Man Utd owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is all about ‘marginal gains’, but has he failed to spot Dan Ashworth’s £55m howler?

EVERYTHING is black or white for Newcastle United managers — you’re either a messiah or you’re a bum.

Kevin Keegan, Sir Bobby Robson and Rafa Benitez could stroll across the Tyne without taking a bridge.

PASir Jim Ratcliffe is desperate to bring Dan Ashworth to Manchester United[/caption]

GettyThe football chief’s record at Newcastle is not entirely perfect[/caption]

Most other bosses over the last three decades were damned from the word go.

Eddie Howe is firmly in the former category — deified by the Toon Army, feted by the local media and very much the acceptable face of the Geordie Arabia revolution.

He is the man who coached a number of Newcastle’s existing players to far higher levels than seemed possible and moulded a team which terrified the Premier League’s elite.

Howe allowed the faithful to argue last season’s breakthrough campaign was some sporting fairytale and wasn’t all about Saudi blood money.

At a club hooked on its own romanticism, that mattered. But this has been a campaign of significant decline.

Saturday’s gubbing at Arsenal — a club they had driven to distraction in recent meetings — leaves Newcastle in danger of falling into the bottom half of the Premier League.

The self-styled ‘loyalest football supporters the world has ever had’ sang Howe’s name throughout that chastening 4-1 Emirates defeat.

But his team lacked the bite and spite which had driven Mikel Arteta to delirium in recent meetings.

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Newcastle are no longer nightmare opponents on the pitch. And for the time being their owners do not look like the filthy-rich disruptors so feared by the ‘Big Six’.

Howe’s team has the sixth-worst defensive record in the Premier League.

And St James’ Park is no longer a roaring, flag-happy fortress — with one win in six home matches, three defeats and two fortunate home draws against Luton and Bournemouth.

Howe can blame injuries for Newcastle’s shortcomings all he likes but Liverpool and Aston Villa — managed by Unai Emery, who turned down the Toon — have thrived despite serious problems on that front.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are in the process of losing their sporting director to Manchester United, one of the clubs that they were supposed to be usurping.

Financial Fair Play frustrations might have hindered Newcastle this season but the Saudis have still managed to spend the best part of £400million in the transfer market.

And shelling out £55m on Sandro Tonali, without doing due diligence, was a serious blunder exposed by the Italian midfielder’s betting ban.

Yet it’s an error which hasn’t stopped Ashworth being poached.

As Ashworth takes leave to tend his garden — and aren’t the daffs out early this year? — Tonali, one of his biggest ‘coups’, is still six months away from returning to action.

Old Trafford’s knights in shining armour, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sir Dave Brailsford, are all about ‘marginal gains’ but apparently less bothered by whopping great howlers.

Howe has been unusually outspoken about his fears that Ashworth would take Newcastle’s state secrets to Old Trafford.

It was a glaring admission that St James’ Park is not an entirely happy ship.

This week’s FA Cup fifth round now feels critical to the managers of three of England’s richest clubs — for Erik ten Hag, for Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino and especially for Howe.

EPAThe £55m purchase of now-banned Sandro Tonali is a blot on Ashworth’s Toon record[/caption]

PAEddie Howe is hoping to improve Newcastle’s fortunes in the FA Cup[/caption]

Howe heads to Blackburn tonight knowing victory is essential and a tie against Championship opposition ought to be a mood-changer.

Newcastle have enjoyed their Cup run so far — gloating at bitter rivals Sunderland, before Alan Shearer joined the topless fat lads on Craven Cottage’s Putney End for another away win in round four.

A first trophy in 55 years would cement Howe’s legend and make him bulletproof this summer.

But Manchester City and Liverpool remain in the hat, as well as United and Chelsea, so it will need something special.

For a year and a half, Newcastle’s rise seemed inexorable.

Last season’s Wembley appearance in the final of the Carabao Cup would surely be the first of many.

And qualification for the Champions League, with the subsequent 4-1 humbling of Paris Saint-Germain, felt like a first significant step towards European domination.

Instead, Newcastle finished bottom of their group and will struggle to play in Europe at all next season unless they can lift the FA Cup.

So could the Saudis really tolerate a mid-table finish and no trophy, while leaving Howe in charge, even if their fanbase demands that he stays?

Only if you happen to believe that Saudi stooge Amanda Staveley really is the nice-girl figurehead next door.

Howe’s team must rediscover their ruthlessness pretty damned fast, or else their manager may soon realise the ruthlessness of his paymasters.

GettyErik ten Hag’s comments after Man Utd’s defeat to Fulham will not have impressed Ratcliffe[/caption]

IF there’s one trait which is common to most self-made billionaires, it’s that they can detect the whiff of bulls**t a mile off.

So you must wonder what Sir Jim Ratcliffe made of Erik ten Hag praising the ‘character’ of his Manchester United players after they had deservedly been beaten at home by Fulham.

And that’s Fulham without their best two players, Joao Palhinha and Willian, and Fulham who hadn’t won away in the Premier League for six months.

Ratcliffe made some ballsy statements about United’s future last week.

And it was noticeable that he refused to offer Ten Hag any long-term backing.

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat, and the Dutchman’s reaction to it, went a long way towards explaining why.

GettyLiverpool’s Carabao win over Chelsea showed they dodged some transfer bullets[/caption]

FOLLOWING the Carabao Cup final, the narrative is that Liverpool get everything right and Chelsea get everything wrong.

And while that’s largely true, let’s consider that the Anfield club had a £110million bid for Moises Caicedo accepted by Brighton last summer, only for the Blues to gazump them.

Caicedo should have seen red for a challenge on Ryan Gravenberch and was outplayed by a trio of teens later in Sunday’s game.

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you dodge a bullet.

And what about the other midfielder for whom Chelsea outbid Liverpool last year?

Romeo Lavia, wherefore art thou?

AlamyArsenal are now becoming the team with the key defenders[/caption]

REMEMBER all those classic matches when Tony Pulis’ Stoke used to bully Arsenal and Arsene Wenger would whinge about ‘rugby’ tactics?

Well, fast forward to the present day and Arsenal are stringing four big centre-halves across the back, while scoring more set-piece goals, and more headed goals, than any other Premier League team.

The basic tenets of Pulis-ball are helping to fuel an Arsenal title bid.

Discover a Rory Delap-style long-throw specialist and the crown will surely be theirs.

ReutersRoy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace exit means there are even fewer English bosses in the Prem[/caption]

AFTER Roy Hodgson was replaced by Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace, only four English managers remain in the top flight.

Chris Wilder is heading for relegation with Sheffield United, Sean Dyche is threatened by the same fate if more points are deducted at Everton and Eddie Howe’s Newcastle reign is threatening to disintegrate.

Given that none of the Championship’s top four clubs are managed by Englishmen, Gary O’Neil of Wolves might well be the last native boss standing in the Premier League next term.

PAIlias Chair played for QPR one day after his jail sentence[/caption]

FOR a club that has done much campaigning against violent crime, it is depressing that QPR allowed Ilias Chair to play against Rotherham on Saturday.

That’s just one day after he received a two-year jail sentence for breaking a man’s skull with a rock.

GettyEngland are sure to be even more attacking in future[/caption]

AFTER a first series defeat of the Bazball era — following a Fourth Test loss to India in which England played less Bazball than usual — only one thing is certain . . . 

Ben Stokes’ side will now become even more attacking still.

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