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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over Formation & Philosophy

For example, this was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Accountability for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss them for using too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later bin him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.