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Iturns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Power Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Football Order: Executives Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then dismiss him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.