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Transpired he could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see 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 a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this entire painful saga appears to portray the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over System & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Authority In Command

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for playing excessively that system. Bring in the project manager and later bin them for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.