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Iturns out Ruben Amorim endured a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Regarding Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was the director who having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Order: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and hire someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then fire him for playing too much that system. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.