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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim endured a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Clash Over System and Philosophy

For example, this was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps 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 from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then fire him for playing too much that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.