The Coach's Fatal Error? Taking On The Executives and the Infallible Executive Class

Iturns out the manager was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, undermining the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to receive.

An Supreme Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately 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. The owner is eager for United to embrace analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply better. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not creating the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for using too much that system. Hire the project manager and later discard them for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.