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Itranspired he endured defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for losing individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, it was the director who having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree 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, without any compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly 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 two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his reputation ruined while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.