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Turns out Ruben Amorim endured defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect of which the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Power Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, 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 for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.