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Turns out Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Regarding Formation and Philosophy

For example, it was the director who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.