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Turns out Ruben Amorim was able to withstand defeat by Grimsby. He weathered an important continental showpiece versus one of the worst Spurs sides for many years. He withstood losing at home to domestic rivals, finishing 15th, the tactical inflexibility, laying waste to the team's best homegrown talent, a poor winning percentage, calling his team the worst the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent against whom Ruben Amorim was not permitted to tango. You come at Jason Wilcox, you had better succeed.

Unfortunately, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s title-winning campaign, the coach came at Jason Wilcox and seems to have missed. Even the most casual observer will notice the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in one-on-one duels succumbing when confronted by the intense pressure and formidable presence of a England's top division's most feared sporting directors.

And frankly, this entire bruising episode appears to portray Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. It may have been tempting, given his nine months in a similar role with the Saints, to regard Jason Wilcox as merely a functionary within the club's structure: a man who owed his position largely to his close relationship with his former boss a fellow executive rather than any verifiable talent. How mistaken everyone was. In brilliantly outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the hapless Dan Ashworth earlier, he has demonstrated to be among the sport’s strategic masterminds: a tactical intellect that the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

The Strategic Conflict Regarding Formation & Ideology

To illustrate, this was Jason Wilcox who being involved in the hierarchy that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in trying to persuade Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Naturally, these entreaties faced pushback. But perhaps these judgements carry more weight when delivered by a man 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.

Maybe eventually he may be persuaded to outline his reasoning to the rest of us. Maybe one day he might be asked why Amorim is departing with full compensation, with no compensation reduction clause activated. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely in public, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals of this sport – men like him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our prosaic understanding. If he ever did speak, most likely we would perceive is a series of ultrasonic blips and four-dimensional whirring. Desiring an explanation is not equivalent to being prepared to comprehend it.

The Ultimate Power Behind Command

Naturally, 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 commands of his ultimate superior Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who privately has made very clear his preference for a four-man defense. It is reported, the owner has also suggested playing Bryan Mbeumo as a right wing-back. The owner is eager for the club to embrace data science and metrics. According to ESPN, in an executive meeting early in his investment, he declared that the team's approach to football “will be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is a specialist in these intricate footballing stuff, drawing from his background in industry and sailing. Most importantly he remains incredibly rich, and it is known, the wealthy are superior: more perceptive, more wise, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else would you trust to manage an enlightened programme of cost-cutting, the construction of a new stadium that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

A Modern Football Order: Directors Over Managers

This represents a shift we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels of the game. For decades, clubs foolishly entrusted major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, talent spotters – even footballers. Maybe previously possible for a young, visionary coach with a philosophy and energy to join a club and see their vision through to completion. But how many businesses have such individuals set up? How many large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to invest the real power where it belongs: the leadership tier, the open-necked shirt brigade, the guys with the jaw-dropping LinkedIn profiles. Better by far to decide the strategy by the directors and appoint someone who will adapt their offering to suit. If coaches were formerly chefs, they are now more like Deliveroo drivers: not responsible for the product, yet finally accountable if it arrives poorly or fails to meet standards.

Nowadays, a coach's role has become not about defining the vision and more about marketing it: the front-facing representative on the front desk, the visible figurehead for a club they can do little to change. Enzo Maresca leads a team of very young players into Europe and secures two medium-sized trophies, and essentially is dismissed for speaking out. Wilfried Nancy finds his standing damaged while the people who hired him continue to make errors indefinitely.

A Modern Corporate Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And perhaps on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance at work: the elevation of a privileged overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always untouchable, whose errors can invariably be sacked away without justification. Hire the 3-4-3 coach only to fire them for using excessively 3-4-3. Bring in the process guy and then bin them for requiring excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest increases in ticket costs, for your new player acquisitions, for the reality that the grownups – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.