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Itbecame clear the manager was able to withstand losing against Grimsby. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Tottenham teams for many years. He withstood home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. Even the most casual observer will notice the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing individual battles crumbling when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of one of England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, based on his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: a man whose appointment was due largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which United’s competitors are now rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Regarding System & Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to abandon his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox may be persuaded to explain his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally superior. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the acquisition of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Order: Executives Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels of the game. Historically, teams mistakenly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who can tailor their methods accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without explanation. Hire the system coach and then dismiss them for using excessively 3-4-3. Hire the process guy and then bin him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – are in charge.