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Turns out the manager endured losing against lower-league opposition. Survive an important European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and seems 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 succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, he has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Regarding System and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was the director , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach and then fire him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later bin them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.