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Itranspired Ruben Amorim endured losing against lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Regarding Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The New Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible 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 mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

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 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 domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for playing too much that system. Hire the process guy and then bin them for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.