Ashworth's exit puts an end to Old Trafford's latest farce

A leader at Manchester United was abruptly removed on Saturday. Yes, Bruno Fernandes was substituted in the defeat to Nottingham Forest.

- RICHARD JOLLY

It proved the prelude to a more seismic change. The departure of Dan Ashworth, confirmed yesterday morning, means United have stripped themselves of the man they headhunted, who Jim Ratcliffe described in February as “one of the top sporting directors in the world”, who only a few weeks ago, along with CEO Omar Berrada, hired new head coach Ruben Amorim.

Ashworth’s brief tenure – marginal reigns, someone quipped – can feel a microcosm of Ratcliffe’s United. There was the initial excitement, the promise to target the best of the best, the wait, the cost, the anticlimactic reality and then another sacking. There was the money poured down the drain, too, given that United forked out some £2m in compensation to Newcastle for his services and now, while his exit is officially by mutual consent, it was instigated by the club and they will presumably have to pay off Ashworth. Once again, fans and staff are entitled to feel they will have to pay for the failures of the decisionmakers.