🔗 Share this article

Itbecame clear Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach took on the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Conflict Over Formation and Ideology

For example, it was the director , after being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not creating the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach only to dismiss them for using too much that system. Hire the process guy and later discard them for requiring too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.