Amorim's Critical Mistake? Challenging Wilcox and the Infallible Leadership Tier

Turns out he could survive losing against Grimsby. He weathered losing a crucial continental showpiece versus one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He withstood losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, a lowly league position, his rigid approach, undermining the team's most promising academy products, a poor winning percentage, labeling his team the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach would not be allowed to engage. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

In truth, this whole painful saga seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on his nine months in a similar role at Southampton, to view him as merely a drudge within the club's structure: an individual whose appointment was due largely to his friendship with his former boss a fellow executive as any demonstrable skill. How mistaken we all were. In brilliantly outsmarting United’s feted head coach, just as he bested the unfortunate a previous executive before him, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals will now be justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System and Ideology

For example, it was the director who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach in the first place, played a key role in trying to persuade Amorim to ditch his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these pleas were resisted. However, these judgements hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, holder of three England caps and a contributor to a title-winning side decades past.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to outline his thought processes to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point he might be asked why Amorim is departing with a full payout, without any compensation reduction clause in place. The director speaks rarely publicly, for excellent reasons. The real thinkers of this sport – men like Jason Wilcox – simply operate at a level beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Wanting is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

An Ultimate Power Behind the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we overlook the real power behind the modern United throne. The director is, in reality, merely executing the commands of his ultimate superior the billionaire owner, who in private has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “will be determined by this group”.

After all, Sir Jim is an expert in this technical footballing stuff, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and sailing. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the wealthy are the best of us: more insightful, more wise, more tactically astute, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

The Modern Football Order: Executives Over Coaches

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, teams mistakenly delegated major sporting choices to low-level employees such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Maybe previously feasible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to invest the real power where it belongs: the executive class, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to determine the strategy in the boardroom and hire someone who will adapt their methods to suit. If managers were formerly chefs, they have become more like delivery personnel: not really responsible for the food, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or leaks out of the box.

Nowadays, a coach's role is increasingly not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his standing damaged while those individuals who hired him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Few

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the rise of a privileged elite who are infallible, whose choices are always sacrosanct, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without justification. Hire the system coach only to dismiss him for using too much that system. Hire the project manager and then bin him for taking too long. And above all show gratitude; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.