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Turns out he could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United 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 “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.