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Iturns out the manager was able to withstand a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard him as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Regarding Formation and Ideology

For example, it was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power In Command

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach only to dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin them for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.