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Transpired the manager endured losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, it was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style of play “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Order: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it 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 appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to fire them for using too much that system. Hire the project manager and then discard them for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.