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Itranspired Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over Formation & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

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. 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 set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, 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 for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for playing too much that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.