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Transpired he could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of a 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. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over Formation & Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox 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 beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like him – function on a plane beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then discard them for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.