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Itbecame clear he could survive losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting 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 tactical intellect that the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Regarding System & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was the director , after having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately 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. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Order: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have these guys established? What number of 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 impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then fire him for using too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later bin him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.