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Transpired Ruben Amorim endured defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Over System & Philosophy

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, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being ready to receive.

An Supreme Power Behind Command

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, merely executing the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – 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 through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. 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 fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach only to fire him for playing too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later discard him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.