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Itbecame clear the manager was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position as much to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Over Formation & Philosophy

For example, this was the director , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately 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 adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “will be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, 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 Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss him for playing too much that system. Hire the project manager and later bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.