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Itranspired the manager could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Over Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power In Command

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, but still finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much that system. Hire the project manager and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.