Originally posted by Sir X
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For anyone interested in understanding why this imbecile's assertion that Manu is the "model" for his asinine "more with less" theory, which he attributes to Manu's rise to dominance in the 1990s, understand that history paints a very different picture. Even when Liverpool was tearing up the top flight, Manu was generating more revenues and spending more, with a few notable exception years.
As much as I hate to say it, Manu has "always" been a bigger club than LFC.
In the 1960s, Matt Busby took on unprecedented spending after the Munich tragedy, buying Denis Law for the insane price of £115,000 and made many £30,000+ purchases. That team went on to win the European Cup - the first English side to do so.
While the 70s and 80s unquestionably belonged to Liverpool, Manu** (due to LFC's boardroom incompetence) remained the bigger club. They had a much bigger fan base and much bigger stadium. In those days, TV money was not like it is now.
With the onset of the 1990s, and the Ferguson era, there are some important FACTS to note that refute the ridiculous notion that the Forum's Resident Jackass's "more with less" theory is trying to assert.
First: when Ferguson took over the club, the club went into huge debt to acquire players like Paul Ince, Mike Phelan, Gary Pallister and several others. It was this team that nearly got Ferguson fired, because they took longer than expected to bring expected results.
Second: Manu**'s owner at the time out maneuvered the rest of the Premier League with very clever executive recruiting. These guys knew what the hell they were doing. They capitalized on the club's enormous notoriety (being enhanced by the minute with satellite TV) and transformed the club into a global brand. They put the Manu** label on EVERYTHING. Soda, wine, champagne, beer, candy...you name it, they slapped their ugly face on it. Making money from merchandising and branding was sensibly a lot more stable income than depending on winning. They also expanded into Asia attracting untold millions of fans in China craving Premier League football.
Third: Manu** uprgraded their stadium. It is still the largest football stadium in the Prem. That increased match day revenues significantly.
Fourth: They went public. Manu**'s profitability, brand equity, and growth prospects were behind a very successful public offering raising several million, further stabilizing the club.
Fifth: Partnerships and diversification. They did big deals with Sharp, BSkyB, cellular giant Orange (I may be wrong on that one), BBC etc. etc. plus launching their own MUTV channel.
The bottom line is that Manu** was by FAR England's most profitable club at the onslaught of the Premier League, profitability that they used to amass significant debt that the club ploughed back into acquisitions, e.g. Cantona, Keane, Dion Dublin (remember him), Beckham, Yorke, Andy Cole, Soljskaer were all acquisitions that cost a PILE of money in the 1990s. And that spending went on into the 2000s - Rio Ferdinand was the most expensive defender in the world (him or Thuram).
That was not "more with less" my friends. Their transfers were record-breaking year over year. Their transformation to dominance was built on a combination of luck, tiefin (ask Howard Webb), good coaching (vomit, spit, fart), smart acquisitions all on the back of a solid financial foundation that allowed them to spend a BUCKET LOAD!
Of course, this model is now defunct. Chelsea and City have changed the stakes...they don't have a business model that requires debt repayment. Manu** and the rest of the Premier League do. But clubs are getting more solid financially with their own TV channels, stadium upgrades, and increasing shares of record TV deals as the Premier League becomes a globally dominant brand. At the end of the day, the way to amass silverware in the modern game is almost 100% linked to wage bill and squad value. If you don't have the money to get there, you are fkd, or you are Everton.
As much as it pains me to say it, Manu** beat LFC on and off the field. They bought better players, had a better manager, and commercialized their brand in a way that LFC still can't match. FSG are only now realising after years of cautious farting around, that we can't get to dominance without getting serious in the transfer market. Breaking the transfer record for a keeper and a defender is not a sign of "more with less" but "more with more" ... more(better) players with more (money - whether it be debt or equity matters not).
There. Class dismissed. X - please leave the dunce cap on your chair. I'm sure you will be needing it tomorrow.
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