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Transpired the manager could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge 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 verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive earlier, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Over System and Philosophy

To illustrate, it was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to receive.

An Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “will be decided in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The New Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Accountability Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.