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Transpired he endured losing against lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with 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 right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Tactical Clash Regarding Formation and Philosophy

For example, it was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties faced pushback. However, such directives hold greater authority when delivered from the mouth 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.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not the same as being ready to receive.

An Ultimate Authority 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 directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has emphasized his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the rich are superior: more insightful, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Whom else could one trust to manage an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to go into an organization and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the food, but still finally accountable 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 for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss them for playing too much that system. Hire the project manager and later discard him for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.