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Itranspired the manager could survive a loss to Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical football matters, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard him for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.