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Transpired the manager was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position 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 hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Regarding System and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for playing excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.