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Itbecame clear the manager endured losing against lower-league opposition. Survive a decisive European final against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering the team's most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach 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 one of the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

And frankly, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Clash Over System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director , after having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – function at a level 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 the same as being ready to receive.

The Supreme Power Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for United to embrace analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “shall be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Soccer Order: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for playing too much that system. Hire the project manager and later bin him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.