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Itranspired Ruben Amorim endured defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Regarding System & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like him – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “will be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Order: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later bin them for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.