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Iturns out he was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a tactical intellect of which the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Regarding Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point 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 Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical football matters, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss him for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.