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Iturns out he endured defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – function on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss him for playing too much that system. Bring in the project manager and then bin him for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.