Malcolm Glazer was smart. He could see that Manchester United were undervalued when the first ructions emerged between Sir Alex Ferguson and the Irish racing magnates John Magnier and JP McManus. He knew that the rift between the United manager and the club’s largest shareholders provided a gilt-edged opportunity to pounce.

In the ensuing years, Glazer has been proved right in almost every respect. He placed Ed Woodward in charge of the commercial operation and watched revenues soar. The world was carved up into regions and sectors and an army of salesmen went to work leveraging the United brand to noodle partners, lubricant affiliates and pillow sponsors.

How did they attain such success? A quick detour may provide some clues. A few years ago, researchers