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Itbecame clear the manager endured defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered losing a crucial European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. The most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind that the club's competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Strategic Conflict Regarding Formation and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to receive.

An Supreme Authority Behind Command

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “will be decided in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then bin him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.