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Iturns out the manager was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. He weathered an important European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System and Ideology

For example, this was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

An Supreme Authority Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach and then fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.