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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to Grimsby. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to 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 was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, this was the director , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately 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 the club to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire a coach who will adapt their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then fire them for playing excessively that system. Hire the process guy and then bin them for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.