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Iturns out Ruben Amorim endured a loss to Grimsby. Survive an important European final against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles 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 Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Over System and Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals established? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later bin him for requiring excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.