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Itranspired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, this was the director who being involved in the leadership 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 beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, such directives carry more weight when issued by a man with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist 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 wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then bin them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.