The_Red_Army wrote: ↑10 Dec 2024, 00:07Finally cia viskas nuo CEO roles priklauso, jeigu jis butu management guy, kuriam neidomu i futbolo vidu listi, tai tada ok reikia sporto direktoriaus, o CEO tik atsakingas kad klubas finansiskai gerai atrodytu, bet cia panasu, kad CEO nori i futbolo vidu listi.

Dan Ashworth has left his role as Manchester United sporting director after just five months.

Ashworth officially joined United on July 1 after a lengthy period of gardening leave at former club Newcastle United, but the transition has not been smooth and his exit has been decided upon.

Ashworth’s departure was agreed in a meeting with chief executive Omar Berrada at Old Trafford after United’s Premier League game with Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been pivotal to the call to part ways, in a move that will stun staff at United given Ashworth’s prominence in trying to reshape the club.

Multiple sources, speaking anonymously like others in this story to protect relationships, say United instigated the separation. The club say the final agreement to end Ashworth’s contract was mutual.

T-Wolves wrote: ↑14 Oct 2023, 20:10

Is the United job impossible?

No, but it’s difficult, especially for managers following one of the best managers ever. The expectations are very high but we can’t live in the same era as when I played. We had Arsenal and Chelsea as rivals towards the end. Now, most teams have money or even if they don’t, they don’t need to sell.

Back then, Wayne and Cristiano were the best young players and we signed them. Now, United can’t just go and buy Evan Ferguson. We couldn’t buy the players I mentioned to the club.

Players like?

Erling Haaland, before he made his Salzburg debut. Declan Rice, who wouldn’t have cost what he did in the summer. We discussed Moises Caicedo, but we felt we needed players ready for there and then. Brighton are very good at letting players come from abroad and find their feet for a year and a half. At United, you don’t have that luxury and that has cost the club loads of players.

We wanted Jude Bellingham badly — he’s a Man United player, but I respect he chose Dortmund. That was probably sensible. But it’s why I respect Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Dan James and Jadon. Young players prepared to come into a team that wasn’t 100 per cent there like it was when I arrived.

I would have signed Kane every day of the week and my understanding was that he wanted to come. But the club didn’t have the budget with the financial constraints from Covid-19, there was no bottomless pit.

Did you want to sign Sancho and how do you think he’s done?
Yes, I wanted to sign him. Manchester United will never sign a player the manager doesn’t want. That’s not the case everywhere. Jadon was put up as the No 1 target for the right wing by the scouts and when you look at his talent, I could see why.

Unfortunately, it has not worked out. When he arrived, he had to go to hospital and that was a setback as he couldn’t start the first games. He’s immensely talented and we haven’t seen the best of him. I hope we do, but he prefers to play left wing… where Marcus plays.

Did you feel the players threw you under the bus, as some of your former team-mates have stated?

No. Not really. Some weren’t as good as their own perception of themselves. I won’t name names, but I was very disappointed when a couple turned down the chance to be captain. I was also disappointed when others said they wouldn’t play or train because they wanted to force their way out.

Ralf Rangnick came in after you were sacked and was critical of the club he found. Was that a slight against you?

The club he found in November 2021 was different from September 2021. I told him when I gave my opinion on every player. Things had soured, the collective had been lost and that’s not Man United, where teams are built on the collective.

Some players felt they should’ve played more and weren’t constructive to the environment. That’s a huge sin for me. When I didn’t start games I wanted to prove to the manager he’d made the wrong decision.

Now, a lot of players aren’t like that. Agents and family members get into their heads and tell them they’re better than they are because they have a vested interest. It’s a disease of modern football.

In my last season, we played Liverpool at home. I felt the players were ready for it, just like I’d felt they were ready when we’d gone to City and won. We could have sat back and countered but my decision was to go for it. We lost 5-0. It was 50/50, more or less, in possession and chances at half-time, yet we were 4-0 down.

I made the wrong decision and that was my lowest point as United manager by a mile. Roberto Firmino was probably the opposition player who caused me the most problems as a manager. The 6-1 defeat at home to Spurs was different and affected by a sending-off.

There’s a perception among fans and some media that Ronaldo ruined your team, that he was a vanity buy by Ed Woodward. What’s the truth about his arrival and how you found him to work with?

It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong. It felt so right when he signed and the fans felt that at that Newcastle game, when Old Trafford was rocking (after Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win). He was still one of the best goalscorers in the world, he was looking strong.