🔗 Share this article

Iturns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard him as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, this was the director , after being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

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 of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for using excessively that system. Hire the project manager and then discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.