MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth is leaving the club by mutual agreement, less than six months after taking over the role as part of an overhaul by minority owner Jim Ratcliffe.
United announced his departure on Sunday — the morning after a 3-2 loss to Nottingham Forest left the club 13th in the Premier League standings and eight points adrift of the top four.
“We would like to thank Dan for his work and support during a transitional period for the club and wish him well for the future,” United said in a statement. It did not disclose plans to replace Ashworth, who was one of the big hires under Ratcliffe after the British billionaire paid $1.3 billion for a 27.7% stake in the storied club in February.
Ashworth, one of the most highly regarded sporting directors in soccer, was hired from Premier League rival Newcastle and had to serve a period of gardening leave during months of negotiations before taking up his new role in July.
Along with new chief executive Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox as technical director, he was one three appointments seen as key to Ratcliffe's overhaul.
But on-field progress has been slow, with manager Erik ten Hag fired in October after the club made its worst start to a season in the Premier League era.
Ruben Amorim was hired from Sporting Lisbon and the defeat to Forest was United's second in successive matches.
United spent more than $200 million on transfers in the offseason, but many of those signings have failed to impress so far.
Ratcliffe, one of Britain's richest people, is the owner of petrochemicals giant INEOS and a lifelong United fan.
He assumed control of the 20-time league champion's soccer department when buying a minority share in the club from U.S. owner the Glazer family.
Ratcliffe set himself a bold target of returning United to the summit of English and European soccer, but it looks like being another troubled season for the team that has not won the title since former manager Alex Ferguson's final season in 2013.
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FILE - This Oct. 6, 2024 file photo shows Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth in Birmingham, England. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP, File)
An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in Kazakhstan after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board.
Some things to know about the crash and the speculation about a possible cause:
Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren't fully clear yet. It crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan, after flying east across the Caspian Sea.
The plane went down near the coast about 3 kilometers (around 2 miles) from Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball.
Rescuers have rushed 29 people who survived the crash to hospitals.
Azerbaijan observed a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday. National flags were lowered across the country, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course.
Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities say they are investigating the crash. Embraer told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is “ready to assist all relevant authorities.”
Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.
Some commentators alleged that the holes seen in the plane’s tail section pictured after the crash possibly indicate that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm based in the United Kingdom, warned its clients that the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight was likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense system.”
Osprey CEO Andrew Nicholson said that the company had issued more than 200 alerts regarding drone attacks and air defense systems in Russia during the war.
Asked Thursday about the claims that the plane had been fired upon by air defense assets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.”
Officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have similarly avoided comment on a possible cause of the crash, saying it will be up to investigators to determine it.
Flowers and portraits are placed at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
In this image taken from video released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers transport wounded passengers from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed, near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, upon their arrival at the Zhukovsky airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov lays a bunch of flowers at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Azerbaijan's national flag at half-mast in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, is seen in front of a Government's building in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)
The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Azamat Sarsenbayev)
Azerbaijan's national flag at half-mast in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, is seen in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)
In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers work at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, Members of an investigation committee and local officials walk past the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lying on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)
