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Itbecame clear the manager could survive defeat by Grimsby. Survive an important continental showpiece against one of the worst Tottenham teams for many years. He could survive losing at home against West Ham and Wolves, finishing 15th, an unwavering system, squandering some of the club’s best academy products, the 32% win rate, labeling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. But there was a single opponent against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. You come at the sporting director, you had better succeed.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender during Blackburn Rovers' title-winning 1994-95 season, the coach took on Jason Wilcox and appears to have missed. Even the most casual observer can see the irony here: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles succumbing in the face of the intense pressure and formidable presence of a the Premier League’s most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this whole painful saga appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a whole new light. Perhaps it might have been tempting, given his nine months of experience at Southampton, to view Jason Wilcox as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: an individual who owed his position largely to his close relationship with ex-colleague a fellow executive rather than any demonstrable skill. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has proved himself to be among football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind that the club's competitors will now be rightly wary.

A Tactical Conflict Regarding Formation & Ideology

For example, this was Jason Wilcox , after having been part of the leadership that appointed the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade him to abandon his favored 3-4-3. Naturally, these pleas met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives carry more weight when issued by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, a veteran of international appearances and a role in a championship team from 31 years ago.

Perhaps in time he may be persuaded to explain his thought processes publicly. Maybe one day questions may arise regarding why the coach is walking away with a full payout, without any penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox seldom speaks in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as Jason Wilcox – function on a plane beyond our own mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, probably all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Wanting is not quite equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power In the Throne

But of course, by focusing our attention on the sporting director we overlook the true genius behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, in reality, merely executing the directives of his ultimate line manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his desire for a back four. It is reported, Ratcliffe has also proposed deploying the forward as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt data science and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he announced that the team's approach to football “shall be determined by this group”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate football matters, leveraging his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and as we all know, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, simply better. Who else could one trust to oversee an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that looks a lot like someone’s leftover knitting, the signing of Benjamin Sesko?

A Modern Football Hierarchy: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier of the game. Historically, clubs foolishly entrusted big footballing decisions to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for a young, innovative manager with ideas and energy to go into a club and implement their plan supported to fruition. But how many businesses have such individuals established? How many large-scale layoffs have they overseen? Better by far to place the real power where it rightly belongs: the executive class, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to determine the tactics in the boardroom and appoint a coach who can tailor their offering accordingly. If coaches were once chefs, they have become more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable should it be delivered poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the receptionist on the front desk, the visible figurehead 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 domestic cups, and effectively is dismissed for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while those individuals who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Modern Corporate Game: Responsibility for the Few

And possibly in a small way this is simply corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged elite who can never be wrong, whose decisions remain untouchable, whose mistakes can invariably be resolved by sacking without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then dismiss him for playing too much that system. Hire the process guy and later bin him for requiring too long. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest summer signings, for the reality that the grownups – however well qualified – remain in control.