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Turns out he could survive losing against Grimsby. Survive a decisive continental showpiece against one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, labeling the squad the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed one adversary against whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to dance. If you challenge the sporting director, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a top-flight defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, Amorim came at Jason Wilcox and appears to have failed. The most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who frequently berated at his players for losing individual battles crumbling in the face of the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most feared football executives.

In truth, this whole bruising episode appears to portray the director in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his brief stint of experience at Southampton, to regard him as little more than a functionary within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with his former boss Omar Berrada rather than any demonstrable skill. How wrong everyone was. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, he has proved himself as one of football's strategic masterminds: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Conflict Regarding Formation & Ideology

For example, it was the director who having been part of the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate Amorim in the first place, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his favored formation. Naturally, these entreaties met a certain resistance. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued by a man of a man the impeccable soccer background of Jason Wilcox, holder of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Maybe eventually he might agree to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is walking away with full compensation, with no penalty clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, for excellent reasons. The true intellectuals of this sport – individuals such as him – simply operate at a level exceeding our mundane comprehension. Were he to speak, most likely all we would hear would be high-frequency signals and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being ready to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Authority In Command

But of course, by focusing our attention on Jason Wilcox we are obscuring the real power behind the club's current leadership. Jason Wilcox is, after all, simply carrying out the directives of his superior the billionaire owner, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. According to reports, Ratcliffe has also proposed playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to embrace analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach of play “shall be decided by this group”.

Ultimately, Sir Jim is an expert in these intricate football matters, drawing from his background in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, more tactically astute, simply superior. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the building of a modern arena that looks similar to an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A New Football Hierarchy: Directors Above Coaches

This is a trend that is becoming prevalent in top-tier football. Historically, clubs foolishly delegated big footballing decisions to low-level employees like managers, scouts – players themselves. Perhaps it was once possible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and drive to join an organization and implement their plan through to completion. But how many companies have these guys established? What number of mass redundancies have they managed? Better by far to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with impressive LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint a coach who will adapt their methods accordingly. If managers were once chefs, they are now more akin to delivery personnel: not responsible for the product, but still finally accountable should it be delivered cold or leaks out to meet standards.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become less about defining the vision and more about selling it: the receptionist on the front desk, the public face for a club they can do little to change. A coach at Chelsea leads a team of literal children into the Champions League and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially gets sacked for talking. Wilfried Nancy sees his reputation ruined while the people who appointed him live to blunder indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Responsibility Only for the Coaches

And possibly in a small way this represents corporate governance in action: the elevation of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the system coach and then fire them for using excessively that system. Bring in the process guy and later discard him for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for the incremental increases in ticket costs, for the latest summer signings, for the fact that the adults – however well qualified – are in charge.