Jason Wilcox - Director of Football

vanrooney said:
You can judge his transfers in 3-4 years. But yes, there are some positive signs like yoro. And i have a feeling that we have made a big step forward by trimming the squad and bringing together a team of people that have the right mentality. At some point this will show - but building a team is a process. Just hope we dont disrupt this again and again.
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I agree.
We're not out of the Disneyland era yet.
We're building a good, solid team.
A competent keeper and midfielder away from a good platform for future success.
 
I was hoping things would change under the new structure but apparently not. We are still allergic to press resistant players.

We saw it against league 2 opposition. We could barely keep the ball and couldn't pin them back until they wore themselves out. A stat that popped up a good way into the 1st half was that the ball was in Grimsby's 3rd the least amount of time.

After Barcelona humiliated us in 2011, alongside City and Bilbao in 11/12, I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me that we still wouldn't have prioritised technical, press resistant players going into 2026, but here we are.

I'm not defending any of our post Fergie managers. None of them have been good enough. However, no one is going to succeed here until we prioritise players with these attributes. Sesko, Cunha and Mbuemo do not bring those attributes.

Let's not make it 20 years... 14 years is bad enough.
 
bb8 said:
All three players signed this season were for very large transfer fees. The fact that Mbeumo/Cunha are below star level is the problem really. As 26 year olds who essentially "are what they are at this point", they're both overpays for what we're getting. Combined with selling Garnacho below what he's worth, to me it's pretty bad business.

Sesko is TBD. High ceiling, but it remains to be seen if he can put it together.
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I don’t know if this is actually difficult to see or some are just refusing to at the moment. Never mind the fact that we signed Cunha AND Mbeumo instead of a goalkeeper or midfielder which was proper mental.
 
Chelsea bought and sold 20 players this season. Liverpool 15. Most of those players who were sold were bench warmers and even worse. So, you can rebuild nearly whole team in one summer.

This guy maybe knows stuff about recruitment and has an eye for potential but he is not a good DoF. And i don't why on earth we decided to go from "best people in class on key positions" to guy who was DoF only one year in his career.
 
Andycoleno9 said:
Chelsea bought and sold 20 players this season. Liverpool 15. Most of those players who were sold were bench warmers and even worse. So, you can rebuild nearly whole team in one summer.
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It's probably "slightly" easier to do that when your haven't just finished 15th in the league, most of your players look like trash with some having very high wages, and your'e also limited financially.
 
Surely he can see that we need dynamic midfielder in midfield? It is crucial signing now.
 
I really like him. Hope he stays for a long time regardless of who the manager is. I have much more faith in him than fans of YouTube clips of 'experts' who are professional YouTube presenters who, while people had jobs in football, built their reputation making YouTube videos about Star Trek: The Next Generation.
 
He didn't really say much in the grand scheme of the 16 min length video.
One thing stood out, he said he just hopes they get the time to turn it around.There is a theme here, similar to what Amorim says, that they are going through a process and making out that they are going down the right path and it's a case of when rather than if they start winning again.

Problem is, at this moment in time, we are relying on blind faith, because nothing on the pitch is proving their point. The performances against Grimsby and City were really poor, players not committed, signs that there are doubts from them as to whether they trust the management and setup.

I think people are taken in too much by personality. Again, like Amorim, you can talk a good game but it's what you deliver that counts. Like politicians who sell you sound bites and talk themself and their party up, so football managers and DOF's are also selling a similar thing, that they are to be trusted and will get it right. Worse still, ex footballers talk more shite than anyone in any other sport, whether they become managers or pundits. I didn't expect Wilcox to go into great detail over stuff, but I don't see how you can watch that and think he's doing a great job. Relying on vibes seems the only reason anyone would back him right now, 18 months into the job.
 
The way he scampered off at the end, he looked like he did the interview against his will.
 
Ali Dia said:
I think we are getting better at recruiting it just hasn't clicked yet?
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Multiple transfer windows was needed to overhaul the squad. We've done an amazing job in recruiting our 3 forwards & goalkeeper as well as getting rid of some of the deadwood. Next 2 windows should see us reinforce the CM, CB and WB positions.

It was never going to be an easy fix and I'm just as frustrated as the next United fan but I think that when it all clicks it's going to click in a spectacular way whether its with Amorim or his successor.
 
maximus419 said:
He didn't really say much in the grand scheme of the 16 min length video.
One thing stood out, he said he just hopes they get the time to turn it around.There is a theme here, similar to what Amorim says, that they are going through a process and making out that they are going down the right path and it's a case of when rather than if they start winning again.

Problem is, at this moment in time, we are relying on blind faith, because nothing on the pitch is proving their point. The performances against Grimsby and City were really poor, players not committed, signs that there are doubts from them as to whether they trust the management and setup.

I think people are taken in too much by personality. Again, like Amorim, you can talk a good game but it's what you deliver that counts. Like politicians who sell you sound bites and talk themself and their party up, so football managers and DOF's are also selling a similar thing, that they are to be trusted and will get it right. Worse still, ex footballers talk more shite than anyone in any other sport, whether they become managers or pundits. I didn't expect Wilcox to go into great detail over stuff, but I don't see how you can watch that and think he's doing a great job. Relying on vibes seems the only reason anyone would back him right now, 18 months into the job.
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When you have leadership who disregard the central midfield one season, or pay 50 million for a wholly unsuitable, unwanted midfielder the season before, turn down the chance to gain £100 million for a 31 year old or reward incompetent managers with the opportunity to continue the next season losing from local rivals to 4th division opposition without consequence - you know you're in big trouble
 
Waynne said:
Multiple transfer windows was needed to overhaul the squad. We've done an amazing job in recruiting our 3 forwards & goalkeeper as well as getting rid of some of the deadwood. Next 2 windows should see us reinforce the CM, CB and WB positions.

It was never going to be an easy fix and I'm just as frustrated as the next United fan but I think that when it all clicks it's going to click in a spectacular way whether its with Amorim or his successor.
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Amazing job based on what exactly? The keeper hasn’t even played a minute of football, we have no idea if he can step up into the Premier League. Similarly the very few minutes Sesko had he looks no better than Hojlund.

I’d also question why we signed 2 10s when it was clear we needed a CM. That tells me the manager still has rank as any sane DOF would overrule the manager on signing a CM over a second 10 based on last season.

It’s not good enough. I keep reading we are recruiting well and buying the right players yet our trajectory has gone from top 4, mid table to relegation battle in the space of 2 years. This whilst being one of the highest spenders in world football.
 
Waynne said:
Multiple transfer windows was needed to overhaul the squad. We've done an amazing job in recruiting our 3 forwards & goalkeeper as well as getting rid of some of the deadwood. Next 2 windows should see us reinforce the CM, CB and WB positions.

It was never going to be an easy fix and I'm just as frustrated as the next United fan but I think that when it all clicks it's going to click in a spectacular way whether its with Amorim or his successor.
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We have no idea how good this keeper will be, and I'd argue signing two 10s with Bruno staying wasn't good business when we are desperate for a CM right now.

I'd predict failing to sign a CM this season will cost us (if Amorim stays) as much as not signing a decent ST in the last few seasons.
 
If we signed two number 10s this summer we should have sold Bruno and used that money to buy a top class midfielder.
Not convinced Ineos know what they are doing apart from trying to look the part while getting every big decision wrong.
 
Making 1 or 2 bad transfers is forgiveable as every DoF does that but the lack of Plan B in the last summer is concerning. We chased Delap for months leading up to summer but when he eventually chosed Chelsea we were dithering with Mbeumo for weeks only to pay Brentford's initial demand and then in the last week of transfer window we finally splashed for a striker (Sesko). If thats how we planned the Plan B then we're cooked in the foresable future.

We've also taken a very poor approach assesing the goalkeeper's situation. The "football people" believed Onana was still good enough atleast for 1 more season but it took onana's clownish performance against a league 2 club to finally open their eyes to what the fans have been seeing with the cameroonian.

The job is massive. The mismanagement from Woodward, Mourtough, and Arnold can never be understimated hence why i think having a highly experienced DoF is an absolute necessity. We have no european competition this season and as a result the club had to take £100m loan to help funding the summer transfer. This should be an one off event, we cant keep taking loan just to buy players, Leeds did that in the early 2000s, gone broke and they have never recovered eversince. That's why qualifying for european competition is a MUST come May next year, not this silly talks of finishing 10th is acceptable considering where we finished last season. That's harmful for the club.

I have nothing against Wilcox, i actually liked it when he asked Ten Hag to change his approach in the FA Cup final against city and we won the trophy because of that change, but if he's afraid of demanding same thing from Amorim, whose in hierachy is his direct subordinate, then i'm afraid the job is too big for him.
 
peller said:
Making 1 or 2 bad transfers is forgiveable as every DoF does that but the lack of Plan B in the last summer is concerning. We chased Delap for months leading up to summer but when he eventually chosed Chelsea we were dithering with Mbeumo for weeks only to pay Brentford's initial demand and then in the last week of transfer window we finally splashed for a striker (Sesko). If thats how we planned the Plan B then we're cooked in the foresable future.

We've also taken a very poor approach assesing the goalkeeper's situation. The "football people" believed Onana was still good enough atleast for 1 more season but it took onana's clownish performance against a league 2 club to finally open their eyes to what the fans have been seeing with the cameroonian.

The job is massive. The mismanagement from Woodward, Mourtough, and Arnold can never be understimated hence why i think having a highly experienced DoF is an absolute necessity. We have no european competition this season and as a result the club had to take £100m loan to help funding the summer transfer. This should be an one off event, we cant keep taking loan just to buy players, Leeds did that in the early 2000s, gone broke and they have never recovered eversince. That's why qualifying for european competition is a MUST come May next year, not this silly talks of finishing 10th is acceptable considering where we finished last season. That's harmful for the club.

I have nothing against Wilcox, i actually liked it when he asked Ten Hag to change his approach in the FA Cup final against city and we won the trophy because of that change, but if he's afraid of demanding same thing from Amorim, whose in hierachy is his direct subordinate, then i'm afraid the job is too big for him.
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No but the players are all playing for Europe; their wages literally depend on it. To most neutrals we've no chance at making CL places but that has to be the goal inside the club even with our patchy start. We have the talent to do it but we don't seem as "up" for every game as we should be. We still seem disorganised and a player or two short of being good again but if the manger gets these lads actually playing we will do quite well again
 
astracrazy said:
We have no idea how good this keeper will be, and I'd argue signing two 10s with Bruno staying wasn't good business when we are desperate for a CM right now.

I'd predict failing to sign a CM this season will cost us (if Amorim stays) as much as not signing a decent ST in the last few seasons.
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Lemons I'm sure is better than Onana and that's not a very high bar to clear. I agree with the CM position. Perhaps the 100 million from Saudi for Bruno's sale would have given us somewhat of a chance to land Baleba.
 
If we managed to scrap through a midfielder this summer, a good one I would have though that Wilcox and co know what they are doing. This way, buying two number 10s, while keeping Bruno and having Amad, and you start the season with Casemiro and Bruno as a pairing in this kind of system? I think that's borderline insane.
 
The mass disconnect between Jason Wilcox and the 'fans' posting above is simply this:

Wilcox and the board are planning to win titles three years from now.

Whereas the 'fans' want to win immediately.

'We should have got midfielders this summer because we can't win the league without one". Duh!

The board decided this 18-months ago:

Summer 2024: Build a new defensive unit

Summer 2025: Build a new attacking unit

Summer 2026: Build a new midfield unit.

All with the aim of us trying to win the league title in 2028 (this is literally all in the Project150 detail).

But 'fans' on here haven't even read Project150. They don't even understand we're building for the long-term. No: They want to win the league this season and feel we should have also signed Wharton and/or Baleba so we can win the league this season! C'mon lads.

That's not how it works.

God help you guys if you lived for the first five years of Busby's reign, or worse, the first five years of Fergie's reign.

Thank all the Gods Social Media and online Forums didn't exist back then.

Guys - all eyes on 2028. What happens between now and then is only building blocks. We are not aiming to win the league before then.

Aiming to win the league before then would be crazy Mourinho-like, Van Gaal-like stupididty. That's what Ed Woodward was trying to do: win the league next season with his stupid transfers like Bastian Schewiensteiger and Alexis Sanchez and Edison Cavani and Zlatabn Ibrahimovic. Ed Woodward spent 1.2billion trying to 'win the league next season'.

We're Manchester United. We don't buy to win. We build to win. That's why this club is the biggest in the world. When we build we go on runs for two decades where we compete for multiple titles.

We are in no rush to win one league title.

We are taking our time to build towards dominance again.

I am 100% behind our board. I think Wilcox has done a steller job in terms of recruitment so far. But if you're looking for a perfect squad already then it's proof you don't know anything about Project150.

If you don't know anything about Project150, then please stop complaining that we're not gonna win the league this year. It's kinda embarrassing.
 
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maximus419 said:
Problem is, at this moment in time, we are relying on blind faith, because nothing on the pitch is proving their point. The performances against Grimsby and City were really poor, players not committed, signs that there are doubts from them as to whether they trust the management and setup.
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I think that’s a bit harsh, we’ve certainly seen more glimpses of an actual football team compared to when Ten Hag was here, the stats are very promising and I think everyone agrees we were unlucky not to beat Arsenal, we played them off the pitch for the entire game and they got lucky.

The players don’t seem to be throwing anyone under the bus, infact they seem very insistent that he’s the right man for the job, I think we just have a lot of square pegs in round holes and it’s going to take time if we want to play this way and make it successful,
I’d expect another summer before we really see big improvement.. we just need to get a run of wins together for the confidence to grow a bit
 
I'm always surprised by how much people seemingly know about the inner workings of the club.
 
DazFletch said:
But 'fans' on here haven't even read Project150. They don't even understand we're building for the long-term. No: They want to win the league this season and feel we should have also signed Wharton and/or Baleba so we can win the league this season! C'mon lads.
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Is there actually any one saying this?
 
Feckin hell, that music was awful. Don't ever want to here that shit again.

As for Wilcox, he looks like he's aged 20 years since taking his role here.
 
TrailMonkey said:
Feckin hell, that music was awful.
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I liked the bit where the guy from Nickelback went SO BRING ON MAN UNITED BECAUSE WE WILL NEVER DIE then all the sax guys jammed
I always wondered why we brought on Man Utd and now I know it's because we're immortal
 
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