The Coach's Critical Error? Challenging Wilcox and the Unassailable Executive Class

Itbecame clear he endured losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Over System and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth 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 Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much that system. Hire the project manager and then discard them for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.