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Transpired he could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect of which the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Over System and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Authority In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Order: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.