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Itranspired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System & Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our 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 equivalent to being ready to receive.

An Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then fire him for playing too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later discard him for requiring excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.