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Itranspired Ruben Amorim endured a loss to Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive before him, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Regarding Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have such individuals established? 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 individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for playing too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then discard them for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.