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Turns out he was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer can see 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 England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind that the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A New Football Order: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not creating the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not 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 influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and then discard them for requiring too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.