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Transpired the manager was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Order: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.