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Turns out the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for losing individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Over Formation & Ideology

For example, this was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. 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 in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to receive.

The Supreme Authority In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role 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. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin them for requiring too long. 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.