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Itranspired the manager was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who often railed his squad for losing individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode appears to portray the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over System and Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like him – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss them for playing excessively that system. Bring in the project manager and then discard them for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.