🔗 Share this article

Transpired the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach took on the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

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 nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Philosophy

For example, it was the director , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to receive.

An Supreme Power In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.