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Turns out the manager was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing when confronted by the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most feared football executives.

In truth, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated as one of football's true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Clash Regarding System & Ideology

To illustrate, it was the director , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power In Command

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his background in industry and yachting. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom 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 acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Order: Executives Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan through to completion. Yet how many businesses have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply neoliberalism at work: the rise of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for using too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.