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Itranspired Ruben Amorim endured a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind that the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over System & Ideology

For example, it was the director , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to 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, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, 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. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for using too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later bin him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.