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Turns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, undermining some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive earlier, he has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Regarding Formation & Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually 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 departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to receive.

An Supreme Authority In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss them for playing too much 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then bin them for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.