Jason Wilcox’s rapid rise at Manchester United has set some pulses racing, and some eye rolling, but he has had quite a positive start at the club, and his influence continues to grow with the latest hire.
Jason Wilcox was the first Ineos hire to start working at Manchester United, while Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth were on their respective gardening leaves.
He joined as the Technical Director, but has been confirmed as the club’s director of football in recent press releases.
His influence has grown rapidly across all levels of the club, and the club’s latest hire for the academy continues that trend.
Watford academy coach David Horseman gives instructions during the pre-season friendly match between Woking and Watford U23 at the Laithwaite Community Stadium on July 08, 2017
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Man Utd closing in on David Horseman
The academy structure at Man Utd has been dominatingly successful, unlike the first team, and that type of success doesn’t go unnoticed.
Already, the club have lost Adam Lawrence (U18 manager), Nick Cox (Academy Director), and David Hughes (U21 assistant manager).
Darren Fletcher has taken Lawrence’s role, Jonny Evans will probably help and share Cox’s responsibilities with Fletcher until a new appointment, and now the club has filled Hughes’ role.
The Manchester Evening News report that United are closing in on the appointment of David Horseman to be Travis Binnion’s assistant for the U21s team.
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Horseman was a part of the coaching staff at Bristol Rovers and has held fleeting head coaching roles at Forest Green, Watford U21s, and Southampton U23s.
It is during that last job that Horseman worked with Jason Wilcox, Southampton’s director of football at the time. Horseman won 1.29 points/game during an 86-game stint in charge of the U23s, before a short spell as Ruben Selles’ assistant for the first team followed.
Horseman’s pedigree of mainly working in youth football, and with esteemed academies like Southampton, should make him a nice addition to the structure at Old Trafford.
Wilcox’s influence at the club continues to grow with one of his former colleagues hired for a role.
Crucial season ahead for Man Utd’s academy sides
Unlike the first-team, where the challenge is to rebuild under basically zero expectations after a disastrous season, a tricky campaign awaits the academy sides.
United have dominated at the U18 level for a few years now under the stewardship of Lawrence, while Cox oversaw everything.
The new hires face the challenge of that hot streak going, a task more difficult than rebuilding, because they will start from a position of strength and expectation.
Add the emergence of new scholars at Man Utd, Ineos’ continued youth recruitment, and first-team signings getting increasingly expensive, and it won’t be an exaggeration to say that United’s future lies in the new structure’s hands.
The previous guard managed to work their magic when there was less support from the Glazers. The new guard not only needs to keep that up, but take it a step further because Ineos are putting all their energy into boosting it even more.
David Horseman might just be in an assistant role for a U21s side where development is more important than the results, but he’s about to realise the scrutiny that follows everyone associated with this club.