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Iturns out he was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. Survive an important European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering the team's most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Over System and Ideology

For example, it was the director , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to receive.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails of the box.

In the meantime, their job has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.