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Transpired he was able to withstand defeat by lower-league opposition. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive home defeats against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s most promising homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling his team the worst in Manchester United history. But there was one adversary with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, similar to numerous Premiership right-back in Blackburn’s title-winning 1994-95 season, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have failed. The most distracted of readers will notice the paradoxical situation: a manager who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this whole bruising episode seems to paint the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint in a similar role at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with ex-colleague a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, as he outmanoeuvred the unfortunate a previous executive earlier, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among football's true generals: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Regarding Formation & Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements carry more weight when issued by a man with the impeccable soccer background he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a title-winning side from 31 years ago.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause activated. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – individuals such as him – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear would be ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not the same as being prepared to comprehend it.

The Supreme Power 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, in reality, merely executing the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for United to adopt analytics and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his minority ownership, he announced that United’s style to football “will be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Ratcliffe is a specialist in this technical football matters, drawing from his background in industry and yachting. Above all he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally superior. Who else could one trust to oversee a strategic plan of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Over Coaches

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing in top-tier football. Historically, teams mistakenly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff like managers, talent spotters – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for a young, visionary coach with ideas and drive to go into a club and implement their plan through to completion. But how many businesses have these guys established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Better by far to invest genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. It is wiser to determine the tactics by the directors and hire someone who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were formerly chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not creating the product, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they have minimal power to influence. A coach at Chelsea takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and secures domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him live to blunder another day.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose choices are always untouchable, whose mistakes can always be sacked away without justification. Hire the system coach and then dismiss him for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the project manager and then discard him for requiring too long. And most importantly be grateful; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the reality that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.