Manchester United fans sang the name of director of football Jason Wilcox alongside an obscenity as the clock ran down in their 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday, making clear their feelings about him.
The chant was sung by a majority of the home supporters and was repeated on more than one occasion. It came less than two weeks after United defender Lisandro Martinez launched a blistering attack on the club’s hierarchy for failing to strengthen the squad, with a particular message for 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, initially 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, who was appointed United’s head of academy in August 2025.
When he arrived, United officials said Wilcox would work across all technical areas of the club to achieve “highest standards of performance” and would be answerable to the sporting director. That 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 on, a poor run of results and dissatisfaction with transfer business has put Wilcox in the spotlight.
Some 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 to boost the transfer budget. He was likewise powerless to 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.
Wilcox rarely speaks to the media, and a general lack of communication means the reasons are unclear for United’s decision to focus almost entirely on strengthening 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 consensus is that Carrick has been sold short, and Wilcox’s job title, along with the fact he is often photographed with new signings and quoted in official press releases, means he is taking the blame. He was pictured with £70m signing Carlos Baleba when he joined in August.
When has he had public backing?
Since arriving at United from Southampton, Wilcox has twice received very public backing from his bosses. On the first occasion, around Ruben Amorim’s recruitment as successor to Ten Hag, Ashworth lost his job while Wilcox kept his.
Thirteen months later, when Amorim publicly railed against interference over United’s formation and named Wilcox as one of those responsible, the Portuguese coach left and Wilcox remained.
Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has yet to offer his thoughts on the crisis at Old Trafford, but the supporters delivered their verdict loud and clear against Bournemouth.
There are many reasons United are 16th in the Premier League and without a win in their past eight matches, 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 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.
He rarely speaks to the media. In the past 12 months, there have been only a couple of instances of him stopping for a brief chat with journalists when he walked past an area where they were waiting to speak to a United player after a game.
After the defeat by Bournemouth, 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.”
There has never been an opportunity to ask Wilcox about the parameters of his role. With Carrick’s situation as it is, his popularity intact and his status as a legendary figure at the club secure, the focus is moving to Wilcox.
United fans have made clear they want him out. The question now is whether Ratcliffe feels the same.