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Transpired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Conflict Over Formation and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.