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Itbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Over System & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the product, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.