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Turns out Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over System and Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power Behind Command

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Order: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later bin them for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.