3 June 2020updated 29 Jul 2021 8:31am

Michael Jordan-style leadership isn’t for everyone

In a time of crisis, what can sporting leadership tell us about the real thing?

CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 01: Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Hornets, during their game at Time Warner Cable Arena on November 1, 2015 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

As the world of English football dissolved into a foam of indecision and infighting, first over the terms of its cessation, and then over the terms of its restart, one word in particular seemed to keep cropping up: leadership.

“A lack of leadership from the government, the FA and Premier League,” wrote Wayne Rooney in his Sunday Times column on the decision to halt professional football in March. “The lack of communication and leadership… cast doubt over everything,” said Gary Neville of the Premier League’s maladroit attempts to negotiate its resumption.