June 9th 2011 I will remember.
Trips are not really my cup of tea but this was meant to be no ordinary outing. All my life the red dream was a painted picture in my head, not today! As I sped along to the pickup point, I felt a deep chill down my spine; perhaps it was cold or maybe just overwhelming reality. I was all suited up err shirted up for the occasion with a false ten on my back. Baguette in one hand, coffee in the other and I was ready to hit the road. Curtains were about to be raised on the Theatre of Dreams in just over two hours.
Trending
The journey was overridden with sheer anxiety and I was trying my best to sidestep it , engaging in some footie chatter with friends. The arguments were rife – Ashley Young worth the money when the team has enough quality in that area of the pitch? Berba + 20 mill cash deal for midfield maestro Luca Modric considering age and contracts? Well, the rumour mill was certainly in full throttle with whispers doing the rounds that Phil Jones had failed a medical and that Samir Nasri was making the right noises. To throw things into perspective, it was just reminiscent of another sport class – starting from business but ending with gossip before being straightened out. What’s a world without these little joys of life where one breathes and lives sport? The bus driver suddenly caught our attention stating that we were not too far off and pointing to the fact that Old Trafford was in Salford and not Manchester! Strange but justified by the fact that the club kept its proud history and heritage from the Newton Heath days.
The moment had finally arrived as we disembarked into an aura of sheer invincibility. The nostalgia was past perfect – the Munich Tunnel sent out a loud and clear message that the Busby Babes were etched in minds and hearts of all forever.
We made our way to the interiors of the stadium rather flustered by the surroundings and the professionalism at hand in guiding us around. The first stop was the Red Café with muffins and hot chocolate favourites while we took our places on our favourite player’s seats. Next up were the trophy cabinets on display and the sheer volume and variety were truly inspiring – not least surprising. The banners and photo frames were captivating and brought back memories of the legends of yesteryears – the Charltons, the Cantonas and the Bests! Then there was the hologram version of Sir Alex Ferguson where he pledges being at the club forever amongst his other talkies. Notably, the museum had a collection of Giggsy specials , although the ‘Giggs tearing you apart since 1991’ escaped my attention :-). The next feature was a 3-D special on what it takes to become a ManUtd player and how the club differentiates in its training aspect making champions and giving itself a distinct competitive advantage. We were then shown the press conference areas before being let loose to the players’ locker rooms. Rather shamefacedly we literally wrecked havoc , picking our jerseys and flashing our cameras to no end. We posed filling in for the old man near the tactics board debating whether Rooney plays as trequartista , sole centre forward or perhaps left back for the upcoming season . It was then time to enter the tunnel which brought back the Gary Neville and Peter Schmeichel (playing for City at the time) handshake moment right before hitting the pitch. The lush greens breathed fresh air into our already highly intimidated selves. The enormity of the stadium was staggering which left us only imagining the match day atmosphere.
Well the intention of the trip was of course to have some fun but also to have a sneak peek into what goes behind the scenes in the operations of the club. The staff were very warm and welcoming and always up for an engaging discussion. We were told that the vision was to be the best football club in the world both on and off the pitch. The values were best represented by the acronym:
U – United with their fans in their commitment and passion for the club
N – Non Discriminatory in making ManUtd accessible to all irrespective of age , gender, race and creed
I - Innovative in their ambition to be “first to the ball” at all times
T – Team- oriented in their desire to work together with dedication in every game.
E – Excelling in their aim to be world class in everything they do.
D – Determined to pursue success while being accountable for actions.
The business side of things was not as alarming as it’s made out to be. Agreed that the club has a debt to the tune of 490 million pounds but that is merely a third of their valuation(currently 1.4 billion pounds). The overall turnover of the club was around 8 million up in total from 2009. This was analysed between the major revenue generating streams comprising matchday, media and commercial. Matchday was down 8.6 million pounds due to the exit in the Champions League quarters last year as compared to the runners up position the previous year. This year’s appearance in the Champions League finals and FA cup semi’s augurs well for the club financially in this section. Media represented a growth of 5.1 million pounds on the backdrop of an overall growth in UCL distributions due to the start of a new 3 year contact. This year is likely to see the club rake more money since they were the only English club to make the Champions league final whereas their compatriots all lost out in the early knockout stage thus benefiting from a large slice of the performance pool cake for the FAPL clubs qualifying for the tournament. Commercial has seen the numbers rise by 11.5 million from the previous year. This was largely due to the additional sponsorship revenues generated and the tact in slowly but surely moving from 5 to 23 platinum sponsors. This years on field success is sure to drive the commercial sales to greater heights with sponsors wanting to be associated with a consistently successful brand which places them in the limelight. The future of the club looks bright with new and exciting players like Chicharito and Smalling grabbing the headlines with other young protégés such as Ravel Morrison and Paul Pogba working their way up their ranks at a tender age. The club engages well with their strategic partners, case in point being the constant spotlight on Fergie shouting instruction on the touchline, but what’s really hard to miss is the ALDI advertisement in the background. The club has been slow to react to the social media phenom but a foray into this aspect has seen them record the fastest growing sports page on Facebook apart from the legion of followers on Twitter. Multimedia is seen to have the largest scope in the overall growth and development plans of the club.
However, life is not a bed of roses and even the best have to overcome stumbling blocks in their pathway to success. On the pitch, the club faces increased competition for top footballing talent, bloated up player wages and sustainability of the popularity of the game. Off the pitch, the problems are compounded by substitutability of entertainment in the consumer markets, consolidation of sport manufacture and retail business and continued international development. Apart from the business side of things , the biggest question mark on every fans mind remains … Who next ?…For nearly half of their existence ,the club has been carried forward by two legendary managers in Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson but the period before and in between have been mostly days of gloom and doom . Also, the class of 92 has graduated to retirement homes leaving behind huge boots to be duly filled and quickly. Will generation next step up and take charge?
That was that as we made our way back to the bus for the long ride back to the Uni ,enlightened and enamored. Adieu OT, till we meet again!
Here’s to the woman who made it all possible – a big Thank You.
P.S: It came to be known that there is one Man City fan working at the club, legend has it he was desperate to see what a real trophy room looks like!
