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Tbecame clear the manager could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Over System and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Power In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply better. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach and then fire them for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and later bin them for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.