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Transpired Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which the club's mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Clash Over Formation & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Supreme Authority In Command

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while the people who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss them for using too much that system. Bring in the project manager and then bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.