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Transpired he was able to withstand a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling 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 tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Order: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to join a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were once 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, a coach's role has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss him for playing too much that system. Hire the project manager and later bin them for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.