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Transpired he endured losing against Grimsby. Survive an important European final against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach took on the executive and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for losing individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Conflict Over Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like him – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

An Supreme Power In the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style of play “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to join a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while the people who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.