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Tbecame clear he could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, laying waste to some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, 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 his squad for losing individual battles succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive before him, he has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind that United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Over Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, played a key role in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the unimpeachable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of three England caps and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain 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. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Authority Behind the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the directives of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to go into a club and see their vision supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals set up? What number of 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. It is wiser to decide the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin him for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – are in charge.