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Turns out he could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: 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 a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Regarding Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.