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Iturns out the manager was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Philosophy

For example, it was the director who having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree 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 reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using excessively that system. Hire the project manager and later bin him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.