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Transpired he could survive a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides in living memory. He could survive home defeats to West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, the tactical inflexibility, undermining some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship campaign, the coach came at the executive and appears to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers will notice the irony here: a manager who frequently berated his squad for losing one-on-one duels crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of one of England's top division's most intimidating football executives.

In truth, this entire painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been easy, given his brief stint in a similar role with the Saints, to view him as little more than a functionary in the United exoskeleton: an individual whose appointment was due as much to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any verifiable talent. How wrong we all were. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring United’s feted manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's mid-table rivals are now rightly wary.

A Strategic Clash Over System & Philosophy

For example, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the 3-4-3 fundamentalist Amorim in the first place, played a key role in attempting to convince Amorim to ditch his beloved formation. Naturally, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered from the mouth of a man the unimpeachable football pedigree of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he might agree to explain his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked regarding why the coach is departing with a full payout, with no compensation reduction clause activated. The director seldom speaks in public, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers in football – men like him – function at a level beyond our own prosaic understanding. Were he to speak, probably we would perceive would be high-frequency signals and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

But of course, in training our focus on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, merely executing the commands of his ultimate line manager the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his desire for a four-man defense. According to reports, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. 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 United’s style of play “will be decided in this room”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is a specialist in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Above all he is immensely wealthy, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more insightful, more wise, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else would you trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the construction of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The Modern Football Order: Directors Above Managers

This represents a shift that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with ideas and energy to join a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? How many mass redundancies have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with the jaw-dropping professional resumes. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to delivery personnel: not really creating the food, but still ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative of the operation, the public face for a club they have minimal power to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into Europe and wins domestic cups, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while those individuals who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Coaches

And perhaps in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can always be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to fire him for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and then discard him for requiring excessive time. And above all show gratitude; for the incremental season ticket price rises, for your new player acquisitions, for the fact that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.