In the mobile phone industry, there are some manufacturers that are in a different class to the others, just like Apple, Samsung and LG. There are also some that have fallen away over the years that were once giants, such as Blackberry, Nokia. We also have the niche handsets with a small following of fans, like HTC and LG. Football teams have fans. So why don’t we try and analyse the kind people who use these phones and see what kind of football teams they would support.
Samsung: Barcelona
Let’s start from the top. The top dogs. The ones that all competitors fear and are always trying to catch, whether it’s La Liga, the Copa Del Rey or the Champions League. Reaching 5 Copa Del Reys in 10 years, winning La Liga 6 times in the last 10 years and are going for their fifth Champions League in 10 years and 6th overall. Yes, Barcelona are definitely the most dominant force in Europe at the moment. So why Samsung?
Since the downfall of Nokia, Samsung and been the dominant force in the market with the most unit sales in the last 4 years globally. In the four years before, they were only second behind Nokia and the 2 years previous they were third. Keeping up? Ok, in the past ten years, Samsung have been one of the top three highest selling phone manufacturers in the world, and with the release of the Galaxy S7 coming next month, it doesn’t look like they’re going to stop any time soon.
Real Madrid: Apple
Real Madrid; always knocking on the door of Barca, and considered a threat. Winners of the Champions League the first 5 years of the competition’s existence, a record 10 times altogether and most recently in 2014, Real Madrid have always been around and have always been one of the richest clubs out there, giving them the opportunity to buy quality players that help continue their success; see Galácticos.
Speaking of success, with roots in Steve Jobs’ garage in Cupertino, Apple were the first to develop a personal computer for the common man. For years, they developed the Mac and after eventually breaking into the mobile phone market. Now, they have become one of the most recognised and sought after brands in the world. And until recently were the most valuable company in the world. Like Real Madrid, Apple don’t look like they’re slowing down, if not building momentum. With the rumours of an iPhone 5SE coming out soon, the Apple Watch 2 and the recent release of the iPad Pro, Apple seem to have new ideas up their sleeves every year and are looking to reclaim the title of most valuable company in the world.
Spurs: LG
Spurs are a highly respected team and always one that the bigger clubs and are serious title contenders this year. They’re the kind of team that if you asked someone who they support and they answered ‘Spurs’, you’d probably answer ‘Really?’. 25 years have come and gone and Spurs have yet to clench a title, but they’ve always been in and around there, especially in the past 6 years where they’ve finished 4th, 5th, 4th, 5th, 6th, 5th respectively. It’s pretty clear Spurs have been improving in recent years and that’s why we think LG are suited to these supporters. They’re not fair weather supporters or glory hunters, they’re supporting the club for the club; similar to LG.
LG have never really been the top dog in the phone industry, but they’ve always been there and they’ve always been respected. However, in recent years with their LG G series, they’re looking to take over the phone industry. With the new G5 coming out with some awesome specs, Apple and Samsung will want to take a long look at this competitor because they might have some serious competition to contend with this year and the coming years after.
Arsenal: Sony
Arsenal are one of the most highly respected clubs in England and Europe with Arsene Wenger at the helm for the bones of 20 years now. With 3 premier league wins and 12 FA Cups, most recently in 2015 and 2014 back to back. Arsenal have yet to win the highest honour in Club Football, the Champions League. I believe the running gag is ‘now that Arsenal are out of the Champions league, they can concentrate on qualifying for it next year’. With all due respect though, I am a big Arsene Wenger fan and I do respect him and the club. Arsenal have been unlucky for a few years with runs of bad form but they have come back the past couple of years and are looking like serious contenders for the Premier League this year. This is why Sony suits Arsenal.
Back in the day of candy bar phones, the Sony Ericsson was one of Nokia’s biggest competitors, who were dominant at the time. The W200 was one of my favourite phones when I was younger, as it was my first phone to enable me to be able use my phone as a MP3 player. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the first to do this, but something about it was just fluid and easy to use. After this I bought the Sony Ericsson 910i. A nifty slide up phone with a great screen and vivid wallpapers and screen savers, for the time anyway. In recent years, other manufacturers have brushed Sony aside and have stood taller above them; but Sony have not backed off. Still a force to be reckoned with they’ve been the most successful in water-proofing their phones, they have the best cameras out there and their processors are up there with the best. With the revolutionary 4K recording in their most recent Z5, Sony, like Arsenal, want to remind their competition that they are here to stay and are becoming stronger and stronger each year.
Manchester City- HTC
This crowd are every United fans worst nightmare. They are still trying to build a fanbase after their Arab owners took over and bought some decent talent. Becoming only the fifth team to win the league in 2014, City fought from the depths of the Third division just before the turn of the Millennium, City are now one of the strongest teams in England and have been consistently fighting for the title for the last 5 years.
Since HTC released their flagship One range, people have been starting to sit up and listen because who we once thought were underdogs are now serious contenders for pretty much every title in Europe. As I said, they have a small fan base but they are growing. With a minor setback in 2015 with the M9, HTC are entering the Virtual Reality market in a big way with the HTC Vive expected to be announced in the next few weeks. Both HTC and City are looking to bounce back and find their recent form again so that they can aim to be one of the heavy-weights in Europe and rather than struggle to get out of the Champions League group stages every year. Instead they want to try and win it. They’re up there with Sony and LG, but the likes of Apple and Samsung (Barca and Real) are still looking at them as a minor threat and still feel like they can take them…. for now.
Man United: Nokia
No matter what club you support, you cannot deny United the title of Englands most successful club in history. With a staggering 20 leagues titles, 11 FA cups, 3 Champions Leagues and the only English club to win a treble. Manchester United a dominant force in England… right? Wrong… oh so very wrong. Following the retirement of Fergie, United’s form fell off a cliff. Barely competing for Premier League title’s never mind Europoean title’s United are struggling and are painfully watching their neighbours City take the Manchester Throne. You can see why I picked Nokia.
Between ’99 and ’07, Nokia not only had the top selling handset worldwide, they had numerous phones in the top selling phones category worldwide. In 2007, the top 7 phones sold globally were all made by Nokia! They were a dominating force between the ’90’s and early to mid ’00’s. Only to be dethroned by Apple in ’08 as top selling phone, Nokia never found their form again and were bought by Microsoft in 2014 who took over the Lumia range. Let’s hope they can find their form again and be able to compete with the dominant players out there today sometime in the future.
Leicester: OnePlus
When it comes to winning big competitions and competeting with the biggest names in the business, Leicester have always kept relatively under the radar. With a few League One and Two cups here and there and a handful of league cups, there’s nothing really special about Leicester… until now. Last season Leicester barely managed to stay in the Premier league. This year they are playing the role of convincing title challengers. Week after week they prove it, beating the likes of United, Chelsea and City, the latter being beaten in a convincing 3-0 hammering. They were once a team no one really talked about, just there to make up the numbers.
Let’s talk about OnePlus for a minute. Founded only in 2013 and literally coming out of no where, the OnePlus series is a serious piece of tech. Starting out with the OnePlus and the very successful OnePlus2, the company have given themselves the tagline ‘Flagship Killer’. Like Leicester, they are not just here to compete, OnePlus are here to take over. And if you have a look at their devices you’ll see why. Making them only available by an online invitation only, they are establishing themselves as a very high end and premium brand and are looking to become the best in the business. With the success they’ve had in their first 2 and a half years, OnePlus are one to watch, and personally, I’m waiting on the OnePlus3 to come out before I decide on my next handset, because they are setting the bar very high.
Blackberry: Liverpool
Similar to Arsenal, Liverpool were also a dominant force in England. With the most Champions Leagues in England and the second most English Leagues, Liverpool were to be feared and avoided back in the day. Although yet to win a Premier League, Liverpool were always threatening in other competitions. Lest we forget their historical comeback in Istanbul, but that’s all there is. Liverpool were… were… a dominant force in England and Europe and in the Premier League they seemed to have lost their form and haven’t been competing for Champions leagues or domestic cups in recent years either. Liverpool have fallen off the horse and have yet to get back on. They are the Blackberry of the phone industry.
Once upon a time, everyone wanted a Blackberry, they were the coolest phones around and very handy to use. And when the era of Smart phones came along, Blackberry seemed to lose it’s place in the phone industry and demand disappeared. They have tried to innovate to gain back market share but just haven’t been able to find the glory days of old. Eventually deciding to attempt a break into the Android market, Blackberry are looking to re-establish themselves as a premium and must have brand. Yet year after year they wait and see, full sure this year will be their year. Alas, Apple and Samsung continue to flourish, Sony continue to compete, and HTC are constantly reminding people they are still here and aren’t going anywhere. Blackberry and Liverpool both need to do something soon to establish themselves as heavyweights in their respective industries again or they will eventually fade away to the lower lower tiers as the likes of Leeds… or Sagem have. Remember them?
