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Turns out the manager could survive losing against lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive European final versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over System and Ideology

For example, it was the director , after being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. However, these judgements hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Power In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Order: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire them for playing too much that system. Hire the project manager 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 reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.