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Turns out Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over Formation & Ideology

For example, it was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Order: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.