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Itbecame clear the manager could survive losing against lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Over Formation & Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really creating the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss them for playing too much that system. Hire the project manager and later discard them for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.