. That is anticipated soon though and the process is expected to develop quickly. The 52-year-old is interested in the opportunity to be part of the new INEOS-led era.
  • If appointed, Ashworth will follow United’s incoming chief executive Omar Berrada in leaving a Premier League rival for Old Trafford.
  • Here, The Athletic answers the key questions regarding Ashworth’s potential appointment…
  • Remind me who Ashworth is…
  • Ashworth is one of the most highly-respected executives in the English game, having built a reputation for leading impressive football operations over more than a decade.
  • After a playing career spent in non-League football, Ashworth worked his way up to the role of sporting and technical director at West Bromwich Albion in 2007.
  • His part in helping West Brom to two promotions and a top-half Premier League finish caught the attention of the English Football Association, where he was the brainchild of the ‘England DNA’ programme, implementing a defined style of play across all teams.
  • Ashworth resigned from the FA shortly after the 2018 World Cup — following England’s best major tournament finish in 22 years — and joined Brighton & Hove Albion as technical director.
  • His two and a half years at the Amex Stadium saw Brighton fully establish themselves as a top-flight club and one of the best-run clubs in the Premier League, which alerted the Saudi Arabia-backed consortium that owns Newcastle.
  • Ashworth was forced to serve a period of gardening leave before starting work at St James’ Park in June 2022. Around £160million ($200m) in transfer spending produced Newcastle’s highest league finish in 20 years last season, as well as a return to the Champions League.
  • Why are we talking about this now?
  • Ratcliffe’s 25 per cent investment is yet to be completed but he and his INEOS team — led by Sir Dave Brailsford — have been busy laying the foundations for their planned restructuring of United’s football department.
  • The shock appointment of Berrada as the next chief executive from rivals Manchester City was confirmed last month following a process that involved the Glazer family, United’s majority owners.
  • The appointment of a sporting director — a more football-specific position — is expected to follow and has been led by INEOS. Ashworth’s name has been widely linked since the autumn but he is not the only candidate that Ratcliffe and Brailsford have considered, especially as a recruitment specialist is on the agenda.
  • Julian Ward has featured prominently in discussions. Ward took over from Michael Edwards as Liverpool’s sporting director in June 2022, having assisted for 18 months prior, but stepped down amid a shifting hierarchy above.
  • Ward is said to be careful about his next choice, with importance placed on the scope of the role. Talks have taken place but the sense is that he is unlikely to join United, with the delineation.
  • Paul Mitchell’s name has been consistently linked too but, after departing Monaco last year, the 42-year-old is said to have made it clear to INEOS that he wished to pursue other opportunities.
  • Mitchell is said to have always planned to return to the UK and spend time with his family while pondering his next steps.
  • Ashworth’s reputation and pedigree always made him a leading candidate. He has the advantage of an existing relationship with Brailsford from their time working together at the English FA in 2016. The pair have retained a close relationship.
  • Many in the industry share Brailsford’s opinion that Ashworth is an ideal fit, considering the scale of the task at Old Trafford, and there is a sense that he has always been tempted by the task of restoring the club to former glories.
  • Despite that, Ashworth has kept his cards close to his chest since murmurs of INEOS’ interest began to emerge, even as they gathered momentum in December. As no formal contact occurred, he gave people at Newcastle the impression he would be staying. He argued he could not distance himself from an approach that had never been made and continued his work. At the start of January, Ashworth flew to Saudi Arabia to hold detailed talks about the winter window with Newcaste’s owners.
  • But in recent days, the picture has changed, with Brailsford revealing his full intentions.
  • What role would he have at United?
  • Should Ashworth agree to join United, he will become the club’s sporting director — the same role he has held at St James’ Park — and report to Berrada.
  • The INEOS plan has always been to get the top position sorted, then work down, so that the sporting director knows they are working under Berrada, rather than waiting to find out who the CEO will be after they have been hired.
  • Brailsford has conducted his search, and Berrada has had input, even if there are some restrictions while he is on gardening leave from City.
  • Brailsford has spoken internally about the need to shift the inertia that has plagued United for years and believes that making bold appointments quickly is one way to generate enthusiasm and momentum across the club.
  • Why is a sporting director important?
  • The role of a sporting director is loosely defined and varies widely from club to club, in responsibilities and job title — with many ‘technical directors’ and ‘directors of football’ fulfilling the same purpose.
  • But fortunately, Ashworth summed up how he sees his role in an interview with The Athletic in February 2020, while working at Brighton.
  • “I always draw that I sit in the middle of the wheel and on the outside is the head of each department,” he said. “The job of the technical director is to just keep that wheel spinning by connecting all those spokes together and, when one of those heads of department leaves, recruit them.”

  • Many would argue that this is the sort of role — including the public speaking — that United have lacked since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 and even since a restructuring of Old Trafford’s football operations three years ago.
  • In early 2021, United announced a restructuring of Old Trafford’s football operations with John Murtough becoming the first football director and Darren Fletcher appointed technical director.
  • As football director, Murtough has led on transfer negotiations that have seen an outlay of approximately £585m since the start of the 2021-22 season but that investment in the playing squad has failed to produce consistent results on the pitch.
  • Murtough was the leading figure behind the appointment of Erik ten Hag but, after securing Champions League qualification and winning the Carabao Cup during his first season in charge, results have been mixed and Ten Hag’s position has come under scrutiny.
  • As sporting director under INEOS, Ashworth would sit at the top of a restructured football department and assume many of the responsibilities Murtough has held in recent years — with other senior figures, including the manager, reporting to him.
  • Is it easy to extract him from Newcastle?
  • This is the crucial question. The Athletic has been told there is a set compensation fee for Ashworth’s exit, which comes with an extended period where he cannot work for a rival club. Ashworth could simply resign, but that prompts gardening leave believed to last up to a year. United want Ashworth to start as soon as possible, before the summer window opens, so will negotiate with Newcastle to try to come to a compromise.
  • An earlier introduction at United will cost more money, which is the same situation as Newcastle had when taking Ashworth from Brighton. Ashworth resigned from Brighton in February 2022 and began work at St James’ Park four months later after the two clubs agreed a fee. Ashworth’s start date would have been later had there been no resolution.
  • The test now, almost exactly two years on, is the same. How much recompense does one Premier League club want to let an employee start work at another? This is not about an exit as Newcastle will not wish to keep Ashworth at the club if he wants to go.

  • One factor in the equation is that his period at Newcastle has not been entirely smooth behind the scenes, with a moments of friction coming from Eddie Howe’s already-established authority, a blurring of responsibilities, plus managing the high expectations of owners in Saudi Arabia’s PIF, although Ashworth strengthened relations with chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan during the trip to Riyadh at the start of this year.
  • INEOS are expected to argue that Newcastle should not price out Ashworth from a move when the situation is not perfect anyway, and it is better for them to receive a settlement that can assist on financial fair play regulations rather than keep paying him to do nothing during his gardening leave. But Newcastle may dig in, feeling that if Brailsford rates Ashworth so highly United should to pay for him. Sources describe the potential asking price as “very high”.
  • Manchester United are prepared to wait — beyond summer if necessary — but there is a openness on both sides to find an agreement, which could arrive in the coming days.
  • Is Ashworth any good at transfers?
  • While it would be wrong to characterise Ashworth’s work in his most recent roles as solely based on transfers, his record of overseeing and managing recruitment departments will be of most interest to United supporters.
  • At Brighton, Ashworth recognised that the club’s stature and resources relative to top Premier League clubs meant a focus on younger players from less fashionable and more obscure leagues was needed.
  • Although this was a continuation of a pre-existing policy and done in conjunction with the recruitment department, there were notable transfer successes, including Kaoru Mitoma, Leandro Trossard and Marc Cucurella.
  • Arguably the most impressive deal struck during Ashworth’s time at Brighton was for Moises Caicedo, who was signed from Ecuadorian club Independiente for less than £4.5m in early 2021.
  • Caicedo was then sold to Chelsea last year in a deal that could potentially rise to a British club record of £115m, while Trossard and Cucurella left Brighton last season for a combined fee that may reach £90m.
  • All three sales came after Ashworth’s departure but demonstrate an ability to strike deals for under-appreciated talent with a high resale value, something that United have struggled to do.
  • Ashworth paid great attention to Brighton’s youth pathways and development loans for academy players, with the likes of Ben White and Robert Sanchez becoming first-team regulars before commanding £75m in transfer fees.
  • Evan Ferguson, the highly-rated young centre-forward, was brought to the club’s academy during Ashworth’s tenure.
  • At Newcastle, the 52-year-old has operated in two summer transfer windows with greater resources than he could enjoy at Brighton. Having told staff at the club it would take three summers to reshape the squad, it is arguably still early to judge his record.
  • It is fair to question the wisdom of signing Sandro Tonali, who is serving a 10-month ban from the Italian Football Federation for breaches of betting rules which predated his arrival at St James’ Park in a £55m deal from AC Milan last summer.
  • Other signings since Ashworth’s appointment — such as Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Sven Botman — have proved more successful, although head of recruitment Steve Nickson and head of first-team technical scouting Andy Howe, Eddie’s nephew, play key roles.
  • What does this mean for John Murtough?
  • Murtough’s position as football director has been under scrutiny since Ratcliffe secured his deal with the Glazers. He and Brailsford came in with clear intentions to shake up the dynamic and given Murtough’s influential position for the past 10 years, the spotlight fell his way. Murtough acknowledged to colleagues his days might be numbered.
  • But he felt he could provide value to the incoming powers in other ways than his role, such as his understanding of mechanisms at Carrington. He has been open to accepting a reduction of responsibilities.

  • Murtough, left, and Fletcher’s roles could be at risk (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
  • However, the more Brailsford has got to grips with United, the greater the expectation grows from within the club that Murtough will end up departing.
  • There is an irony in this turn of events, given Murtough’s presence was a factor in Ashworth declining to enter into proper talks with United when sounded out at the start of 2022. Ashworth had been recommended by Ferguson to chief executive Richard Arnold, who made the call. Ashworth’s departure from Brighton was being mooted and he had not yet signed with Newcastle. But the United proposal was to build a team around Murtough, whereas Ashworth was looking for the leading position — a status he is now being offered.
  • What happens next?
  • Negotiations with Newcastle over an exit will now start, but INEOS have made clear they are prepared to pay and want Ashworth in place for the summer transfer window.
  • Brailsford is searching for a recruitment specialist to sit under the sporting director, and there is a desire for an appointment to happen quickly should Ashworth, whose input would be important, be confirmed.
  • Appointments in those positions would, in addition to Murtough, raise questions about the futures of technical director Darren Fletcher and head of scouting operations Steve Brown.
  • Sources at the club believe there are several adept staff members who have the capacity to do better work when empowered by strong leadership. Brailsford endorsed a sentiment for unlocking potential when speaking to football staff in his first week, and he struck a similar theme when addressing the players on January 29. He explained the importance of standards and the pressures of high performance. The talk was said to have been well received and more motivational messages can be expected.
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Nice but maybe put it behind a spoiler tab as it's just took me 2 hours to scroll down ☺
 

Solius

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Just find the guy who discovered Messi and make him head of Manchester United.
 

AltiUn

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Slops said:
This yeah. I wasn't pro-Qatar but I was definitely cynical of a partial, rather than complete, sale of the club.

I still am, to be fair, and I hope this turns into one, but the club is, very abruptly, making all the right noises. Remains to be seen whether it translates into results, but you can't help but get a little excited.
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Absolutely, they could just be excellent at PR for their new hires but if it is PR then it's working on me.
 

AltiUn

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How am I supposed to do the work I'm avoiding when there's all this exciting United-related news floating about?
 

AltiUn

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711 said:
Oh yeah, was it Wilcox on one wing and Ripley on the other? Another City man anyway, although if everyone that's been linked gets appointed we'll be like the Royal Navy, more admirals than ships.
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Seen someone on Reddit suggest that this appointment has Omar Berrada's fingerprints all over it given his City connection.
 

CallyRed

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711 said:
Oh yeah, was it Wilcox on one wing and Ripley on the other? Another City man anyway, although if everyone that's been linked gets appointed we'll be like the Royal Navy, more admirals than ships.
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That's it. Was quite the wing attack, with Sherwood and Batty in the middle. That was a good Blackburn side
 

Paul778

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UnitedSofa said:
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Of course they are. The ball is in Newcastles court. If he resigns now and takes the 12 month notice, chances are he will immediately be put on gardening leave.

Otherwise it's likely that in every meeting and every negotiation Newcastle will be worried their plans will leak to Utd. If he's on gardening leave they are still paying him, but effectively Utd will be calling him a few times a week to ensure that they are doing what he wants.

There is a deal to be had, but if Newcastle are greedy then I'm sure Utd will wait it out.
 

diarm

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So if all these rumours play out, am I right in thinking we're looking at a new structure something along the lines of:



Slow day at work today obviously.
 

2cents

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711 said:
Did they have an all blond back four at one point too? Anyway I'm from Preston, they hate them here :)
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It was Le Saux, Hendry, Berg and May from what I remember, with Flowers in goal.
 

AltiUn

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diarm said:
So if all these rumours play out, am I right in thinking we're looking at a new structure something along the lines of:



Slow day at work today obviously.
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Do we know if that’s actually the role we want Wilcox for?

Whitwell seems to suggest it’s a senior football role we’re after him for.
 

NWRed

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AltiUn said:
I really didn't want INEOS initially, but all their early moves have been exactly the sort of thing I'd have wanted to see from any prospective owner. I've moved to the 'cautiously optimistic' camp.
Click to expand...
I know what you mean, but despite the fact that the Glazers appear to have turned over control of practically everything to Ratcliffe and Brailsford I just can't feel too optimistic as they still hold the purse strings and we still have their debt hanging around our necks, and the debt needs refinancing over the next couple of years which is going to be much more expensive, like the PIK loan days.
 

DomesticTadpole

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NWRed said:
I know what you mean, but despite the fact that the Glazers appear to have turned over control of practically everything to Ratcliffe and Brailsford I just can't feel too optimistic as they still hold the purse strings and we still have their debt hanging around our necks, and the debt needs refinancing over the next couple of years which is going to be much more expensive, like the PIK loan days.
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Maybe the Glazer plan to jump ship before the debt needs refinancing and will leave that to SJR to deal with.
 
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