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Tbecame clear the manager could survive losing against lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, undermining the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles 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 bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Clash Over Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, it was the director who having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Authority In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.