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Turns out he was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to receive.

An Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply better. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys established? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then bin them for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.