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Iturns out the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. He weathered a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, squandering the team's best academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach took on the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated at his players for losing one-on-one duels crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Clash Regarding Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, it was the director who having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued by a man of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being ready to receive.

The Supreme Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace data science and analytics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Hierarchy: Executives Above Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for using too much that system. Bring in the process guy and later bin him for taking too long. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.