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Itbecame clear the manager could survive losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, laying waste to the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause activated. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, simply carrying out 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 proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Order: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then discard him for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.