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Tbecame clear the manager was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on the executive and appears to have failed. The most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over Formation and Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued by a man with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.