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Tbecame clear he endured defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox 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 and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals 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 is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to receive.

An Supreme Power In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and hire someone who can tailor 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 should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Game: Accountability for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin them for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.