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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over Formation and Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – function on a plane 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 equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to fire them for using excessively that system. Bring in the project manager and then bin them for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.