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Tbecame clear he could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, undermining the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated at his players for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes 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. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Football Order: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using excessively that system. Hire the project manager and then bin him for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.