Why Man Utd's Plan to Play Midweek Friendly Games Is a Stupid Idea

While Europe’s biggest and best stadiums welcomed the Champions League for another visit, Old Trafford sat empty. The lights were on, almost as a show of defiance, but there were no glittery starballs or rousing anthems on the opening night of the competition this season. The Champions League is skipping past Manchester United this time.

Whether you reveled or reeled in United’s demise under David Moyes last term, there is an undeniable surreality about England’s most successful club’s omission from Europe’s top tier this season.

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When Gianni Infantino drew the balls from the hat last month to decide who would face who in the Champions League group stages there were probably still a few who scanned the team list for Manchester United, just to double check that last season actually happened.

United’s players have a lot of spare time on their hands this season. Tuesday and Wednesday nights for Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie et al are about the Great British Bake Off as much as they are about top-level European competition.

But the implications of not being in Europe this season are huge for Man Utd. Although the club has just announced a record annual revenue of £433.2 million, with profits of £23.8 million, it is thought that United’s absence from the Champions League this season could hit that figure by as much as 10 percent.

And that’s just when factoring in the immediate impact of losing out on Champions League broadcast revenue and ticket sales. Should United miss out on qualification for a second successive season, the club’s entire commercial program would bear the brunt.

The brand that United sells to its countless commercial partners and sponsors is one of success. In fact, the club’s name itself has become a by-word for footballing success, especially in wider global markets.

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United are the New York Yankees of the Premier League (the two teams even had a partnership at the turn of the century). Their identity is instantly recognizable around the world as a badge of supremacy, even if only hardcore fans know what their last score was.

But such a selling point would become unsustainable with a prolonged absence from the Champions League.

New kit suppliers from next season, Adidas have even reportedly had a clause written into their contract with the Old Trafford club that should they miss out on the Champions League, the annual fee of £75 million they receive will drop by more than £20 million.

And so United chiefs have turned their thinking towards ways of making up for the lack of Champions League football, with the club reportedly considering playing midweek friendlies abroad.

“That’s something we continue to look at,” said Man Utd’s managing director Richard Arnold as per the Guardian, “as always making sure that the preparations we do on the pitch come first.

“For many of our (pre-season) international tours there is a plan to ensure we get that team building that goes together with getting the team altogether in one place. That’s something that’s being looked at with regards to the future with Louis (Van Gaal).”

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The benefit of such a proposal to the likes of Arnold is obvious. United pulled in hundreds of thousands of fans to their games across America over the summer (including over 100,000 to just one match against Real Madrid in Michigan).

The attraction of more games played in more locations, therefore attracting more fans and thus ticket sales, could be a difficult one for United to ignore, even if such a concept would turn the club into football’s equivalent of the Harlem Globetrotters.

But by playing midweek friendly matches Man Utd would be neglecting and eliminating the one benefit that comes from not being involved in the Champions League.

While Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all have at least six extra games to squeeze into their already packed schedule before Christmas, United will be afforded generous rest and recovery time in between Premier League games.

United don’t have far to look for precedent on how an absence from the Champions League can boost domestic performance, with Liverpool coming within three points of the title last season despite no European involvement whatsoever.

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Apart from anything else, how would Van Gaal react to his squad being uprooted halfway across the globe for the purposes of a glorified marketing exercise? Remember, the Dutchman criticized the way the club’s pre-season schedule had been dictated by “commercial activities” in the summer.

“You have to travel distances, you have to fly a lot, you also have jetlag,” Van Gaal protested, as per Mark Ogden of the Telegraph. “That is not very positive for a good preparation.”

Up until now, Man Utd’s footballing and commercial operations under the control of the Glazer family have always aligned. But now there is a fragmentation there and one will need to take precedence over the other.

The decision taken over midweek friendlies will be suggestive of whether those in charge at the club see Manchester United as a football team or a brand.