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Itbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive before him, he has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply better. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, 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 wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss them for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.