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Iturns out the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Over System and Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, without any penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Order: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for playing too much 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then discard them for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.