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Turns out the manager endured losing against Grimsby. He weathered an important European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a manager who often railed his squad for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Regarding Formation & Philosophy

For example, it was the director who having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. However, such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Authority In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power 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 emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club 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 gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for playing excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard him for requiring too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.