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Transpired the manager could survive losing against Grimsby. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Over System & Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man with the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands 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 suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really creating the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.