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Turns out the manager was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Regarding System & Ideology

For example, this was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really creating the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less 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. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss them for using excessively that system. Hire the project manager and then bin him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.