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Turns out the manager could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach took on the executive and appears to have failed. The most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been easy, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard 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 verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Regarding Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Order: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. 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 fails of the box.

Nowadays, their job has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Modern Corporate Game: Accountability Only for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss them for playing too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then bin them for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.