A photograph of Sir Jim Ratcliffe alongside Manchester United’s senior executives provides an intriguing snapshot of the atmosphere inside the club’s Old Trafford boardroom.
Ratcliffe appears visibly angry as he points at director of football Jason Wilcox. Wilcox responds by lifting a bent finger in apparent resistance, while chief executive Omar Berrada stands between the pair.
The image was captured at half-time during United’s visit to Molineux last December. Wolves had just equalised, although Ruben Amorim’s side eventually claimed what would prove to be their final away victory under the Portuguese manager.
Just a month later, Amorim’s relationship with the club’s hierarchy imploded. Following a heated confrontation with Wilcox at Carrington, the United boss launched an extraordinary post-match outburst at Leeds aimed at the technical director and the club’s senior figures. He was dismissed two days afterwards.
United return to Elland Road on Sunday, with Wilcox once again facing scrutiny. The latest criticism came from Lisandro Martinez after Tuesday’s Champions League defeat by Atletico Madrid, when the defender told television reporters that he had “expected more from our technical director” during the summer transfer window.
Martinez accepted a fine and apologised for the timing of his remarks in a statement that referred to Wilcox, insisting that “everyone at the club is doing everything they can to make the team successful”. However, he has not personally apologised to the technical director.
Jason Wilcox (right) has faced criticism from several figures connected with Manchester United, including Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left)
Wilcox continues to have Ratcliffe’s support, although he has come under fresh pressure this week after Lisandro Martinez’s comments
Ratcliffe has previously cited former Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain, who described Wilcox as possessing the “best set of eyes” in the game. Yet the 55-year-old knows that such praise offers little protection when results and recruitment decisions are being questioned.
The Molineux photograph was taken almost exactly a year after Ratcliffe abruptly dismissed Dan Ashworth following a match at Old Trafford and subsequently elevated Wilcox, then technical director, into a more influential role.
Wilcox is understood to retain the backing of Ineos billionaire Ratcliffe. There is also sympathy for an executive operating under severe financial constraints, conditions that made it impossible to pursue certain leading targets, including Elliot Anderson, while Ratcliffe remained closely involved in the process.
One agent told Daily Mail Sport: “Jason is in an incredibly difficult position. Everyone would assume he is the decision-maker at the club, but he absolutely isn’t. Manchester United is run by the owners, Sir Jim and the Glazers. If you sack Wilcox, nothing will change. It’s a mess.”
Another agent claimed: “We had a deal agreed with Jason and then Jim got involved and tried to change it. He ended up killing it.”
A year after United received widespread praise for signing Senne Lammens, Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, Wilcox has faced criticism over the decision to prioritise midfield recruitment. That strategy resulted in the arrivals of Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.
United travelled to face Atletico at the Metropolitano in midweek without a recognised striker or left-back, following entirely predictable injuries to Sesko and Luke Shaw.
Questions about Wilcox’s suitability for one of football’s biggest jobs are understandable, given that he spent six years running Manchester City’s academy before only nine months as Southampton’s director of football. If United fail to rescue their season, should Wilcox carry the same level of responsibility as head coach Michael Carrick?
One agent described Manchester United’s structure as “a mess”, with Ratcliffe heavily involved in major decisions
Erik ten Hag was reportedly never convinced by Wilcox, while his relationship with Amorim deteriorated. The former United manager suggested that Wilcox was too affected by criticism from television pundits such as Gary Neville.
Not everyone shares that assessment. One source described Wilcox as “straight to the point, no bulls***”, while another called him “an absolute gentleman and man of his word”.
A Premier League executive who asked not to be named said: “Wilcox is ultra-professional, or at least he has been in my experience. Is he as hard-faced as some of them out there? Maybe not, and perhaps that can leave him on the back foot at times.”
‘He works for Man United, though, and I think there needs to be a certain standard of behaviour that comes with that. I feel Wilcox understands it. He has a pretty good reputation in the league.’
Wilcox chatted briefly with reporters before United played Paris-Saint Germain in Gothenburg in the summer, but has maintained a relatively low profile since succeeding Ashworth who – like John Murtough before him – was more open with the media.
Wilcox spoke with United’s in-house station MUTV in October last year, coincidentally after a run of three straight wins, a month after he appeared on stage at a gala dinner for the Association of Manchester United Players when he admitted that his coaching background means ‘I always want to interfere with what the managers are doing’.
That might not be what Carrick wants to hear but the two men are said to have a good working relationship, and the United boss said he has no problem with Wilcox keeping his head below the parapet when he spoke before the Leeds game on Friday.
‘I don’t think that’s for me to say whether he should or not,’ said Carrick. ‘I’ve got absolutely no problem sitting here and talking to you guys and leading the football club from this position.’
Michael Carrick (left) is under pressure – and Wilcox is keen to involve himself in his area
When Blackburn Rovers’ squad of 1995 gathered together last year to celebrate the 30th anniversary of beating United to the Premier League title, Wilcox took some stick from his old teammates.
‘He took it really well,’ said one. ‘He’s very self-effacing. There’s no airs and graces. He was always a conscientious lad with a great sense of humour who worked really hard – although you wouldn’t necessarily have had him down as the future director of football at Manchester United.’
Raised in Bolton, the boyhood Liverpool fan represented England at judo after achieving his black belt at the age of 14.
Wilcox joined Blackburn two years later after he was rejected by City and his father sent off 30 letters to clubs in the north-west asking them to give him a chance.
He built a reputation as a dressing-room joker as Kenny Dalglish forged a title-winning team under millionaire owner Jack Walker, and his better impersonations were said to include Bruce Forsyth and Norman Wisdom.
When Rovers edged out United by one point on the final day of the season, Wilcox was on crutches at Anfield following knee surgery – just as he had missed out on the club’s promotion to the Premier League via the Play-off Final at Wembley in 1992 because of injury, his misery complete when a bird defecated on his club suit before the game.
Wilcox did make three appearances at Wembley for England – against Hungary, France and Argentina – in a career that included spells at Leeds, Leicester and Blackpool.
In retirement, he continued to follow Blackburn as part of the commentary team on BBC Radio Lancashire, and he also wrote a regular column for the Lancashire Telegraph.
A former Blackburn title winner, it’s now Wilcox’s turn to feel the pressure with Ratcliffe breathing down his neck
He always felt destined to go down the coaching path, though, and joined City where he led the Under-18s to two FA Youth Cup finals before making his name as the club’s academy head.
Wilcox oversaw the progression of a number of young stars to the first-team including Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and Liam Delap – notably sticking by Palmer when others considered letting him go at 16.
He also helped City make a big profit from selling their surplus academy talent, something United are now trying to emulate.
‘Jason was always very fair at City,’ says one agent. ‘If he said your player would get a new contract if he played well, he was usually true to his word. He is very black and white. He doesn’t pussyfoot around on decisions like some.’
It was no surprise that Berrada took Wilcox from Southampton as part of the influx of ex-City staff into Old Trafford, even if the overlap with Ashworth never looked like working out for long.
Now it’s his turn to feel the heat with Ratcliffe breathing down his neck.
