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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim endured defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have missed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over System & Philosophy

For example, this was the director who having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Order: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance 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 justification. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for playing too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later discard him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.