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Iturns out the manager was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps 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 he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Power In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, 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, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach only to fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.