The Coach's Fatal Mistake? Taking On The Executives and the Infallible Leadership Tier

Itranspired the manager could survive losing against Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining 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 the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

And frankly, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect of which the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like him – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably 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 receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially 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 Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for using too much that system. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.