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Transpired Ruben Amorim endured a loss to Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Authority In the Throne

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, merely executing the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.