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Tbecame clear the manager was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach took on the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Authority Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while the people who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for using excessively that system. Bring in the project manager and then bin them for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.