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Tbecame clear the manager endured losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly 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 the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Over System and Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Authority Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who will adapt their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then discard them for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.