The Coach's Critical Mistake? Taking On Wilcox and an Infallible Leadership Class

Itranspired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Over System & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical football matters, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into an organization and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss them for playing too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later bin them for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.