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Transpired he was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. 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, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over System & Ideology

For example, this was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. However, such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much that system. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.