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Turns out Ruben Amorim endured defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important European final against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus 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 privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “shall be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have such individuals established? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then fire him for playing excessively that system. Hire the project manager and later bin him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.