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Iturns out Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach 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 bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive before him, he has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Regarding Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “will be determined 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 is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Football Order: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss them for using too much that system. Hire the process guy and then bin them for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.