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Transpired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Power In the Throne

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, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision 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 leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach and then fire them for playing too much that system. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.