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Turns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive an important European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he 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 a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Football Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and hire someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.