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Transpired he could survive losing against lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive European final against a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Over System & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really creating the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the system coach only to fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.