🔗 Share this article

Iturns out Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership 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 paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard him as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Over Formation and Philosophy

For example, it was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply better. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach 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 the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.