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Turns out the manager was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Philosophy

For example, it was the director 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 Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Soccer Order: Executives Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into an organization and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy 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 leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for playing too much that system. Hire the project manager and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.