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Tbecame clear the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Regarding Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to receive.

An Ultimate Authority In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Order: Executives Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and later bin them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.