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Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Regarding Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Soccer Order: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.