Hoardings, showers & pink dressing rooms – the ‘creative’ ways clubs get an edge

Forget moving the advertising hoardings, Graeme Souness brought in the actual touchlines.

In September 1987, during his time as Rangers manager, the Scot decided he needed to take drastic action after his side were beaten 1-0 at Dynamo Kyiv in the first leg of their European Cup first-round tie.

Souness, who was never shy of a tackle during his own glittering playing career, thought a physical approach might be the way to beat the Ukrainian side at Ibrox.

What better way to make it a more physical game than by making the pitch smaller and more condensed?

“At that time, the pitch didn’t have to be a fixed width as long as it was above a certain minimum. So I made it the absolute minimum,” Souness told FourFourTwo.

Not only that, he waited until after the Kyiv players had trained on the regularly sized pitch before changing the dimensions on the day of the game.

“It wasn’t purist stuff but it was within the rules,” Souness added.

Rangers won 2-0 to progress, and the rules were subsequently changed to prevent a repeat. Clubs now have to declare the size of their pitch before the start of a new season.