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Itranspired he could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Over Formation & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who 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 favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss them for using too much that system. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.