🔗 Share this article

Turns out the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Regarding Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and drive to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not creating the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using too much that system. Hire the project manager and then discard them for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.