Itbecame clear the manager was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.
Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.
And frankly, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's competitors will now be rightly wary.
To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. However, such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.
Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.
Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided by this group”.
After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?
This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to join a club and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.
In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.
And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin them for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.
A tech journalist and software developer with over a decade of experience covering AI advancements and cybersecurity trends across Europe.
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