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Turns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, 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 mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready 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, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “shall be determined in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

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 influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Game: Accountability for the Few

And possibly in a small way this represents corporate governance in action: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.