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Itranspired he could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, this was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, 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 of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for playing too much 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.