By David Owen
December 11 – Not that there is any connection, but Manchester United’s latest Premier League woes have coincided with the installation of new display boards – “the largest, brightest and clearest pitch-side electronic boards in football,” the club says – at its Old Trafford base.
The boards were first used for the match against Everton on December 4, which the Red Devils lost to Bryan Oviedo’s late winner. United then slumped to their second home league defeat in four days last Saturday against Newcastle, by the same 1-0 scoreline.
This was the first time that the team – now managed by David Moyes, who succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson in July – had suffered back-to-back league defeats at Old Trafford since the end of the 2001-02 season.
Announcing installation of the boards last week, the club said the new system, which surrounds three sides of the pitch, would “make club messages crystal clear, both in the stadium and around the world on TV”.
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The pitch-side digital platform would be used to “connect the fans to the club digitally, not only linking to social media activities, but also communicating key information”.
The new system had, United said, been “specially positioned at pitch-side so that the view of fans inside the stadium will be unaffected, despite the panels being the largest in Europe.
“The crystal-clear quality will further develop the club’s strategy of single sponsor visibility, giving a premium and clean look whilst avoiding the need for jumbotrons or multiple displays within Old Trafford.”
Richard Arnold, group managing director, said: “The larger and clearer system gives us a wonderful stage to promote the work of the club and the Manchester United Foundation and to deliver greater value for our commercial partners. It allows us to stay ahead of the rapid developments in this space, particularly with regards to the improvements brought by HD and now 4k pictures.
“Being the first football club in Europe to install this system shows our commitment to continuously enhancing Old Trafford and maintaining its legendary status as one of the world’s best match-day venues.”
Arnold said the move was the first of a series of “innovative changes” planned.
After returning to winning ways against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday, United’s next opportunity to record a home Premier League victory in front of the new boards should come on December 21 when they are due to play West Ham.
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