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Meet the men transforming Norwich City’s dressing rooms
The away dressing room at The Den, as Norwich City prepared to take on Millwall. Picture: @NorwichCityFC - Credit: Archant
Norwich City’s quest for marginal gains has seen them take over away dressing rooms around the country, erecting memorable photographs and City badges in an attempt to make it more comfortable for their first-team operators.
The clubs kit-men John Howes and Pete Dye have been transforming the Canaries changing areas around the country in a bid to inject some yellow and green into the, often, nondescript rooms.
Last season, it was the Canaries away dressing room that was the subject of fierce discussion around the country, as they painted it pink, a colour that is said to lower testosterone levels and have a calming effect on people.
Other teams sought to counter the psychological effect of the colour with Sheffield United using white paper to cover the walls. Promotion to the Premier League saw the club drop their pink dressing room, and now the focus is on extracting any extra percentage out of decorating the away grounds they visit.
"My dad actually suggested it, funnily enough," Howes said, speaking to the NR1 Live show. "I then suggested it to Pete [Dye] and we first started putting badges around the dressing room.
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"Then we carried it on with photos and it kept getting bigger and bigger. This year we've added quotes as well."
Videos and pictures from inside opposing dressing rooms were posted last year, with the kit-men acting on City boss Daniel Farke's instructions to make the rooms feel more homely. Dye explains why City started embellishing their dressing rooms last season.
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"It really came from last year in the Championship, when we went to places like Millwall, they are quite characterless and not very friendly," Dye explained.
"The first-team boss wanted more of a friendly thing, so then some quotes developed and now we've gone full on with all the photos. We've really made it our home rather than their home which are little minor gains that can make a difference to a game."
City have picked up five points on the road, with a victory against Everton at Goodison Park being the only win on their travels this season.
