Micah Richards had no doubts when he was asked which ground in English football has the most intimidating tunnel walk, describing it as “tight and “dingy”.
The former Manchester City defender came face-to-face with some hostile atmospheres during his 14-year playing career.
From the spine-tingling pre-match atmosphere inside Anfield, to the raucous crowds at St James’ Park – a stadium that has previously come out on top for best atmosphere.
But for Richards, it was the home of Liverpool that provided the most intimidating tunnel walk.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, the 36-year-old was first to answer when asked the question.
“Anfield, without a doubt,” he said. “it’s tight, it’s dingy, it’s intimidating.”
Lineker, however, was quick to interrupt. “I’ve got another one that’s worse than that,” he said, before naming Millwall’s Old Den as the worst.
Lineker would go on to describe the stadium as “terrifying” due to its wire mesh and fans “shaking it and spitting at you” as you walked down to the pitch.
Shearer also named some “great” tunnels during the chat, with Millwall once again getting a mention alongside Everton and Crystal Palace.
The former Newcastle United striker also recalled how teams like Wimbledon made their presence felt in the tunnel, especially with hardmen like Vinnie Jones, Dennis Wise and John Fashanu.
“Some of the stuff that went on in the tunnels before games…honestly,” he laughed.
Image credit: Getty
Former Arsenal centre-back Martin Keown once recalled Vinnie Jones head-butting the toilet door while lining up in the tunnel; not to mention John Fashanu practising his martial arts.
Speaking about coming up against Wimbledon, he told The Mail: “I played against them many times, though on occasions it was like playing a bunch of louts.”
He added: “They wanted to take over. They would turn up at your ground with the ghetto blaster and the music blaring but it never affected us at Arsenal. They tried to make as much row and noise as they could to disrupt opponents.
“It was like their battle cry to get in to match mode but it never affected me. In away games in their tunnel, you would line up and look across to see Vinnie Jones head-butting the toilet door and John Fashanu going through his martial arts routine.
“But if anything that wound you up even more and you just thought, ‘Right. Let’s get it on’.”