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Transpired Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who often railed his squad for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view him as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes 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 speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Authority Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become 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 change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for requiring too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.