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Turns out the manager was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered an important European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Clash Over Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, 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 Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Game: Accountability for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss them for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.