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Iturns out the manager was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Over System & Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Order: Executives Over Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss him for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and later bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.