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Tbecame clear he was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach took on the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for losing individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Over Formation and Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued by a man with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Power In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science 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”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance in action: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach and then dismiss him for using too much that system. Hire the process guy and later bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.