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Tbecame clear he endured a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Over Formation and Philosophy

To illustrate, this was the director who being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really creating the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss them for using too much 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then discard them for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.