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Itranspired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Conflict Regarding Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director who being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

The New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive 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 genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin them for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.