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Transpired the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Clash Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Power In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “shall be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss him for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then bin them for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.