The way a player looks plays a major part in how you rate them. Their name, their haircut, their tattoos, their face are massive factors. If Ederson looked like Jason Steele, you would rate him differently. Don’t lie to yourself, you factor it in.

Don’t paint your car red — it gets more attention from the cops. That is a common belief that red cars are more likely to get pulled over or ticketed because they stand out more on the road. They look faster.

Phil Foden for example looks faster than he is because of his haircut, the racing stripe fade on the sides makes him look pacey. He has some acceleration off his first and second touch, but in a straight line, he is not fast. But you expect him to be fast, because that is how he would like to be perceived.

This is the same player but you’d expect each individual to play differently based on their haircut.

From left to right; the long hair player looks like a deep lying playmaker or a destroyer type defender, the second player a roaming playmaker on the wing who likes to take on his man, the third an athletic box to box midfielder or general athlete, and the fourth player a tall fullback, a target man center-forward, or a pacey winger who isn’t a gifted dribbler.

Profiling players is not all about their physical attributes. How tall they are, how wide their hips are, their shoulders, how big their bum is, how long their legs are. That makes up the majority, say eighty percent, but you have to admit the twenty percent is their looks. Do they look the part?

It is like being cast in a movie. If you don’t look the part you are playing, you won’t sell.

If you want to be perceived differently, change your look. It can buy you more time and open new eyes.