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Iturns out the manager could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final versus a particularly poor 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 most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach took on the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer can see 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 England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over Formation & Ideology

For example, it was the director , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

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, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss him for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.