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Itranspired he endured defeat by Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, this was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

An Ultimate Power In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for using too much that system. Hire the project manager and later discard him for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.