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Transpired he endured losing against Grimsby. Survive an important European final versus a particularly poor Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive losing at home to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's most promising homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight right-back during Blackburn Rovers' championship campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated his squad for failing in one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the intense pressure and animal charisma 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, given his nine months of experience with the Saints, to regard him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated head coach, just as he bested the hapless a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that United’s competitors will now be rightly wary.

The Strategic Clash Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives carry more weight when issued from the mouth with the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of three England caps and a role in a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise regarding why the coach is departing with full compensation, with no penalty clause in place. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – men like Jason Wilcox – function at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being prepared to receive.

An Ultimate Power In Command

But of course, 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, simply carrying out the directives of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit early in his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals 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. Who else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of austerity, the building of a new stadium that looks a lot like an abstract design, the acquisition of a new striker?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who can tailor their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not creating the product, yet finally accountable should it be delivered cold or fails to meet standards.

In the meantime, their job has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about marketing it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who appointed him live to blunder another day.

The Neoliberal Game: Accountability for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this represents neoliberalism at work: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose choices remain untouchable, whose errors can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for playing too much 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and later bin him for taking excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.