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Turns out he endured defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on the executive and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Regarding System & Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to join an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to invest the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin them for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.