Amorim's Critical Mistake? Taking On The Executives and the Infallible Executive Class

Tbecame clear Ruben Amorim could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has demonstrated as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System and Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to receive.

The Supreme Power In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply better. Whom else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.