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Iturns out Ruben Amorim endured losing against Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece 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, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Over System & Ideology

For example, this was the director , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Supreme Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire 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 the club to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, 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 secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later bin them for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.