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Tbecame clear he could survive a loss to Grimsby. Survive an important European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have missed. The most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given 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 who owed his position as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over Formation & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. 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 back four. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach of play “will be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Order: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later bin them for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.