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Iturns out he endured a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. However, such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to go into an organization and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire him for playing excessively that system. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.