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Iturns out he endured losing against Grimsby. He weathered a decisive European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who frequently berated at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given 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 who owed his position largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over System and Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, 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 explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority Behind Command

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and analytics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Order: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and hire someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, yet ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss him for using too much that system. Hire the process guy and later 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 grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.