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Tbecame clear he endured defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Ideology

For example, this was the director who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority In Command

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined while the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and later discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.