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Turns out he could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director 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 emphasized his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Executives Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin them for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.