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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad 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 feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, he has demonstrated as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The New Football Order: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to invest 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 appoint a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach only to fire him for using too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.