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Transpired the manager endured a loss to lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference 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 embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.