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Iturns out Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, 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 drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Regarding System and Ideology

To illustrate, this was the director , after having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation 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. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.