🔗 Share this article

Iturns out the manager was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Over Formation & Ideology

For example, this was the director who having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like him – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Whom else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Order: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered 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 on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach only to fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and later bin him for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.