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Tbecame clear the manager was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode appears to portray 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 regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox , 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 abandon his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued by a man with the impeccable 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 he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who can tailor their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss him for using excessively that system. Bring in the project manager and then bin him for requiring 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 – are in charge.