Introduction
Manchester United FC abbreviated MUFC, is a globally recognized football corporation currently privately owned by the Glazer family. Since its incorporation, this football club has performed tremendously well with respect to profit generation, governance, and ownership structures, besides meeting the different expectations of the club’s stakeholders.
This paper employs the VRIN framework to analyze the competitive advantage that MUFC has over other premier league clubs. The framework shows how MUFC has been able to flourish despite the escalating debt burdens that this football club is yet to offset.
Analyzing IKEA internal operations using VRIN tool
Valuable: According to Pearce (2010), the strengths of MUFC currently instigates from the distinctive resourcing, compactly directed logistics, along with inimitable blueprint aptitudes. The football club offers quality products and services namely players, stadia, managers, self-professed supporters, and lavish football patterns that are unique enough to give it global recognition as well as secure long-term financial resources and support.
This strength has ensured that MUFC dominates the English premier league industry and steadily increases the market share in most countries including South East Asia (Pyle, 2010). Amongst the biggest football clubs in Europe, MUFC is ranked third after Barcelona FC and Real Madrid with respect to turnovers.
Besides, MUFC has performed constantly well in the English premier league winning eighteen premier league titles similar to those won by Liverpool. The football club reached two champions league final in the fiscal 2008 and 2009, but won the title in 2008. Most key players have longed to play for MUFC due to its remarkable performance and the never giving up spirit of the players (Pyle, 2010).
Rare: Throughout the English premier league history, MUFC has been able to produce new designs of stadia, managers, loyal supporters, and players besides offering quality products to other rival football clubs. In fact, MUFC is the only player in the English football industry that has been able to offer a variety of designs to the wide football consumer base found across the world (Conn, 1997).
For instance, MUFC is the largest football club in England with a stadium capacity of 75,691. Compared to the premiership rival clubs such Arsenal and Chelsea, MUFC offers the cheapest football match tickets allowing the club to be filled to its capacity in nearly all matches. It is rare to find other English premier league clubs having the longest waiting lists for the match season tickets as is the case with MUFC (Bond, 2010).
On the side of playing, clubs such as Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea have been making massive investments in football, yet these have not deterred MUFC from deriving massive successes from football. For example, MUFC accomplished its premiership league titles hat trick in the fiscal 2009 besides reaching two finals in the European Champions League in 2008 and 2009.
MUFC generated massive returns from the sale of Christian Ronaldo, the world’s most expensive player, and bought stars players including Michael Owen, Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov, and Owen Hargreaves (Pyle, 2010). Besides the new signings, MUFC retains most of it key players such Ryans Giggs, Paul Scholes, Ferdinand, Fletcher, and Patrick Evra all of whom receive hefty salaries.
Finally, MUFC has hard dying fans and supporters who want to oversee how the football club is managed and the ownership structure (Stone, 2006).
Inimitable: As activities of value chain suggest, MUFC has a strong relationship with all its stakeholders namely players, financial supporters, managers, FIFA, UEFA, and fans starting from the premiership products offered to the services given. Most of the Premier League, FA, Carling Cup, Community Shield, and European Champions League competitors found in the football industry lag behind MUFC in terms of loyalty and global supporters only know a few football clubs that surface.
In fact, MUFC enjoys global recognition due to its ability to offer typical, but stylish football players and stars, stadia, managers, fans, financial supporters, low priced match tickets, and lavish football patterns with a sense of differing consumer needs (Bose, 2007).
MUFC operations, sales, and marketing strategies are also inimitable. This football club has continued to expand and increase its stakeholder’s base across all market segments including Africa, Europe, Asia, and America. MUFC is the only club in the English Premier Industry to attract supporter across the world without changing the original concept of management (Pyle, 2010).
This has been accomplished via creating inimitable merchandise designs founded on revered perseverance. MUFC has developed a durable partnership with football agencies and players most of whom are located in regions where MUFC wants to get players. Finally, MUFC has a pool of experienced managers including Sir Alex Fergusson, David Gill amongst others who spearhead the global development of MUFC brand.
Non-Substitutable: The iconic aspect of self-assembly emphasized at MUFC is more of an imagination. The developments that have led to this football club’s achievement have taken years and the whole commitment of MUFC corporate leaders and other stakeholders.
Even if, other competitors found in the English Premier League industry tried to imitate the management and football approach employed by this football club, they will not only invest costly in building trust with stakeholders, but must do better than MUFC to dissolve the recognition the company has gained (Bond, 2010).
Conclusion
Despite the presence and stringent competition from various English premier league clubs, MUFC materializes to be the most flourishing and illustrious UK football club. Compared to arch rivals namely Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City, MUFC won its nineteenth premier league title in the fiscal 2009 among other trophies and financial returns. All the success attributes that give MUFC a competitive edge against its competitors are apparent in the inimitable, non-substitutable, valuable, and rare products and services.
Works Cited
Bond, David. “Manchester United Owners Hit by Debt Payment Rise”. BBC Sport, British Broadcasting Corporation, 2010.
Bose, Mihir. Manchester Disunited Trouble and Takeover at the World’s Richest Football Club, London: Aurum Press, 2007.
Conn, David. The Football Business: The Modern Football Classic, Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, 1997.
Pearce, James. “Old Trafford under the Spotlight”. BBC Sport, London: British Broadcasting Corporation Press, 2010.
Pyle, Steve. Manchester United FC: Continuing Success but at What Cost? Case Study, London: Sage Publication, 2010.
Stone, Simon. “Three more Glazer Siblings to Join United Board”. The Guardian, London: Guardian News and Media, 2006.