Newcastle United sporting director – This is the shambles we inherited from Mike Ashley

After an extensive period of gardening leave was cut short, Dan Ashworth began his job at St James’ Park in June (2022).

Newcastle United finally agreeing compensation with Brighton, NUFC’s Sporting Director in waiting having handed in his notice at the Amex Stadium early in the year.

If not for the compensation having been agreed almost five months ago, we could well have seen Dan Ashworth only beginning his Newcastle United job just around now in the Autumn.

Considering what was achieved in the summer and indeed the sheer size of the job overall for the new / current owners at Newcastle United, I think fair to say every penny of the compensation was worth it, to get Dan Ashworth into the job ASAP.

Dan Ashworth has been talking to the media about his time at the club so far, just over four months now.

The new Sporting Director has a well earned reputation for identifying young players with potential, as well as more senior known transfer targets. In the months since he arrived, we have seen plenty of both come in, plus almost as importantly maybe, Dan Ashworth overseeing numerous NUFC players heading out of the door who weren’t going to be up to the level needed. Players in many cases who should have been moved on some time ago to Championship clubs or to teams on the continent, instead of getting ridiculous new contracts under Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce.

The new Newcastle United sporting director has been pointing out the shambles that the new owners and key appointments (Eddie Howe, Darren Eales, Dan Ashworth) inherited from Mike Ashley, just how desperate the situation was.

Dan Ashworth choosing his words carefully but making absolutely clear just how Newcastle United had been run for almost a decade and a half, a club lacking proper funding in so many areas with ‘survival’ at the cheapest cost the only ambition under Mike Ashley. Whilst of course he (and his retail empire) reaped all the benefits from their association with our football club.

“I think everybody would admit, there are certain areas of the club that have been run on more of a skeleton (staff) framework…on a survival basis.

“A bit like… ‘If we can stay in the Premier League that’s fine or enough’.

“Well, that is not enough anymore.

“You have to upscale the majority of departments and facilities in order to try to achieve your goals, to compete for trophies and aspirational targets.

“This is the trajectory of the club (hopefully) over the next few years and so consequently, there needs to be a building out of structures and capacity in order to be able to achieve that.

“Some things are probably stocked and fit for purpose, other areas need improvement….

“For some (areas) it is head count, others a facilities issue.

“So (for example) the training ground is going through a period of improving (increasing) our capacity, not only to fit more people in, it is to improve it for players on recovery, diet and nutrition, whilst a lot of money has gone into new training pitches for example.

“Some short-term fixes you can make…

However, there are also some longer-term plans, purpose built training facilities (at a brand new training complex elsewhere) that can incorporate an Academy, women’s and (men’s) first team, that may or may not be coming down the track, the more long-term and these are processes that are harder to fix.”

The summer business

“Having been pitched into a summer transfer window without building relationships and understanding how the board works, how Eddie works, how the recruitment works, it has been a challenge.

“A tight timeframe because the transfer window shut on September 1.

“So it was getting players in and (others) out and off the books.

“So we brought in five senior players (Isak, Targett, Pope, Botman during the window) including Loris Karius who came in post-deadline (as a free agent).

“We have signed five younger players (McArthur, Smith, Hackett, Kuol and Murphy).

“Then adjusting contracts – Elliot Anderson, the staff, Eddie Howe, some senior and youth recruits.”

The fans / The club

“This is a fantastic place to work and a brilliant football club.

“It really has taken me by surprise how much the club means to Newcastle United supporters, I knew how passionate the supporters were…but I have still been surprised.

“Whether that is popping across the road to get a sandwich, or the 50,000 in the stadium, it has been brilliant.

“I have loved being here and loving the challenge.”

As fans, we all knew just what a shambles our football club was under Mike Ashley.

Yet it was us, the fans, who were the ones ridiculed by most of the media, as supposedly deluded and with unrealistic expectations.

However, it just so massively reinforces how right, we as supporters were about the shameful Ashley years, when the likes of Dan Ashworth, Eddie Howe and Darren Eales have come in and made clear just how desperate the situation was, before the change of ownership.

Remember as well that for all their experience and talent, these are people coming from clubs like Brighton, Atlanta and Bournemouth. They aren’t coming from Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Man City.

With very few exceptions, those in the media massively let Newcastle United fans down, by giving Mike Ashley such an easy ride.

I refuse to believe that if Ashley had done to the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea or Spurs, what he did at Newcastle United, that there wouldn’t have been a huge media campaign against him.