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Tbecame clear he was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Strategic Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, it was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power Behind Command

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 line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Order: Executives Over Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really creating the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.