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Iturns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Over System & Philosophy

For example, it was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran 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 regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Authority In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then bin him for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.