The Coach's Critical Error? Challenging The Executives and an Infallible Executive Class

Iturns out he could survive losing against Grimsby. Survive an important European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Over System and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Authority In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Order: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later bin him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.