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Itbecame clear Ruben Amorim endured losing against Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach took on the executive and appears to have missed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Over System & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was the director who having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like him – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Power In Command

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately 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. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss him for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and later bin them for requiring too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.