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In February 2014, Manchester United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward gave an interview to the club fanzine. Quizzed about whether United needed to win things to stay relevant, he was adamant it wasn't the case. "If you fight hard and just fail, people will still watch you on television, still turn up and buy shirts,” said Woodward, responsible for strengthening United's commercial influence via a multitude of key sponsorship deals prior to his appointment as Old Trafford kingpin.