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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard 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 Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over System and Philosophy

For example, this was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Power In Command

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Executives Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard him for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.