FRIGHTFUL TROUNCING: Sunderland, in blue with their goalkeeper in yellow, look downcast and defeated as Southampton, in red and white stripes, celebrate
I WORKED at the Psychology Department at Durham University for 47 years as a technician, but I attended lots of lectures and one topic was the psychology of colour.
Colour is very important in our lives and I wonder if the 8-0 drubbing of Sunderland at Southampton could have anything to do with the fact that Southampton were the ones playing in red and white stripes.
Soccer has a "successful colour" and that colour is red! I would love to see the statistics on how many times a Sunderland player actually passed to a Southampton player instead of to a team mate.
In April 1996, Southampton beat Manchester United 6-3 on the day that United tried out their new grey away strip – "the strip they couldn't see". Alex Ferguson changed this grey strip at half time. I cannot believe that United do not have access to sports psychologists who would advise that grey is not a winning colour.
Strips should be bright so that split second passing is still possible even when the intended recipient is only in peripheral vision. There are too many sports shirt changes fuelled by big money shirt deals.
Malcolm Rolling, Carrville, Durham.