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Turns out Ruben Amorim endured a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. 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 to football “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and drive to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard them for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.