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Iturns out the manager was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. He weathered an important European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood home defeats to domestic rivals, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, undermining some of the club’s most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, similar to numerous top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, 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 crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been easy, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view him as little more than a drudge within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due as much to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that United’s competitors are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Clash Over System and Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Power Behind Command

Naturally, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical footballing stuff, drawing from his previous experience in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many companies have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to determine the tactics by the directors and hire a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the food, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic finds his reputation ruined whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later discard them for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.