Dan Ashworth has left Manchester United and Gary Neville has been left angry with one aspect of his departure.
This has been just another weekend in the life of a Manchester United fan.
United were beaten 3-2 at home by Nottingham Forest on Saturday night, turning in a disappointing display.
Rio Ferdinand branded United’s defeat a ‘shambles’ with a flat performance handing Ruben Amorim back-to-back defeats.
United then produced a real shocker by announcing the immediate departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth.
Ashworth has left United by mutual consent but his departure leaves more questions than answers.
Gary Neville reacts to Dan Ashworth’s Manchester United exit
United effectively headhunted Ashworth and made him one of the top targets for the start of the Ineos era.
United not only paid £2.5million for Ashworth but were even happy for him to stay on gardening leave at first.
A highly-regarded executive, Ashworth was seen as a huge coup for United and a signal of intent from Ineos.
Now, just months after his arrival, Ashworth has gone and Gary Neville is far from impressed.
Speaking on NBC Sports in the United States, Neville thinks that this move is ‘not a great look’ for Ineos and believes they need to give a real explanation.
United’s statement confirming Ashworth’s exit was pretty blunt, simply announcing his departure and wishing him well for the future.
Neville thinks that Ineos should simply tell the truth and admit that ‘something has happened’ behind the scenes.
Neville added that the statement is ‘really poor’ and ‘weak’, feeling that it only serves to spark more speculation about Ashworth’s departure.
“I’m really shocked that this has happened and it’s not a great look at all, it’s something that’s going to need a lot of explaining,” said Neville. “I think the statement that the club have put out is really poor.
“Manchester United haven’t had a voice for 10 years; they’ve lost their authority, they’ve lost their boldness. I think they’ve been getting it back a little bit in the last 12 months but what’s really clear is that there is a fracture here – something has happened.
“You can’t bring somebody in of the level of Dan Ashworth and then lose him after five months, and think that something hasn’t gone wrong. Fans are now going to be asking the question – what’s gone wrong?
“They’re going to speculate, it’s going to leave huge voids, I think you’re better off just punching us in the face with the truth sometimes, when it’s so obvious that there is something that has gone wrong between the personalities of Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada, Dave Brailsford, whoever it is in this last few months that have obviously not got on with each other or it’s not been working… just tell us, because it’s obvious that something has happened.
“I think that statement, to be honest with you, is weak,” he added.
What happens next for Manchester United?
Ashworth’s exit has come as an enormous surprise and has almost overshadowed Saturday’s defeat to Forest.
Ineos can now go one of two ways; divide Ashworth’s responsibilities within the club or appoint somebody else to replace him.
Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell could step up into bigger roles at United with that in mind.
One name has been floated as a potential outside replacement though as United are keen on Atletico Madrid’s Andrea Berta.
We would imagine that internal promotions are more likely than an outside appointment right now but after Sunday’s shock announcement, anything seems possible.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/DhrF3cy