As Manchester United slumped to a 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday, supporters directed their anger beyond the pitch — chanting the name of director of football Jason Wilcox alongside an obscenity, loudly and repeatedly.

The moment crystallised a growing frustration at Old Trafford. United are 16th in the Premier League and have now gone eight matches without a win — their worst such run since 2015-16 — following two three-goal defeats in a single week.

Why is Wilcox under scrutiny?

Wilcox, 55, 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 comparable role at Manchester City, where he had also overseen the academy.

At City, he worked alongside current United chief executive Omar Berrada and Stephen Torpey, who was appointed United's head of academy in August 2025. When Wilcox arrived, club officials stated he would operate across all technical departments and answer to the sporting director — a role then held by Dan Ashworth.

That structure collapsed in December 2024, when Ashworth was dismissed following a disagreement over who should succeed Erik ten Hag as manager. Since then, Wilcox has operated in an increasingly exposed position without that layer of oversight above him.