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Iturns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and seems to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – 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 complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss him for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then discard them for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.