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Transpired the manager endured a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive an important European final against a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

An Supreme Authority In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then dismiss him for playing too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.