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Itbecame clear he was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, such directives 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.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like him – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs 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 decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.