Arnold Hails Memorable Tour

Group managing director Richard Arnold sits down with ManUtd.com to reflect on a highly successful pre-season trip to Asia and Australia as part of Tour 2013 presented by Aon…

We’ve just completed the first part of the club’s pre-season tour with a game in Stockholm still to come next week – how would you sum things up so far?
Everything has gone very well. These tours are always fantastic when it comes to team-bonding amongst the players and the staff and it’s been great to get to know David [Moyes] on the trip. I know everyone is pleased with how the training has been going which is the most important thing on these trips and, of course, the other thing the tours allow us to do is meet our fans across the world and, so far, on this tour we’ve been able to do that in Thailand, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. The reaction we’ve had has been great.

David Moyes commented the other day about how impressed he is by the meticulous level of detail that goes into the organisation of the trip – that’s something that’s vital to the trip being a success isn’t it?
Absolutely. A lot of time and effort goes into organising it and it’s a very important part of the season. Obviously we’re away from home and therefore don’t have all the facilities that we have available at the Aon Training Complex but a lot of work goes in to making sure we have the best possible facilities on the trip down to the smallest detail so they’re as close to what we have at the Aon Training Complex as possible. A lot of work also goes into the time management and sleep management of the players to ensure they get the most out of the trip from a training perspective. Everything is factored in to the planning of the trip.

And they seem to get bigger year on year…
Yes and it’s great to see the reaction we get in different countries. All the games on the first leg of the tour were sell-outs and the open training sessions were hugely popular with thousands of fans in attendance at those as well. We’re very fortunate to have been successful off the pitch as well as on it and that enables us to put on a really fantastic show - not just on the pitch on tour, but with the other things that we do involving Manchester United Soccer Schools and our legends, and also engaging with local kids via our partners and the Manchester United Foundation.

As you said earlier, the tour is obviously a vital part of the team’s preparations for the new season, but how important is it for the club from a commercial perspective?
It’s a very important method of engagement for us, both with our fans and our partners. The main reasons for doing tours is to prepare the players for the season and to enable us to interact with our fans all around the world. And it’s fair to say that it is a successful part of the business that helps us compete to buy the best players in the world in order to have more success on the pitch.

You’ve travelled all over the world with the team but are you still amazed at the welcome we receive wherever we go?
It really is quite incredible. The warmth of the welcome and the enthusiasm the supporters have for the club is something you never get tired of experiencing. We talked to fans on this tour who had been waiting at the airport for hours to catch a glimpse of the team, while others had spent days sat outside the hotel to try to do the same. Everyone at the club, from the players to the staff, are always very grateful for the great support we receive.

Our last stop on the first leg of the tour was Hong Kong, a city where we now have an office.

What’s the thinking behind that and how are things going with it?
Asia is obviously an important part of the world for us. More than 300 million of our fans are in Asia – they’re a big part of the United family as are the increasing number of partners we have in the Far East. It was therefore a natural progression for us to have a hub over there so we’re in timezone and only a short flight away from a number of our key partners. We have a very talented team of people in Hong Kong who have been very successful both in generating new partnerships and continuing to build the relationships with have with existing partners. We’ve also brought in staff who can speak many of the Asian languages and that has allowed us to operate much more smoothly. Overall, the results we’ve achieved so far have shown it was a very good move for us to open the office and we’re delighted with how things are going.

Finally, how excited are you for the season to start now?
I can’t wait. It’s been great to watch David train with the players and see the enthusiasm he has brought into the club and also the level of detail which he goes into when it comes to preparing the players. Manchester United has always been very lucky to have fantastic managers and I think he’s continuing that theme. He’s a very bright guy and someone who is hugely dedicated to the cause. One of the things I always believe reflects well on someone is when you meet their staff and see the level of enthusiasm and respect they have for that person, and we've seen that with David's staff. I don’t think there is any better compliment you can pay someone than having your staff be as enthused as David’s are. I just can’t wait for the season to start now.