Few NUFC related things from Atheltic article;
The signs of disharmony were detectable at the very moment that Ashworth would have been expected to prove his worth. In searching for a replacement for Erik ten Hag as manager, Ratcliffe wanted to hear ideas from the man he had sanctioned spending around £2.5million ($3.2million) to bring in from Newcastle United due to his expertise at building structures. Ashworth, it is claimed, did not provide clear, compelling arguments for who to bring in.
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Instead, there was a list and those he did propose had a theme: Premier League experience. Suggestions included Eddie Howe, despite the picture not always being rosy at Newcastle United; Marco Silva, the Fulham head coach; and Thomas Frank, the Brentford head coach. Graham Potter was another name mentioned by Ashworth, possibly as an interim until the end of the season.
Ratcliffe wanted more decisiveness and a dynamic appointment, someone with a certain charisma who was capable of shouldering the enormous responsibility and scrutiny that comes with leading one of the world’s biggest clubs.
Ashworth oversaw all the summer signings, which included some influence from Ten Hag. Ashworth was tasked with making things work with Ten Hag and sanctioned the signings of Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt, two preferences for the manager, among a spend of around £200million. Joshua Zirkzee, who moved to United in the summer from Serie A side Bologna, was seen as more of a club-led transfer. He had been on Newcastle’s list of potential transfers at the start of the year.
Ashworth has expressed to people a feeling of working in a highly pressurised environment and suggested he may not have left Newcastle had he known Amanda Staveley would subsequently depart. Howe’s strong relationship with Staveley, at the time a Newcastle minority shareholder and director, had been built before Ashworth’s arrival at the club and the Newcastle manager had always had a direct dialogue with her, so did not go via Ashworth.
