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Turns out the manager could survive a loss to Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated 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 intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s mid-table rivals will now be rightly wary.

The Tactical Conflict Over Formation and Philosophy

For example, this was the director , after having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to outline his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In Command

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, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “shall be determined in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the rich are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the tactics by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not creating the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role is increasingly not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist 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 Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined 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 in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach and then dismiss him for playing excessively that system. Hire the project manager and then bin them for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.