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Iturns out he was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view him as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Over Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, this was the director , after being involved in the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Authority Behind Command

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided 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 it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Order: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, 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 have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League 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.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and later bin him for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.