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Tbecame clear he could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive a decisive European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Regarding Formation and Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of a new striker?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority 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 someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to dismiss him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later discard him for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.