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Turns out Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels succumbing 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 appears to portray the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Over Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was the director , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Order: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard him for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.