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Turns out he could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach took on the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Regarding Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Power Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be decided in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the product, but still finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea 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 hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach only to fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.