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Iturns out he could survive losing against lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial European final versus one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. You come at Jason Wilcox, 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 failed. The most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed his squad for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man who owed his position as much to his friendship with his former boss Omar Berrada as any verifiable talent. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting the club's celebrated head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive before him, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's true generals: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Over System & Ideology

For example, it was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the hierarchy that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince him to ditch his favored formation. Unsurprisingly, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when issued by a man with the unimpeachable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he might agree to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day he might be asked regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, with no penalty clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Power Behind Command

Naturally, in training our focus on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and analytics. Per reports, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he declared that United’s style to football “shall be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Soccer Order: Executives Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees like managers, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and drive to go into a club and see their vision through to completion. Yet how many companies have these guys set up? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the food, but still ultimately answerable if it arrives 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 receptionist of the operation, 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 wins two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply neoliberalism in action: the rise of a privileged overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach only to dismiss them for using too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.