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Transpired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Regarding System and Ideology

For example, this was the director , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being ready 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. The director is, after all, merely executing the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then bin him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.