Unbelievable

My point is I don’t particularly believe loyalty or morals exists amongst football professionals (notwithstanding a few notable exceptions). It’s all about getting the best available people on board and allowing them to do what they do best. In any walk of life, if someone comes along and offers you better terms and/or a more appealing role you’re going to consider it. Quite aside from everything else we’ve lost one of the best in his field of work whilst still paying him, and have been rejected by or first choice replacement. It’s not a great situation for the club to be in no matter how we spin it.

I must have missed all the signs that Ashworth was doing a bad job for us. As far as I am aware we’ve been doing pretty well overall and he was an integral part of that?

I said we'd lose millions IF Man U look elsewhere. They are under no obligation to pay us what we want, and unless I'm mistaken the arbitration is between Ashworth and NUFC and doesn't oblige Man U to pay more that they may want to. It's not certain we'll lose millions, but it's certainly not far fetched.

I'm disappointed for the club, not in the club. Since my overall feeling about this whole thing is disappointment (in Ashworth and for the club) I fail to understand the glee so many are portraying. Maybe it's just me

Good for you. Personally I'm pissed off with how this has played out. A "big six" club has come in, turned the head of one of our key people with a reputation of being one of the best in the business and we've lost their services and stand to lose a tidy sum in the millions that could have gone towards player recruitment. I understand the snake argument, but had Man U not approached Ashworth in the first place there's every chance he'd still be here working for us and advancing the club. I guess more than anything I'm pissed off with how easy it's proven for a rival to come in and destabilise us. Can see it happen more often going forward, i.e. clubs coming in for Howe, Isak, Bruno and the like. Are you all expecting them to stay loyal to us forever even if we're realistically miles off competing for titles due to financial regulation introduced on the behest of the same friggin' "big six"? If so, prepare to be disappointed on occasion I'd say. While the new owners are building the club this will happen from time to time. I'm disapponted in Ashworth, but above all I'm disappointed for NUFC.

If we make him sit out his gardening leave, as suggested is what we'd prefer to do if we don't get Man U to offer reasonable compensation and what many seem to think is a great idea, we lose out on our investment (4.5m paid to Brighton plus 1.5 years of wages for someone doing nothing while we have to shell out for a replacement), don't we? Realistically there is no way we'd get millions back from Ashworth for wanting out of his job, or even for sharing the details of his contract with a prospective new employer.

Ouch

This is getting embarrassing now

Nobody has explicitely said they think the situation is a positive development. Plenty however are revelling in how this reflects badly on Man U and Ashworth seemingly oblivious to the fact that after all is said and done we’ll be the ones who will have lost out the most if Man U get another DoF and Ashworth tends to his garden a bit more before taking on another job elsewhere at a top club.

There is, and once more, I think NUFC have handled the situation as well as they could have. Which is not to say the situation is not a nett negative overall. I don’t see why pointing out we are losing a key actor and millions in fees and wages is not a positive development overall for the club

I don’t like Man U anymore than you do. I loath us losing millions, when we are already financially constraint so much. to supposedly get one over them though. My point is I don’t understand why people seem to think this whole ordeal is somehow a positive development for NUFC, when it clearly isn’t.

I’m not saying we’ve done anything wrong or should have done anything differently. I’m saying we are losing out. Two massively different things.

Nonsense. A man with his proven reputation will be back in a job in no time. This whole scorned wife act so many on here are happy to portray is extremely odd to me. People can have their head turned, it happens. It’s how we got Ashworth in the first place. I do understand the man himself has proven to be of questionable character over this, but that doesn’t mean we’re not the party massively losing out. As a Man U fan I’d be laughing my bollocks off if it turns out they’ll just turn their attention somewhere else and leave us losing our DoF plus millions in fees and wages over this entire thing.

we’ll have lost a top tier DoF, who we paid millions for to acquire his services not long ago, and who we continue to pay a million or so in wages for another year and a bit while having to look and pay for a new DoF. We’ll be out of pocket by a good few million compared to had this whole thing never happened. That money would have been much better spent out on the pitch.