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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive losing against Grimsby. He weathered an important European final against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Over Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Authority In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. 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 individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not creating the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.