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Transpired the manager was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important European final against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to regard him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Regarding System & Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Authority Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical football matters, leveraging his background in industry and sailing. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of 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 individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not creating the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and later discard him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.