Sports

The role of Dan Ashworth, Newcastle’s new Sporting Director

Published

10 months ago

June 7, 2022

Yesterday, Dan Ashworth officially kick-started his Newcastle career as the new Sporting Director. This comes following previous jobs as technical director at Brighton & Hove Albion, director of elite development at the Football Association (FA) and sporting and technical director at West Bromwich Albion.

Ashworth is known for implementing “England’s DNA” to help create winning senior teams in men’s and women’s games.

However, the title ‘Sporting Director’ is thrown around a lot in professional football and many don’t quite understand what the main roles and responsibilities are, so, what will Dan Ashworth actually be doing as Newcastle United’s Sporting Director?

First of all, as outlined on the club’s official website, “Ashworth will be responsible for the club’s overarching sporting strategy, football development and recruitment at all age levels, and will work closely with head coach Eddie Howe, academy manager Steve Harper and head of recruitment Steve Nickson.” So, this gives us a general idea of how important Ashworth’s role will be and the types of people that he will be working around.

When asked about his role at Brighton in an interview with BT Sport two years ago, Ashworth said, “A technical director’s role is always best described as looking after the interests of the club in a medium to long-term.”

He continued, “There are six things that come into me, the men’s first team, women’s first team, player recruitment, the academy, medical and sport science and the player loan department.” It is clear that the role of a Sporting Director is one of the most vital when it comes to the progression of any professional football club from the bottom right up to the top.

“All of those [six things] are medium to long term such as medical, player loans, the academy, in order to try and make sure that the club is sustainable, we spend our money wisely, we open up pathways for young players to come through the system.”

When talking about how much impact Ashworth had on the philosophy side of things when he worked under Graham Potter at Brighton, Ashworth responded, “You hire a coach that matches the philosophy that the club thinks they want to go and the direction of travel they see the club going, my job is to stitch all of that together.” As Ashworth will be working directly with manager Eddie Howe it is almost certain that talks will currently be going on right through the summer on the vision and future of Newcastle United and how they will go about it.

“Making sure that the 23s, the 18s and the academy put the right plans around the young players, we get them out on loan at the right places to give them every chance of being able to play for Brighton and play for Graham.” Development and youth are something that looks to be a key part of Ashworth’s work and is definitely something that we will see implemented on a stronger basis at the club. Newcastle United was one of four clubs that didn’t give a single minute to a teenager in the Premier League last season, along with Burnley, Chelsea and Leicester City. I’m sure this is a statistic that Howe and Ashworth will be exploring to try and push more youth players through the system to then go on and play for the first team.

“My view is if you keep changing the head coach every 14 months or so which I think is about the average lifespan of a manager unfortunately nowadays and then you go from one philosophy to the other, you’ve got no chance of joining up your loans, your academy, your development program and your player recruitment […] so its about long-term planning in order to get the best out of our resources.” With Graham Potter still in charge at Brighton and doing a fantastic job, it looks like Eddie Howe is here to stay for the long-term and this partnership with Dan Ashworth should get all Newcastle fans very excited for the start of a new era at the club.

In a statement on the club’s official website, Dan Ashworth said, “Each time I’ve been to St. James’ Park in the past, I have been reminded of the club’s long history and the unrivalled passion of its fan base. It is a huge football club with great potential, and I am incredibly positive about what we can collectively achieve… I’m excited to start work immediately and look forward to being part of a team that is helping the club to grow and achieve long-term success.”

So, what are your thoughts on the appointment of Dan Ashworth and where can you see The Toon finishing in the Premier League next season?

Join the conversation on our Facebook page …

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Featured

Newcastle United to Reveal New Shirt Sponsor?

Published

1 week ago

March 13, 2023

Chris Tubman

footballinsider247 are reporting that the main shirt sponsor slot for Newcastle United is expected to be filled by airline SAUDI, who sponsored Newcastle’s mid-season tour of their owners’ homeland in December.

They state ‘This site revealed in February that there is frustration at St James’ Park that they have inherited a kit deal with Castore worth just £5m per year with no break clause and several seasons left to run.’

Newcastle’s recently appointed CEO Darren Eales has already previously expressed that the club at looking at all commercial opportunities and fans on Twitter were keen to mock up their expectation for the new shirts, see below and let us know your thoughts and also see our below video on how NUFC can increase commercial avenues..

Eddie Howe’s team are currently in a strong position to achieve a European slot which would increase revenue into the club allowing more spend whilst staying within Financial Fair Play which is something Howe has spoken about on several occasions as they look to stay within. If the club do reach a European slot it should help significantly with recruitment in the summer by making it a more attractive proposition to any incoming targets.

What do you think of the kits – let us know on our facebook page and join in on the conversation.

You can also download our FREE app – https://linktr.ee/northeastupdates

Credit: NUFC kit concept – twitter

Featured

Amazon filming Newcastle United for “All or Nothing” style documentary

Published

1 month ago

February 8, 2023

Lewis Thompson

Amazon Prime are currently filming behind-the-scenes footage at Newcastle United for a new documentary.

The docu-series will provide an insight into the club and its efforts to secure a top-four finish and a piece of silverware in the 2022-23 season.

Reports today revealed that camera crews have been filming a four-part documentary for their All or Nothing series. Sky Sports’ Keith Downie confirmed that the series will cover the club and the new owners as they attempt to qualify for the Champions League and win a trophy.

The All or Nothing series has previously documented other Premier League Clubs including Manchester City, Arsenal, and Spurs as well as the Brazilian national team, Juventus, and the All Blacks of rugby.

Something I mentioned last night on @tfNUFC: Camera crews have been filming behind-the-scenes at Newcastle United for a four-part documentary to be shown on Amazon.
The series will chart the club & its owners as they attempt to win a trophy & qualify for The Champ League #NUFC

— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) February 8, 2023

Newcastle face Manchester United in the Carabao Cup final on February 26 at Wembley.

🗓️ 26.02.23@ManUtd 🆚 @NUFC #EFL | #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/V23zWPDoxP

— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) February 1, 2023

The Magpies have featured three times in Europe’s most prestigious competition.

Most recently in the 2003-04 season as they reached the third qualifying round, eventually losing on penalties to Serbian side FK Partizan.

The season before the Toon finished third in the 2002-03 Champions League group stages, winning twice against Bayer Leverkusen and drawing with Inter Milan 2-2 at the San Siro. The lineup that night; Given, Solano, O’Brien, Dyer, Shearer (C), Bellamy, Speed, Griffin, Hughes, Dabizas and Viana.

The series is expected to air later this year and will be available on Amazon Prime.

Based on previous seasons, you can expect exclusive access to training sessions, team meetings and match days, giving fans an in-depth look at what goes on behind the scenes on a day-to-day basis at Newcastle United.

It is set to be an incredible storyline and one that should provide fans with some real insight into what it takes to compete at the top level of professional football.

What do you think Newcastle fans?

Does this excite you or do you stand more with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp who once said the cameras could be intrusive to the dressing room when he turned down the offer from Amazon In 2018?

Join the conversation on our Facebook page…

Sports

Newcastle target rejects Everton move following £45m bid.

Published

2 months ago

January 30, 2023

Lewis Thompson

Everton have made a £40million bid with £5m in add-ons to sign Connor Gallagher from Chelsea.

This comes after Newcastle completed the signing of Anthony Gordon, the club’s second most expensive transfer behind Alexander Isak.

Everton received an initial fee of £40m plus add-ons that could increase the deal to £45m.

EXCL: Everton have submitted a bid to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea. It’s £40m proposal plus £5m add ons. 🚨🔵 #EFC

Chelsea will make a decision soon as there are also other clubs interested in Gallagher — and player has to decide his future too. pic.twitter.com/xZeuGqaR01

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 30, 2023

The Toffees currently sit 19th in the Premier League and are looking to reinvest the money from the Gordon deal to sign much-needed players under newly appointed manager Sean Dyche.

But, multiple sources have reported today that Gallagher is not actively pushing for a move and has no intention of going to Goodison Park. However, with Chelsea having met the record-breaking €120m release clause for World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez, Gallagher may be forced to leave the club if the transfer is complete.

🚨| Conor Gallagher is not interested in a move to Everton 🔵 pic.twitter.com/0CYzXjBoBd

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 30, 2023

This leaves Newcastle an option as the player would prefer a move to a top-six club.

This morning, Eddie Howe said, “We’ll see what we can do to try & bring a player in. There’s no guarantees. In terms of permanent signings, it will be very difficult. We’ll look at a potential loan. But it’s got to be the right player & not one for the sake of it”.

Due to financial fair play, the only way Newcastle could sign the player is through a loan, with an obligation to buy the player for at least £45m, the same price they paid for Anthony Gordon.

Gallagher has been playing regular Premier League football over the last two seasons. Since returning to his parent club Chelsea, the 22-year-old has been linked with a move away to numerous Premier League clubs.

Last season he was named Crystal Palace’s Player of the Season by their fans. He also won the Player of the Month award twice, Goal of the Month once, and was awarded the Young Player of Year at the 2022 London Football Awards.

In the same season, he made 36 appearances scoring eight goals and registering three assists that earned Palace a 12th-place finish, one point behind Newcastle.