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Itbecame clear the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, this was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority 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 decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style of play “will be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and energy to go into an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire him for using excessively that system. Hire the project manager and later bin them for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.