Manchester United’s season may be going from bad to worse, but at least they head the ‘likes’ league for English clubs on Facebook. This may seem scant consolation, but the way in which they have brand recognition and a big followership across the globe helps to explain the success of United’s commercial operation.
Manchester United’s season may be going from bad to worse, but at least they head the ‘likes’ league for English clubs on Facebook. This may seem scant consolation, but the way in which they have brand recognition and a big followership across the globe helps to explain the success of United’s commercial operation.
Of course, some of those followers may turn out to be very fickle if the club is no longer successful, but United can ride out one poor season without there being much effect on their global support base and then rebuild in the summer. A second poor season might be more challenging, although the club’s sponsorship contracts are generally long term.
With 43.7 million likes they have more followers than the combined figures for the league clubs ranked 4th to 92nd. Rooted at the bottom of the Football League, Torquay United are also bottom of the ‘likes’ table with 742 which is about one quarter of their average attendance. In contrast 581 times as many people have ‘liked’ United as turn up at Old Trafford for matches.
The ratio of the second place club, Chelsea, of likes (25.3 million) to spectators is even higher at 620. By the time one gets to the eighth club on the list, Newcastle United, the ratio is 20 to 1. Arsenal have 22 million likes, Liverpool 16.7 million, Tottenham Hotspur 4.5 million and Aston Villa 1.8 million.