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Transpired Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, 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 frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Regarding Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being ready to receive.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Order: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then fire him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.