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Itranspired Ruben Amorim endured a loss to Grimsby. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed 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 intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Regarding Formation & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “will be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really creating the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then bin him for requiring excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.