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None of the link databases you use will have the quantity of links that webmaster tools has. You can use multiple sources to try and build the best possible picture of yours or competitors link profiles.

My only response would be this. Sometimes it can work especially in the short run, but is often penalized. I would wait until the next penguin update comes out and take a look at the competitors site again. Again, not linking site wide from the footer is not a hard-and-fast rule but more of a general best practice. The problem is that these are not editorial links per se. As such they are at constant risk are being devalued or penalized by Google. You can roll the dice and sometimes see a short-term victory. But more often than not you risk getting burned.