The Coach's Critical Mistake? Challenging The Executives and the Infallible Executive Tier

Itranspired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Regarding System and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

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 speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Power In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately 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. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for playing too much that system. Bring in the project manager and then bin them for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.