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Itbecame clear Ruben Amorim endured losing against Grimsby. He weathered an important European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Over System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals established? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.