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Turns out the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, undermining the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach came at the executive and appears to have failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Regarding System & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. 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 true intellectuals of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “shall be decided in this room”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really creating the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much that system. Hire the process guy and then bin him for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.