Amorim's Fatal Mistake? Taking On The Executives and an Unassailable Leadership Class

Itranspired the manager could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, this was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements 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 title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire 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 the club to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Football Order: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss them for using too much that system. Hire the project manager and later discard him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; 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.