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Itbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision 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 takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire them for playing excessively that system. Hire the project manager and later discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.