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Turns out the manager was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System & Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, simply better. Who else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating 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 crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then bin him for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.