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Transpired the manager was able to withstand a loss to lower-league opposition. He weathered losing a crucial European final against one of the worst Tottenham teams in living memory. He could survive losing at home against domestic rivals, finishing 15th, his rigid approach, squandering the team's best homegrown talent, the 32% win rate, calling the squad the poorest the club has ever seen. Yet, there existed a single opponent with whom the Portuguese coach was not permitted to tango. If you challenge Jason Wilcox, and you best not miss.

Regrettably, like many a Premiership defender in Blackburn’s championship 1994-95 season, the coach came at the executive and seems to have missed. Even the most distracted of readers can see the paradoxical situation: a coach who often railed at his players for failing in individual battles crumbling when confronted by the white heat and animal charisma of a England's top division's most intimidating sporting directors.

In truth, this entire bruising episode seems to paint Jason Wilcox in a different perspective. Perhaps it might have been tempting, based on 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 friendship with ex-colleague Omar Berrada as any demonstrable skill. How wrong we all were. By masterfully outmanoeuvring the club's celebrated manager, just as he bested the unfortunate Dan Ashworth before him, Jason Wilcox has demonstrated to be among the sport’s true generals: a strategic mind of which the club's mid-table rivals are now justifiably concerned.

A Strategic Clash Regarding System & Philosophy

For example, it was Jason Wilcox , after being involved in the leadership that hired the rigid 3-4-3 advocate the coach originally, was instrumental in attempting to convince Amorim to abandon his beloved 3-4-3. Unsurprisingly, these entreaties were resisted. But perhaps such directives hold greater authority when issued from the mouth with the impeccable football pedigree he possesses, a veteran of international appearances and a contributor to a championship team decades past.

Perhaps in time Jason Wilcox might agree to explain his reasoning publicly. Perhaps at some point questions may arise why Amorim is departing with full compensation, without any compensation reduction clause in place. But Jason Wilcox speaks rarely publicly, and with very good reason. The true intellectuals in football – individuals such as him – simply operate on a plane exceeding our mundane comprehension. If he ever did speak, most likely all we would hear is a series of ultrasonic blips and complex calculations. Desiring an explanation is not quite the same as being prepared to receive.

The Supreme Authority 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. The director is, in reality, simply carrying out the directives of his line manager the billionaire owner, who privately has emphasized his preference for a back four. According to reports, the owner has also suggested deploying the forward in a wing-back role. Ratcliffe is keen for the club to adopt analytics and metrics. Per reports, in an executive meeting soon after his minority ownership, he announced that the team's approach of play “shall be determined in this room”.

After all, Ratcliffe is an expert in this technical football matters, drawing from his previous experience in petrochemicals and yachting. Most importantly he is immensely wealthy, and it is known, the rich are superior: more perceptive, sagacious, strategically brilliant, fundamentally better. Whom else could one trust to manage a strategic plan of austerity, the building of a modern arena that appears a lot like an abstract design, the signing of a new striker?

The New Football Order: Executives Over Managers

This is a trend we are increasingly seeing at the elite levels football. For decades, clubs foolishly delegated major sporting choices to subordinate staff such as coaches, scouts – even footballers. Maybe previously feasible for an up-and-coming, innovative manager with a philosophy and energy to join an organization and implement their plan supported to fruition. Yet how many businesses have such individuals established? What number of large-scale layoffs have they managed? Far preferable to place genuine authority where it belongs: the leadership tier, the casually dressed executives, the individuals with impressive LinkedIn profiles. It is wiser to decide the strategy in the boardroom and appoint someone who will adapt their offering accordingly. If coaches were formerly chefs, they have become more akin to Deliveroo drivers: not really creating the food, yet ultimately answerable should it be delivered cold or leaks out of the box.

In the meantime, a coach's role has become not about crafting the philosophy and more about selling it: the receptionist of the operation, the public face of an organisation they can do little to influence. Enzo Maresca takes a squad of very young players into the Champions League and wins two medium-sized trophies, and effectively is dismissed for speaking out. A manager at Celtic sees his reputation ruined whereas the people who appointed him continue to make errors indefinitely.

The Neoliberal Football: Accountability Only for the Coaches

And possibly on some microcosmic level this represents corporate governance in action: the rise of a gilded overclass who are infallible, whose decisions are always sacrosanct, whose errors can always be sacked away without explanation. Appoint the 3-4-3 coach and then fire them for playing excessively that system. Hire the process guy and then bin him for taking excessive time. And above all be grateful; for your modest season ticket price rises, for the latest player acquisitions, for the fact that the adults – regardless of their expertise – remain in control.