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Iturns out Ruben Amorim could survive losing against Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, 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 of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has demonstrated as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard them for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.