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Itbecame clear the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He withstood losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, laying waste to some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. The most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a manager who often railed at his players for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this whole bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox 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 whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the hapless a previous executive earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect of which United’s mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Ideology

For example, this was the director , after being involved in the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas faced pushback. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued by a man with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority In the Throne

Naturally, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that United’s style of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Over Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, teams mistakenly entrusted major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals set up? What number of mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really responsible for the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into Europe and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a gilded elite who can never be wrong, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach only to fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin him for taking too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – however well qualified – remain in control.