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Iturns out Ruben Amorim endured a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard him as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Regarding System & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire them for using excessively that system. Hire the project manager and then discard them for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.