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Turns out he endured losing against Grimsby. Survive an important European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach took on the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Over Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director who being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely 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.

An Supreme Power In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Executives Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to go into an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative 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 the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.