🔗 Share this article

Itranspired Ruben Amorim endured a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind that the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over Formation and Ideology

For example, it was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Power In Command

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Order: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.