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Iturns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind that United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over System & Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority In 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, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin him for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.