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Itbecame clear he was able to withstand a loss to Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering the team's best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. The most casual observer will notice the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Over Formation & Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority Behind Command

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and yachting. Above all he remains immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the rich are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Soccer Order: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many companies have these guys established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and hire a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And perhaps in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using too much that system. Bring in the project manager and later discard them for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.