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Iturns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, it was the director who being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Authority In Command

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “will be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach only to dismiss them for using excessively that system. Hire the project manager and then bin them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.