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Transpired the manager was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s most promising academy products, the 32% win rate, calling his team the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the irony here: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding Formation and Philosophy

For example, this was the director , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the impeccable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, without any penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Power Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the true genius behind the modern United throne. The director is, after all, merely executing the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that United’s style to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Whom else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A New Football Order: Directors Above Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and energy to go into an organization and see their vision supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If managers were once chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, their job is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for talking. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.