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Iturns out he could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed his squad for failing in individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over Formation and Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being ready to receive.

An Supreme Power In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many businesses have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, yet finally accountable if it arrives cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then fire them for playing excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.