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Turns out Ruben Amorim endured losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach 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 losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Over System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for using too much that system. Hire the process guy and later discard him for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.