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Turns out Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over System and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Authority In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “will be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and hire someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the product, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss them for playing too much that system. Hire the process guy and later bin him for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.