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Transpired Ruben Amorim endured losing against Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Regarding System and Ideology

For example, this was the director , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss him for playing excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.