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Transpired he endured defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive earlier, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over Formation & Ideology

For example, this was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin him for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.