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Transpired Ruben Amorim could survive losing against lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive European final against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Regarding Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director who being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority In Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The New Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.