Itranspired the manager endured losing against Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.
Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.
And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.
To illustrate, it was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side decades past.
Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.
But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “will be decided by this group”.
Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?
This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.
In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.
And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to fire them for playing too much that system. Hire the process guy and later discard them for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.
Astrophysicist and space technology consultant with 15 years of experience in lunar mission planning and research.
