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Itranspired Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, undermining the team's best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Clash Over System & Ideology

For example, this was the director , after being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background 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 better. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and hire someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.