🔗 Share this article

Itbecame clear he could survive losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at the executive and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Over System and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Order: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach and then fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then discard them for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.