Jason Wilcox - Director of Football

[criticalanalysis]

I actually think our attack was so bad that 15th place wasn't 'that' much of an underperformance. Better than 15th, yes. But not way better, due to having a relegation-level attack at the top of the field dragging the squad as a whole down. Let's not forget, we were already in 14th when we sacked ETH so it's not like everything just went to shit when we bought in Amorim.

I really do think people underestimate just how much we were handicapped by our attack last season. It's not just the lack of goals from them, but the fact that they were all (bar Amad and occasionally Zirkzee on a good day) utterly useless in terms of building play or even maintaining possession. Putting the ball anywhere even near Hojlund was basically an automatic turnover as he had no idea how to win the ball under any kind of pressure. Garnacho would just turn and run at the nearest defender, inevitably losing the ball as he had one of the lowest (if not the lowest) successful take-on stats in the entire league. Zirkzee was obviously poor for most of the season, then unfortunately got injured just as he looked to be getting into form. Mount was injured most of the season.

What we saw under both ETH and Amorim was that we were regularly the better team throughout most of the field, but we were completely incapable of actually channelling that into threatening the goal. Especially towards the end of the season it was truly embarrassing just how little respect opposition teams were giving our attack. They were more than happy to throw players forward and go man-for-man at the back, having complete confidence that even bang-average defenders could handle the likes of Hojlund and Garnacho with ease. Then at times when we were under the pump we had no outlet whatsoever for the same reason. We'd win the ball and it'd just keep coming straight back at us due to our attackers complete inability to hold onto the ball. Everything we did was like we were in a boxing match with one hand tied behind our back.

Not sure I can I agree with the bolded and your summarisation of the issues we had under the previous two managers. Firstly, to single out the attack on it own glosses over the playing style both Amorim and ETH created, which exasperated problems all over the pitch. Specifically I am talking about control. Short of a few games here and there every season where we were simply superior than the opponent, we never were that much 'regularly better throughout most of the field' from ETH's second season up until Amorim's time. We conceded a ridiculous amount of shots, gave up territorial areas far too easily and was extremely vulnerable off the ball.

Of course our players weren't good enough but both ETH and Amorim played football in a way where everybody on the pitch had to do everything correctly otherwise there were in for a battering because the positions, pressing, patterns of play, defensive lines and general coaching were bottom of the barrel. Opposition didn't respect our attack but neither did they respect our midfield and defence. As long as they kept us out of their box, were competitive in the middle, the chance of attacking our goal with high quality chances were very high. It didn't matter if it was under ETH's donut midfield or Amorim's 5ATB. The ball kept coming straight back at us not just because of the attack but also due to the midfield, who couldn't hold onto it and our defence struggled with any slightly organised man-to-man press at our laughably bad attempts to play it out from the back (from anyone generally not name Martinez and Dalot at times). It was an overall systematic failure in terms of approach play, formation and positions on the pitch. Let's not forget Amorim's team couldn't utilise a CF whether that was Hojlund or Sesko this season. He couldn't even manage to get consistent performances from the top two performing players in Mbeumo and Cunha.

Carrick, a rookie coach with no PL experience recognised the simple issue by solidifying our spine by asking Casemiro, Mainoo and Bruno to actually play as a midfield and look at the results it has produced. It's also a big reason to why we are having such poor recent games i.e the midfield has not been compact enough and there's too much individuality from the likes of Casemiro and Bruno. If Carrick 'fails' from now onwards and doesn't adapt or changes things from here on out, it doesn't serve as a justification of 'how bad the squad was' but IMO shows how terrible the previous two managers were as they both completely missed/ignored/abandoned such glaring fundamental aspects.

 

[Red in STL]

Yes, Amorim did shape transfer policy, as your would expect any manager to do, so any discussion needs to be had through the lens of building for his 3421 and the context of him forcing out four of his forwards and wanting Bruno to stay and play in the pivot.

There is little point in talking about 4231.

Which of those 4 forwards should he have kept?

 

[gaffs]

Which of those 4 forwards should he have kept?

No one is saying and they should have been kept, are they?

Read the hundreds of posts above, where many are still bemoaning the fact that the forward line was the main focus in the summer, yet seem to ignore the four players sold/loaned as part of the bomb squad, plus the opportunity to move Hojlund on.

 

[devilish]

I actually think our attack was so bad that 15th place wasn't 'that' much of an underperformance. Better than 15th, yes. But not way better, due to having a relegation-level attack at the top of the field dragging the squad as a whole down. Let's not forget, we were already in 14th when we sacked ETH so it's not like everything just went to shit when we bought in Amorim.

I really do think people underestimate just how much we were handicapped by our attack last season. It's not just the lack of goals from them, but the fact that they were all (bar Amad and occasionally Zirkzee on a good day) utterly useless in terms of building play or even maintaining possession. Putting the ball anywhere even near Hojlund was basically an automatic turnover as he had no idea how to win the ball under any kind of pressure. Garnacho would just turn and run at the nearest defender, inevitably losing the ball as he had one of the lowest (if not the lowest) successful take-on stats in the entire league. Zirkzee was obviously poor for most of the season, then unfortunately got injured just as he looked to be getting into form. Mount was injured most of the season.

What we saw under both ETH and Amorim was that we were regularly the better team throughout most of the field, but we were completely incapable of actually channelling that into threatening the goal. Especially towards the end of the season it was truly embarrassing just how little respect opposition teams were giving our attack. They were more than happy to throw players forward and go man-for-man at the back, having complete confidence that even bang-average defenders could handle the likes of Hojlund and Garnacho with ease. Then at times when we were under the pump we had no outlet whatsoever for the same reason. We'd win the ball and it'd just keep coming straight back at us due to our attackers complete inability to hold onto the ball. Everything we did was like we were in a boxing match with one hand tied behind our back.


To some extent I agree with you. If we knew we'd be playing 4231 then the midfielder probably would have moved ahead of the third attacker (although it would have left us with no real threat off the bench or cover for injuries). And while I do have some sympathy for Amorim as our pathetic attack would have completely handicapped any manager who joined last season, he ultimately had too many faults to be successful here. So in hindsight we would have been better off with someone else and building with a 4231 or 433 in mind.

The INEOS regime seemed to decide that completely rebuilding the attack last summer, then (presumably) completely rebuilding the midfield this summer would leave us in a better position long term than a combination each season. Maybe they'll be proven right, or maybe not. It should be noted that the contract situation of our players and the ability to sell for profit probably played a part, with it being much easier to find buyers for the likes of Garnacho, Hojlund, Antony and Rashford which opened up space in the squad. Then this summer we know Casemiro is leaving and Ugarte should be easier to sell without a PSR hit. Meanwhile quite a few attackers were available to buy last summer, and the three most obvious midfielders we're linked to were always more likely to move this summer.

I think I am being misunderstood. I never said that we shouldn't have signed forwards. Actually I think that the STK position in particular was initially underestimated when we went for Delap. What I am saying is that we would have been better off with a striker, a no 10 and a CM rather then 2 no 10s and a striker. I strongly believe that a slight tweak to the system would have given us better stability with a decent CM base (A top DM with Casemiro playing more as a no 8/no 6 hybrid), Bruno in his natural role alongside Mbuemo and with Sesko upfront. It would also have given the young DM 6 months of being mentored by the best DM of his era in Casemiro. All that knowledge will be gone next summer.

United made a huge mistake going for Amorim, they made another mistake sticking with him in the Summer and they committed yet another mistake by considering his system as infallible and that new signings need to slot into it when it was increasingly evident last year that it wasn't. If this would have led to Amorim's hissy fit in Summer rather then in December then the better. We would have had the time to sign a manager that understand football

This sort of answer @gaffs as well.

 

[devilish]

I think we only had enough money left to sign 1 striker and wanted Watkins in this year and saving Sesko for next summer.

Newcastle’s interest forced our hand and we went for Sesko instead.

Our initial target was Liam Delap. Wilcox had worked with him at City, he had a 30m minimum fee clause and he fitted the INEOS mantra (young and EPL proven). Sesko was set to go to Arsenal. That's what their DOF wanted but he got overridden by Arteta who wanted Gyokeres instead. When we lost out on Delap and Arsenal moved for Gyokeres we were left with Sesko and Wilcox. Similarly to Arteta, Amorim wanted the experienced striker yet was overridden by United who refused to pay so much for a striker who was close to his 30s. Vivell in particular wanted Sesko having worked with him at Salzburg.

 

[devilish]

Not sure I can I agree with the bolded and your summarisation of the issues we had under the previous two managers. Firstly, to single out the attack on it own glosses over the playing style both Amorim and ETH created, which exasperated problems all over the pitch. Specifically I am talking about control. Short of a few games here and there every season where we were simply superior than the opponent, we never were that much 'regularly better throughout most of the field' from ETH's second season up until Amorim's time. We conceded a ridiculous amount of shots, gave up territorial areas far too easily and was extremely vulnerable off the ball.

Of course our players weren't good enough but both ETH and Amorim played football in a way where everybody on the pitch had to do everything correctly otherwise there were in for a battering because the positions, pressing, patterns of play, defensive lines and general coaching were bottom of the barrel. Opposition didn't respect our attack but neither did they respect our midfield and defence. As long as they kept us out of their box, were competitive in the middle, the chance of attacking our goal with high quality chances were very high. It didn't matter if it was under ETH's donut midfield or Amorim's 5ATB. The ball kept coming straight back at us not just because of the attack but also due to the midfield, who couldn't hold onto it and our defence struggled with any slightly organised man-to-man press at our laughably bad attempts to play it out from the back (from anyone generally not name Martinez and Dalot at times). It was an overall systematic failure in terms of approach play, formation and positions on the pitch. Let's not forget Amorim's team couldn't utilise a CF whether that was Hojlund or Sesko this season. He couldn't even manage to get consistent performances from the top two performing players in Mbeumo and Cunha.

Carrick, a rookie coach with no PL experience recognised the simple issue by solidifying our spine by asking Casemiro, Mainoo and Bruno to actually play as a midfield and look at the results it has produced. It's also a big reason to why we are having such poor recent games i.e the midfield has not been compact enough and there's too much individuality from the likes of Casemiro and Bruno. If Carrick 'fails' from now onwards and doesn't adapt or changes things from here on out, it doesn't serve as a justification of 'how bad the squad was' but IMO shows how terrible the previous two managers were as they both completely missed/ignored/abandoned such glaring fundamental aspects.

I sit in the middle of both your views tbh. Our forward line was worst then bad. A club can make due with a horrible forward line but it can't make due with one that is bad, idiotic and self centered at the same time. Sancho was being Sancho, Rashford decided that running wasn't for him anymore, Garnacho thought that he was Cristiano Ronaldo. He wouldn't track back, he wouldn't pass and he constantly shoot which is hilarious considering that he's more of a Ji Sung Park minus the workrate and the football IQ, Hojlund on the other hand thought that the sole existence of a striker is to physically bully the CB. That might work in the Serie A were players tend to be allergic to physicality. It wouldn't work out in the same league that made Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic and Jaap Stam reach stardom.

So yes the forward line was a problem, it was the source of our toxicity and it needed immediate fixing. However what I don't agree with is that it came to the expense of the lack of control our weak CM was feeding us week after week. CM is the engine room of a team. A weak CM will expose defense, it will not deliver the quality assists the forward need and it can't control the tempo of the game. That means that we're basically at the mercy of our opponents who can either decide to push us to the ropes or else play deep and defend in numbers As you can see I am a huge critic of our forward line but we can't deny that we have possibly the best no 10 in current football ie Bruno. Bruno is a beast. He is an assist/goal machine, he got the workrate of prime Roy Keane while playing as a no 10, he never tire and he never gets injured. Mismanaging him (either by dropping him deep or by playing him as a wide no 10) is in itself a sackable offence. It's baffling how after finishing in a humiliating 15th place, Amorim was able to sit down with our senior football management and persuade them that playing our best player out of his natural role was a great idea.

 

[gaffs]

They're on the same amount of goals for the season.

If they were exactly the same price, of course.

I'm not making the argument for Watkins now, I'm talking about the decision at the time.

Sesko a goal every 145 mins in the league this season.

Watkins a goal every 275 mins.

Think the debate is over in terms of the club buying the right player.

 

[Drainy]

Wonder if anyone is still thinking Wilcox was wrong to suggest a switch to a 4-2-3-1 to see out the season?

 

[VP89]

Wonder if anyone is still thinking Wilcox was wrong to suggest a switch to a 4-2-3-1 to see out the season?

We had posters saying the squad couldn't do a 433. And we had a lot of other interesting takes at the time I can't be bothered to bring up, but I'd hope the proof is in the pudding now.

 

[Sunny Jim]

Wonder if anyone is still thinking Wilcox was wrong to suggest a switch to a 4-2-3-1 to see out the season?

This is the same guy who wanted Delap over Sesko.

 

[Drainy]

This is the same guy who wanted Delap over Sesko.

Why not address the actual post.

Everyone in the Premier League except the top 3 were after Delap. Everyone saw value in the signing because of his clause.

He was £35m cheaper than Sesko and that money could have been invested into other positions.

I think its worked out better for us, but we don't know who we would have signed in midfield if we had the money spare. We were after Beleba at £60-70m so that additional budget may have gone to an Anderson, or addons for Beleba, or Wharton.

There's a reason Fergie called rejection the most overrated hardship in football. You move onto your next target and they can always work out. Like when we wanted Kluivert before 1999

 

[Apokalips]

Why not address the actual post.

Everyone in the Premier League except the top 3 were after Delap. Everyone saw value in the signing because of his clause.

He was £35m cheaper than Sesko and that money could have been invested into other positions.

I think its worked out better for us, but we don't know who we would have signed in midfield if we had the money spare. We were after Beleba at £60-70m so that additional budget may have gone to an Anderson, or addons for Beleba, or Wharton.

There's a reason Fergie called rejection the most overrated hardship in football. You move onto your next target and they can always work out. Like when we wanted Kluivert before 1999

I think Delap's actual performance level has shown that you shouldn't necessarily view transfers in that light. Yes we would have extra cash for other positions but we'd have spent 35m on a rubbish striker we now need to replace. We would have been better off just keeping Hojlund and spending even more on other positions in that case.

Delap is, and has always been, a back up level player for a top club. Perhaps he can develop into something more but signing him would have been a huge mistake for us in our position.

 

[dubplate warrior]

This is the same guy who wanted Delap over Sesko.

He's gotten more right than he's got wrong, the clubs recruitment has undeniably improved.

 

[Bastian]

Wonder if anyone is still thinking Wilcox was wrong to suggest a switch to a 4-2-3-1 to see out the season?

Is that what makes him qualified? That he identified what every single poster on here identified, bar maybe a couple of Amorim Stockholm Syndrome posters and a few 433 penchants?

 

[Drainy]

Is that what makes him qualified? That he identified what every single poster on here identified, bar maybe a couple of Amorim Stockholm Syndrome posters and a few 433 penchants?

Any flop transfers since he became DoF?

A lot of people were saying he should be sacked for suggesting the formation..
The official social media was flooded with 'sack Wilcox ' and all getting massive upvotes.

Now here we are

 

[Bastian]

Any flop transfers since he became DoF?

A lot of people were saying he should be sacked for suggesting the formation..
The official social media was flooded with 'sack Wilcox ' and all getting massive upvotes.

Now here we are

That's a completely different argument to what you used before, which was a straw man as no one was cussing him for preferring a formation that works over a formation both he and Berrada should have known would not work with the playing staff available.

I would say the transfers have been hit and miss. Zirkzee is terrible. Ugarte is loads of money and terrible. That they did not immediately sign a GK in June but waited until Onana and Bayindir could embarrass themselves further is mind-boggling. But there are also genuine quality purchases and I'm happy with most of them. I think this summer will really provide the evidence for or against. I think Berrada is lucky to have survived appointing Amorim and protected him (and himself) as long as he did. And it will be interesting to see whether leaks this summer will credit Vivell or Wilcox, or even someone else, when it comes to recruitment.

 

[Drainy]

That's a completely different argument to what you used before, which was a straw man as no one was cussing him for preferring a formation that works over a formation both he and Berrada should have known would not work with the playing staff available.

I would say the transfers have been hit and miss. Zirkzee is terrible. Ugarte is loads of money and terrible. That they did not immediately sign a GK in June but waited until Onana and Bayindir could embarrass themselves further is mind-boggling. But there are also genuine quality purchases and I'm happy with most of them. I think this summer will really provide the evidence for or against. I think Berrada is lucky to have survived appointing Amorim and protected him (and himself) as long as he did. And it will be interesting to see whether leaks this summer will credit Vivell or Wilcox, or even someone else, when it comes to recruitment.

You asked me what makes him qualified.
There are many aspects that make him so.

My post was about one.

Try reading my post and reconsidering your post. I said since he became director of football, and you're listing signings from before..

 

[Bastian]

You asked me what makes him qualified.
There are many aspects that make him so.

My post was about one.

Try reading my post and reconsidering your post. I said since he became director of football, and you're listing signings from before..

Fair enough. I don't mean this sarcastically, a genuine question, who do you think lead player recruitment before Ashworth was installed but Wilcox was Technical Director and Berrada CEO?

 

[Drainy]

Fair enough. I don't mean this sarcastically, a genuine question, who do you think lead player recruitment before Ashworth was installed but Wilcox was Technical Director and Berrada CEO?

Ashworth was in charge of football operations. It was a committee, but he was responsible. In terms of who proposed each flop.

Zirkzee was supposedly a Ashworth signing.

Ugarte was supposedly a Wilcox suggestion.

The issue with the midfield was that we needed a sale for PSR reasons, and McTominay was a saleable asset due to being an academy player who was nearing the window where you need to renew or sell.

Ugarte has turned out poorly, we overpaid for a player of his talents and he was on the decline as well. On paper his stats were good but there were red flags that should have been spotted and the transfer was a flop. It does happen though. No club has a 100% record and there never will be.

 

[dubplate warrior]

That's a completely different argument to what you used before, which was a straw man as no one was cussing him for preferring a formation that works over a formation both he and Berrada should have known would not work with the playing staff available.

I would say the transfers have been hit and miss. Zirkzee is terrible. Ugarte is loads of money and terrible. That they did not immediately sign a GK in June but waited until Onana and Bayindir could embarrass themselves further is mind-boggling. But there are also genuine quality purchases and I'm happy with most of them. I think this summer will really provide the evidence for or against. I think Berrada is lucky to have survived appointing Amorim and protected him (and himself) as long as he did. And it will be interesting to see whether leaks this summer will credit Vivell or Wilcox, or even someone else, when it comes to recruitment.

There's far more hits. It's not even a close.

 

[Bastian]

Ashworth was in charge of football operations. It was a committee, but he was responsible. In terms of who proposed each flop.

Zirkzee was supposedly a Ashworth signing.

Ugarte was supposedly a Wilcox suggestion.

The issue with the midfield was that we needed a sale for PSR reasons, and McTominay was a saleable asset due to being an academy player who was nearing the window where you need to renew or sell.

Ugarte has turned out poorly, we overpaid for a player of his talents and he was on the decline as well. On paper his stats were good but there were red flags that should have been spotted and the transfer was a flop. It does happen though. No club has a 100% record and there never will be.

I never heard that about Zirkzee. Woeful waste of money. Of course they do not have a 100% record at any club, but the amount spent on Ugarte for a team that has been lacking a functional midfield for over a decade is bizarre. The club had been chasing FDJ for at least two years during ETH, raising the technical level of the team was apparent for years prior. Those two signings are what, 80m or thereabouts? Not exactly punts.

The same month PSG bought Joao Neves (whom we were rumoured to be after for a year before he went to PSG) we bought Ugarte (for 10m less). Imagine a Joao Neves in this United side.

My issue is I think we need the absolute best people in positions here. And I do not expect 100% flawless records. Again, this summer's recruitment will really provide the proof as to whether they are genuinely qualified.

 

[tomaldinho1]

I think Delap's actual performance level has shown that you shouldn't necessarily view transfers in that light. Yes we would have extra cash for other positions but we'd have spent 35m on a rubbish striker we now need to replace. We would have been better off just keeping Hojlund and spending even more on other positions in that case.

Delap is, and has always been, a back up level player for a top club. Perhaps he can develop into something more but signing him would have been a huge mistake for us in our position.

The fact he could not see Delap was an oaf was worrying but I do get the temptation to sign a CF at that age for such a low fee comparatively.

I still think it's Vivell leading senior recruitment and Wilcox leading academy level hiring. All the attributed players seem to point to this. Heaven and Chido specifically are attributed to Wilcox. Sesko is specifically credited to Vivell. I'm not sure he really gets credit for Cunha as everyone knew him already but he scouted him at RBL as well.

 

[Drainy]

I never heard that about Zirkzee. Woeful waste of money. Of course they do not have a 100% record at any club, but the amount spent on Ugarte for a team that has been lacking a functional midfield for over a decade is bizarre. The club had been chasing FDJ for at least two years during ETH, raising the technical level of the team was apparent for years prior. Those two signings are what, 80m or thereabouts? Not exactly punts.

The same month PSG bought Joao Neves (whom we were rumoured to be after for a year before he went to PSG) we bought Ugarte (for 10m less). Imagine a Joao Neves in this United side.

My issue is I think we need the absolute best people in positions here. And I do not expect 100% flawless records. Again, this summer's recruitment will really provide the proof as to whether they are genuinely qualified.

People forget that footballers are people.

Maybe Neves didn't want to join United? Maybe he wanted to join PSG to play in a less intense league while he's developing. Maybe they offered more in wages? Maybe he likes Paris

Who the feck knows. Its just behind the keyboard Football Manager wankery to suggest that we should have signed a specific player. Its not a video game.

 

[KM]

Our last 6 senior signings(Sesko, Lammens, Mbeumo, Cunha, Heaven and Dorgu) have all been very good and atleast two of them have been steals I.e Heaven and Lammens. Deserves huge credit for this.

Should have probably taken the call to sack Amorim far lot earlier.

 

[Bastian]

People forget that footballers are people.

Maybe Neves didn't want to join United? Maybe he wanted to join PSG to play in a less intense league while he's developing. Maybe they offered more in wages? Maybe he likes Paris

Who the feck knows. Its just behind the keyboard Football Manager wankery to suggest that we should have signed a specific player. Its not a video game.

Thank you for explaining. I appreciate that lack of arrogance in your tone mate.

 

[Andycoleno9]

I admit that i don't like him and the fact that he likes "to be a manager" could be a major problem in future.

Thing which i do like is that he is signing players with good technique. That is why i "forgive" him signing of Zirkzee. He is talented football player but it just didn't work.
Having said that; how and why the hell he decided to sign Ugarte then? What did he see in him?

 

[Reds Under The Bed]

I would say the jury is still out on Wilcox, an absolutely terrible start with the signings of Ugarte and Zirkzee and then the biggest blunder of all, hiring Amorim and persisting with the worst manager and system in more than half a century at United, losing to a poor Spurs side in the EL final and finishing 15th should have been the absolute end of that experiment.

Instead it dragged out for ages further. That said, last summer's signings have by and large been top notch and the results since replacing Amorim have been excellent. If it stays like it might be the case Wilcox was simply trying something that didn't work at the start, had a rethink and is now possibly showing his true worth.

More of the same please and keep up the good work.

 

[Lash]

Sesko a goal every 145 mins in the league this season.

Watkins a goal every 275 mins.

Think the debate is over in terms of the club buying the right player.

When you're wrong, you're wrong. It looks like the better choice. Still interested to see how it ends up. I would prefer Sesko would be able to get more minutes, but seems to be missing something for Carrick.

 

[vva]

I’m afraid that the directors and recruitment team keep making mistakes by offering huge contracts to young talents too early.
If we’re being honest, Kobbie Mainoo is, at best, a squad player right now. He lacks physicality, pace, power, and passing range which are essential for a midfielder leading a team to EPL and UCL titles. At this stage, he’s clearly not there yet. (And because of these traits, he may not be ever reach that point)

For a squad player with potential, £80K per week is reasonable, not 120K pound per week at all because you can't sell him to other clubs because of inflated salary he's got.

Leny Yoro was the first mistake, an unproven talent on £115K per week. Amad Diallo is another example, being given £120K per week after just one good season.

To be honest, I’d prefer the club to sign at least one new starting centre-back. That player should be capable of replacing or at least competing with Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martínez, and Harry Maguire, who have all had issues with injuries and rotation. If Maguire doesn’t extend his contract, then two new centre-backs will be needed.

In midfield, we truly need two new signings. Mainoo can remain as a backup squad player for now.
A good approach would be to bring in a combination of:

• Players with EPL experience, such as Elliot Anderson, Matheus Fernandes, or James Garner (who has academy ties and versatility),
• Alongside a more cheaper option from Ligue 1, such as Mamadou Sangaré or Lamine Camara.

All of these players are more well-rounded midfielders, offering both technical ability and physical presence.