Manchester United fans chanted the name of director of football Jason Wilcox, followed by an obscenity, as the clock ran down in the 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday. The chant came from a majority of the home supporters and was repeated on more than one occasion.
It followed a blistering attack less than two weeks earlier from United defender Lisandro Martinez, who criticised the club’s hierarchy for failing to strengthen the squad and aimed a particular message at Wilcox. “I expect more from our technical director,” said Martinez.
Pressure is growing on United boss Michael Carrick after eight games without a win, their worst run since 2015-16, and two three-goal defeats in a week.
Why is Wilcox under pressure?
Wilcox is a former England winger who won the Premier League with Blackburn in 1994-95. He joined United in April 2024 as technical director, after 15 months in a similar role at Manchester City, where he had previously been in charge of the academy. At City, he worked with current United chief executive Omar Berrada and also with Stephen Torpey, whom United appointed as head of academy in August 2025.
When Wilcox arrived, United officials said he would work across all technical areas of the club to achieve “highest standards of performance”, answerable to the sporting director. That arrangement changed the following December, when sporting director Dan Ashworth was sacked amid a difference of opinion over who should replace Erik ten Hag as manager.
Ten months later, a poor run of results and dissatisfaction with transfer business have put Wilcox in the spotlight. Some people have sympathy with his position. The 55-year-old does not control transfer budgets, which are set at a higher level. He was also not responsible for the injury Manuel Ugarte sustained playing for Uruguay at the World Cup, which wrecked a plan to sell the midfielder in the summer and bolster the transfer budget. Nor could he prevent Barcelona backing out of a £26m deal to sign England forward Marcus Rashford. Both issues affected how much United could spend in the summer, on transfer fees and wages alike.
Wilcox rarely speaks to the media, and the lack of communication means nobody has explained why United focused almost exclusively on strengthening their midfield in the summer rather than bringing in competition at left-back for Luke Shaw or striking support for Benjamin Sesko. With both players now injured, that looks like a major error.
The general view is that Carrick has been sold short. Wilcox’s job title, and the fact that he is often photographed with new signings and quoted in official press releases, mean he is taking the blame.
When has he had public backing?
Since arriving from Southampton, Wilcox has twice received very public backing from his bosses. The first time, around Ruben Amorim’s recruitment as Ten Hag’s successor, Ashworth lost his job while Wilcox kept his. Thirteen months later, when Amorim publicly railed against interference in United’s formation and named Wilcox as one of those responsible, the Portuguese coach left and Wilcox stayed.
Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has yet to offer his thoughts on the crisis engulfing Old Trafford, but the supporters made their verdict clear during the Bournemouth match. United sit 16th in the Premier League and have not won in their past eight matches. Many factors explain that, but recruitment is one of the bigger ones, and for that, rightly or wrongly, Wilcox is taking the blame.
Is his media silence causing a problem?
Since joining United, Wilcox has given one extensive interview, to the club’s in-house Inside United podcast in October 2025. A month before that, he spoke at the 40th anniversary gala dinner of United’s former players’ association. Otherwise, he rarely speaks to the media. In the past 12 months, he has stopped for only a brief chat with journalists a couple of times, when he walked past an area where they were waiting to speak to a player after a game.
After the Bournemouth defeat, Carrick was asked directly whether Wilcox and Berrada should speak to supporters. “It’s not for me to say who speaks and who doesn’t speak, when they speak, and how they speak,” said Carrick. “I know my role here is to speak to you guys and represent the team and football club as best as I possibly can from this position.”
Wilcox has never had an opportunity to explain the parameters of his role publicly. With Carrick’s popularity intact and his status as a legendary figure at the club secure, the focus has moved to Wilcox. United’s fans have made clear they want him out. The question now is whether Ratcliffe feels the same.