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Turns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He could survive home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over System & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach only to dismiss them for playing too much that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard him for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.