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Iturns out he was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight right-back in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Over System and Philosophy

For example, this was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Wanting is not quite the same as being ready to comprehend it.

An Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the commands of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in industry and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be sacked away without justification. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later bin him for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.