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Transpired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Over System & Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.