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Itranspired Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Regarding Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. However, such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.