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Tbecame clear the manager could survive defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece versus a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering the team's most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, Amorim took on Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for losing one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole painful saga appears to portray the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of three England caps and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Ultimate Authority In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach to football “shall be decided by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, more wise, more tactically astute, simply better. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to decide the strategy by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become less about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they have minimal power to change. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and effectively gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss them for using too much that system. Hire the process guy and later bin them for taking excessive time. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.