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Itbecame clear Ruben Amorim endured a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Regarding Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A New Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role 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 change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance in action: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.