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Itranspired the manager could survive losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest 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, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Over System & Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Order: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for playing too much that system. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.