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Transpired the manager was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over System & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The New Football Order: Executives Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Modern Corporate Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for playing excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.