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Itbecame clear the manager was able to withstand a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on the executive and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Over System & Philosophy

For example, this was the director who having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his investment, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance in action: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using excessively that system. Hire the project manager and then discard them for requiring excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.