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Tbecame clear the manager endured defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach took on the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence 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 whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to regard him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics 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 decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

The New Soccer Order: Executives Over Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for playing excessively that system. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for taking too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.