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Tbecame clear he endured a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate at a level 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 equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power In 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, merely executing the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy 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 very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.