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Transpired Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for losing individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Clash Over Formation and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Authority In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and hire someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy 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 leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss them for playing too much that system. Hire the process guy and then bin them for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.