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Tbecame clear the manager endured defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga appears to portray the director in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man with the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like him – simply operate on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A New Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered 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 receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for using too much that system. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.