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Itbecame clear Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Regarding System & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was the director , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to receive.

An Supreme Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention 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 directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals 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 impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later bin them for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.