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Turns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and appears to have missed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over Formation & 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 abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss him for playing excessively that system. Hire the process guy and then discard him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.