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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Philosophy

For example, it was the director who having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. 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 seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then bin them for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.