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Transpired the manager was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. Survive an important European final against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to engage. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at the executive and seems to have missed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's competitors will now be justifiably concerned.

A Tactical Conflict Over Formation & Philosophy

To illustrate, this was the director who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when delivered by a man with the unimpeachable football pedigree he possesses, holder of international appearances 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 walking away with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause in place. The director seldom speaks publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Authority Behind Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. The director is, after all, merely executing the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has emphasized his desire for a four-man defense. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate footballing stuff, leveraging his previous experience in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, simply superior. Who else would you trust to oversee a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a new stadium that appears similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Hierarchy: Directors Above Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and see their vision through to completion. But how many companies have such individuals set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If coaches were once chefs, they are now more like delivery personnel: not really creating the product, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or fails of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of literal children into the Champions League and wins domestic cups, and essentially is dismissed for talking. A manager at Celtic finds his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

A Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded elite who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the project manager and later discard him for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.