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Turns out he was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard him as merely a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Over System & Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable 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 outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. 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.

An Supreme Power In Command

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really creating the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.