Commercial: Brand consistency

In my heart of hearts, I think that the era of monolithic brands is drawing to a close, and those that brands which will form true bonds with consumers in the future will be those that are not as overtly concerned with design and or message consistency.

But then you read a paragraph like this, and think, yes, let's make all brand managers this crazy:

In an ideal world Sir Alex Ferguson would rather have won the league at Old Trafford, but as an alternative Manchester United's supporters will cherish the fact that their ninth coronation in 14 years was preordained at a stadium where employees are forbidden to have red company cars and, no kidding, diners in the executive lounges splash blue ketchup on their chips.

So, with passion like this, why don't Manchester City perform better? Funny old game...