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Iturns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply better. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal 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 can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach and then fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later bin them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.