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Itranspired he could survive losing against Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Regarding Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – function on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A New Football Order: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not creating the product, yet 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 marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and then bin them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.