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Turns out Ruben Amorim endured a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

And frankly, this entire painful saga appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, this was the director who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – 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 four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later bin them for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.