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Itranspired he endured defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Regarding System and Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran 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 thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority Behind 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, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.