Hoardings, Showers & Pink Dressing Rooms - The 'creative' Ways Clubs Get An Edge

Sunderland earned a constituent against Premier League leaders Arsenal connected Saturday pinch a melodramatic precocious equaliser.

But while Brian Brobbey's acrobatic 94th-minute strike took nan headlines and Gunners leader Mikel Arteta talked of nan "chaos" caused by Sunderland's nonstop approach, 1 of nan hosts' much different strategies besides caught nan eye.

The Black Cats attempted to limit Arsenal's threat from set-pieces - specifically agelong throw-ins - by moving nan advertizing hoardings to springiness nan Gunners little room for their run-ups.

"It mightiness person been nan wind," Sunderland leader Regis Le Bris joked aft nan game.

It didn't extremity Declan Rice trying to hurl nan shot into nan box, but fixed that nan visitors didn't people from a throw-in and nan crippled vanished each square, Sunderland tin surely reason it was a worthwhile ploy.

It is not nan first clip nan maneuver has been used, pinch Sunderland doing nan aforesaid against Coventry successful past season's Championship play-offs, while Stoke's long-throw master Rory Delap accused clubs of giving them nan aforesaid treatment.

BBC Sport has looked astatine immoderate of nan different imaginative ways teams person tried to summation an advantage complete their opponents down nan years...

There is much to winning a shot lucifer than conscionable what goes connected on nan transportation - astatine slightest that is nan mentation Norwich went pinch successful nan 2018-19 season.

In a bid to get nan separator complete their Championship opponents, nan Canaries painted nan distant dressing room "deep pink" because nan colour is said to little testosterone levels and person a calming effect connected people.

"Pink has an effect, not because it is pink, but because it's linked to puerility experiences," said Dr Alexander Latinjak, a teacher successful athletics psychology astatine nan University of Suffolk.

"If it is existent that pinkish lowers testosterone levels, past nan coach should cognize precisely really to usage that advantage tactically."

It was an thought they took from nan University of Iowa's American shot team, and while Norwich mislaid 2 of their first 3 location matches, nan play ended successful promotion to nan Premier League. So possibly it worked?

The heavy pinkish walls were replaced pinch achromatic earlier nan 2019-20 play and Norwich were relegated. Coincidence? Probably...

Perhaps nan masters of nan acheronian arts, soiled tricks aliases marginal gains, depending connected really you position specified things, were Cambridge United successful nan early 1990s.

Under head John Beck, location was small they wouldn't effort to springiness themselves nan separator complete their opposition, including making his ain players return freezing acold showers earlier games.

"We'd make nan distant dressing room either arsenic basking aliases arsenic acold arsenic possible," erstwhile Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin, who played nether Beck astatine Cambridge, told The Times, external successful 2015.

"We'd put each their warm-up balls successful nan bath truthful they were dense and horrible to footwear about.

"We'd put arsenic overmuch sweetener arsenic we perchance could successful their beverage truthful they couldn't portion it. We'd fastener nan dressing room truthful they couldn't get successful for ages."

Beck besides had crushed unit support nan writer successful nan area of nan transportation longer to assistance his side's agelong shot tactics.

Cambridge went from nan aged Division Four to nan Division Two play-offs successful 3 years nether Beck, truthful his antics weren't without success.

Wimbledon were known for their various antics during nan Crazy Gang era of nan 1980s, uncovering each sorts of ways to effort to intimidate much vaunted opposition.

It was capable to return them each nan measurement to nan 1988 FA Cup final, wherever they would look a Liverpool broadside who had swept each speech to triumph nan convention title.

A crunching tackle from Vinnie Jones connected Steve McMahon early successful nan last is often cited arsenic a awesome of Wimbledon's intent, but nan distraction strategies had started agelong before.

Striker John Fashanu said nan Wimbledon players did not ablution aliases brushwood their teeth for a week earlier nan crippled successful an effort to put Liverpool disconnected pinch their stench.

The Crazy Gang won nan crippled 1-0 and lifted nan trophy, truthful it wasn't each for nothing.

Forget moving nan advertizing hoardings, Graeme Souness brought successful nan existent touchlines.

In September 1987, during his clip arsenic Rangers manager, nan Scot decided he needed to return drastic action aft his broadside were beaten 1-0 astatine Dynamo Kyiv successful nan first limb of their European Cup first-round tie.

Souness, who was ne'er awkward of a tackle during his ain sparkling playing career, thought a beingness attack mightiness beryllium nan measurement to hit nan Ukrainian broadside astatine Ibrox.

What amended measurement to make it a much beingness crippled than by making nan transportation smaller and much condensed?

"At that time, nan transportation didn't person to beryllium a fixed width arsenic agelong arsenic it was supra a definite minimum. So I made it nan absolute minimum," Souness told FourFourTwo.

Not only that, he waited until aft nan Kyiv players had trained connected nan regularly sized transportation earlier changing nan dimensions connected nan time of nan game.

"It wasn't purist worldly but it was wrong nan rules," Souness added.

Rangers won 2-0 to progress, and nan rules were subsequently changed to forestall a repeat. Clubs now person to state nan size of their transportation earlier nan commencement of a caller season.

Liverpool travelled to West Ham successful April 2014 pinch dreams of ending a past 24-year hold for a convention title.

But while nan Reds claimed a 2-1 triumph courtesy of 2 Steven Gerrard penalties, nan Liverpool skipper felt location had been a fewer soiled tricks from nan Hammers.

"They tried everything to upset us. A basking dressing room, a barren transportation and nan autobus had to parkland a mile away," he said.

However, past West Ham president David Gold responded to nan claims connected Twitter, writing: "Mr Gerrard cipher unit your autobus driver to parkland a mile distant from nan ground, it was his choice.

"If nan heating is excessively warm, move it down."

Jose Mourinho has ne'er seemed excessively concerned astir upsetting opponents if it leads to victory.

The outpouring of 2011 saw nan tallness of nan rivalry betwixt his Real Madrid broadside and Pep Guardiola's Barcelona pinch 4 Clasicos successful 18 days.

Before nan first of those meetings, Mourinho is alleged to person instructed nan crushed unit astatine nan Bernabeu to fto nan writer turn longer to combat Barca's quick-paced, short passing style.

The crippled ended successful a 1-1 tie but nan incident conscionable added to nan bad humor betwixt nan sides going into nan adjacent 3 games.

Another nemesis of Mourinho's, Arsene Wenger, has besides had his issues pinch agelong grass.

Former Stoke head Tony Pulis has claimed ex-Arsenal leader Wenger erstwhile wrote to nan FA to kick astir nan magnitude of nan writer astatine Stoke's stadium.