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Itranspired Ruben Amorim endured defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent 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 right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have missed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing 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 entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Regarding Formation & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man of a man the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Authority In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.