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Transpired he was able to withstand losing against lower-league opposition. Survive losing a crucial continental showpiece against a particularly poor Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling the squad the poorest in Manchester United history. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to dance. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership right-back during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning campaign, Amorim came at the executive and appears to have failed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and formidable presence of one of the Premier League’s most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint the director in a whole new light. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience with the Saints, to view Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual who owed his position largely to his friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outsmarting United’s feted manager, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding System and Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. However, such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually Jason Wilcox might agree to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any penalty clause activated. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like him – function on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not quite equivalent to being ready to receive.

The Ultimate Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we are obscuring the real power behind the modern United throne. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also suggested deploying the forward as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for United to embrace analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, during a leadership summit soon after his minority ownership, he declared that the team's approach of play “will be determined by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his previous experience in industry and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The New Soccer Order: Executives Above Coaches

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, 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 established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it rightly belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not really responsible for the product, but still finally accountable if it arrives cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly less about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into Europe and secures domestic cups, and effectively gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy sees his standing damaged whereas the people who hired him continue to make errors another day.

The Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Few

And possibly in a small way this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a gilded overclass who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain sacrosanct, whose errors can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Hire the 3-4-3 coach and then fire him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and later bin them for taking excessive time. And most importantly show gratitude; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.