The changes to Old Trafford have been made to improve the players’ performance
Manchester United have changed the colour of the seat coverings at their home ground of Old Trafford in a bid to improve players’ performance at home.
The seat coverings, which have been primarily red since supporters have been unable to attend games, have now been swapped for black coverings, BBC Sport reported.
This comes nearly 25 years after the memorable game where former manager Sir Alex Ferguson instructed the team to swap their grey shirts at half-time in a match against Southampton over fears that players were struggling to spot each other.
Current United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said that, this season, some players have found it difficult to spot teammates against the red banners on the seats at their home ground.
"We've looked into this…" 🧐#MUFC manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says red banners at Old Trafford have hindered their home form this season with the club now changing them to black banners…👀 pic.twitter.com/kibmgYqgJQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 14, 2021
Speaking to Sky Sports News about the changes to the seat coverings, Ole said: “If you see the banners around the club, it’s not red anymore. We’ve looked into this.”
He said that “the red shirt on the red background and the red seats” have made it difficult for some players to spot their teammates in the “split-second” that they have to pass the ball, Sky Sports News reported.
Solskjaer said that the change to the home ground is also part of an anti-racism campaign.
Man United publicly announced their ‘See Red’ anti-racism campaign on social media earlier this month, which also prompted the decision to change the colour of the seats.
Enough is enough.
𝗡𝗼𝘄 is the time to speak out 🗣#allredallequal #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/oTTnAXoxFT
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 2, 2021
Speaking on behalf of the club, the manager said: “When you have a 4-0 win away against Sociedad you don’t have to win at home, and the first game against Milan, we conceded in the last minute. I still think we have played some good football at home,” Sky Sports News reported.
“We started off badly with three defeats, Palace, Tottenham and Arsenal early on, but we have improved,” he added.
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