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Transpired the manager was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important European final against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Over Formation and Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Power In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.