Football Kits 2008/09: Who makes what
posted by Chris O - Thursday, August 28, 2008
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Before we press on with other matters, here's a final word on the subject of football kits.
Just before the current domestic football season started here in the UK, we carried out some research to see which kit manufacturers were the most popular among the 92 league clubs, and duly compared our findings to those of last year.
For 2008/09, we can confirm that
Umbro are the most popular kit manufacturer with eleven teams in their portfolio, five of which are (somewhat impressively) in the Premier League. The next most popular is
Vandanel - a name that may not be too familiar to you if you support a team playing below the Championship.
Vandanel are an Essex-based company who have been in the sportswear industry for about twenty years and are now the suppliers of kit for ten Football League teams including Gillingham, Notts County and Tranmere Rovers. As you can see from these three examples showing their current shirts for Port Vale, Northampton and Darlington, they're not at all bad either.
Puma and
Nike are next with nine teams each, and here you'll find a slight difference in approach between the two companies. While Nike can claim to have secured the contracts of clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Fulham, Puma have only Tottenham by way of a 'star name'. Instead, their portfolio focuses largely on numerous teams from lower down the leagues like Coventry, Plymouth and Leyton Orient.
Further down the list are
Errea, best known as the long-running suppliers of kit for Middlesbrough - they provide for seven teams - and
Adidas who, out of the 92 clubs of the Football League produce kit for just six. That said, three of them are Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle.
All in all, there are 26 kit companies plying their trade this season - down three on last season - and one of the names to disappear off the list is
Southampton FC. That's right: The Saints have made their own kit since 1999, but not any more - they've decided to go with Umbro for the foreseeable future.
Also falling by the wayside for 2008/09 is
Bourne Red, the name for Bournemouth's own football kit company, plus one of the most famous names of all -
Admiral. Only Leeds United had an Admiral strip last season, but with
Macron securing the new contract, the one-time England kit suppliers are now absent from the football scene.
Other well-known names on the wane are
Diadora (five clubs last year, three this),
Hummel (Barnet last year, no club this year) and
Surridge (down from four clubs to two) while
Champion burst onto the scene with Wigan's new kit and
Carbrini make their debut with Bournemouth and Luton's new attire.
Full list of kits (by manufacturer):Adidas: Chelsea, Derby, Liverpool;
Bukta: Chesterfield, Millwall;
Canterbury: Portsmouth;
Carbrini: Bournemouth, Luton;
Carlotti: Blackpool, Oldham, Rotherham, Scunthorpe;
Champion: Wigan;
Diadora: Preston, Stockport, Watford;
Errea: Brighton, Bristol Rovers, Burnley, Cheltenham, Crystal Palace, Grimsby, Middlesbrough;
Gazelle Sports: Chester;
Jako: Leicester;
Joma: Cardiff, Charlton;
Le Coq Sportif: Carlisle, Man City, Sheffield Utd, Stoke, Wolves;
Lotto: Barnsley, Crewe, QPR, Sheffield Wed, Swindon;
Macron: Leeds;
Mitre: Huddersfield, Ipswich;
Nike: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Fulham, Hartlepool, Hereford, Man United, Milton Keynes Dons, Rochdale, Southend;
ProStar: Accrington Stanley, Shrewsbury;
Puma: Brentford, Bristol City, Colchester, Coventry, Leyton Orient, Morecambe, Plymouth, Reading, Tottenham;
Reebok: Bolton;
SHO: Exeter;
Sport Italia: Aldershot;
Surridge: Bradford, Bury;
Swift: Walsall;
Umbro: Birmingham, Blackburn; Everton, Hull, Lincoln, Nottm Forest, Southampton, Sunderland, Swansea, West Brom, West Ham;
Vandanel; Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, Darlington, Doncaster, Gillingham, Northampton, Notts County, Port Vale, Tranmere, Yeovil;
Xara: Norwich.
Labels: Adidas, kit, Nike, shirt, strip, Umbro
Premier League Kit Parade (Part 4)
posted by Chris O - Sunday, August 24, 2008
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It's time for the thrilling climax to our look at the new Premier League shirts of 2008/09. Today, we survey the last five teams in alphabetical order, so let's begin with...
SunderlandAnother case of Umbro tidying up the over-proliferation of diamonds here as they give the Black Cats a much cleaner-looking and rather swish home shirt. A nice use of black around the v-neck and at the top of the arms makes this a rather decent design, mirrored in black and blue for the away shirt.
And here once again we see that black-and-blue-stripe combo that Middlesbrough have used for their own away shirt. Which is the better? It's difficult to say. Umbro have certainly done a decent job with their version for Sunderland and it's fair to say it's a nice contrast with the all-white affair that was used last season. Well done, Umbro.
TottenhamOnce again, there's a trilogy of new shirts to check out for The Lilywhites, thereby maximising those all important takings in the club shop. Yes, we are being cynical, but we're sure we must be speaking on behalf of
some Spurs supporters out there...
So what do we have here? For a start, Tottenham's featureless but very stylish all-white home shirt from last year is replaced with one that has navy blue panels under the arms and a navy blue v-neck collar. It's not at all bad, we think, but somehow that plain white one was just a little bit special. Good, but not as good, if you see what we mean.
Then there's the new away shirt which this year is sky blue. It has to be acknowledged that Spurs have one of those constant talking points in place about which colours work best for the away shirt. For them, the debate is 'yellow or sky blue?' and though it will no doubt divide Tottenham fans in equal measures, we think yellow's better, but this blue edition looks really nice. It reminds us of those heady days when Clive Allen was banging in the goals at White Hart Lane, and that can be no bad thing.
And finally onto the third shirt which is a little bit odd. Where Spurs have recently resorted to a dark brown and gold outfit, this is
black and gold. Does that suggest the brown colourscheme was a little bit too controversial to keep in place, we wonder? Whatever - this is again a nice shirt with a flappy collar just like the sky blue shirt, but what are those little white stripes on the left shoulder? We
think it's a gesture of some sort relating to the Puma King range of boots and styling, but we're not sure. All we know is that it shouldn't be there, and that's an end to the matter.
All in all, three nice shirts from Puma, but don't expect them to be worn by the team next season as they won't be. The modern age of football kit design is a ruthless one, and it's best that we tell you the news now before you're hurt further down the line.
West Bromwich AlbionThe Baggies are back! Not only that, but there's a new incarnation of those famous navy blue and white stripes from Umbro. This season, they've tried to invigorate that design with something original by incorporating an extra pinstripe either side of those navy blue bands. You might not be able to see it on our picture, but trust us it's there and it looks... er... not overly remarkable.
Add that to the lack of any significant sort of collar and what you end up with is a fairly featureless design that looks a little boring to us. Sorry Baggies fans, but there it is. We'd even go so far as to say their home shirt from last season was actually better, despite all those Umbro diamonds littered all over the shoulders.
And then there's the away shirt. How can we put this... it looks like something a referee would wear. It's yellow, with incredibly minimal styling and harsh though this sounds, it looks rubbish. Quite what Umbro were thinking when they produced this is beyond us - let alone what West Brom were thinking when they gave it the thumbs-up. This is arguably the worst shirt anyone will set eyes on this season, and that's all we can say about it. It's only our opinion, you understand, but we think it'll tally up with a lot of people. Sorry and all that.
West Ham UnitedWhile we're on the subject of Umbro, here's what they've come up with for West Ham this season. At home, they've put together a shirt that we think is OK but we're not sure why.
It looks not unlike Aston Villa's home shirt and seems smart enough in many respects, and yet it isn't a wholehearted nod towards something either traditional or particularly interesting. Basically we're saying it's neat and inoffensive but it won't win any design awards either.
Away from home, West Ham have bought into the Umbro template for this season - a plain shirt with two contrasting stripes across the upper part of the chest (see Everton away, England away, etc). This one's a pleasant summery blue with white and claret coloured bands and is really rather good.
A welcome return to the all-pale blue West Ham away outfit, but what we
really want to see is the revival of those two horizontal claret stripes around the middle like Bobby Moore and Clyde Best used to wear circa 1970. No chance of that any time soon, we suppose...
Wigan AthleticAnd so we reach the end of the road with Wigan and here we save a small surprise for last because The Latics have joined up with Champion as their new kit supplier. As far as we can remember, Champion haven't really had much to do with football kit production in the recent past, but they've got their foot in the door now and have even secured a contract with the Welsh FA.
All that aside, Wigan's new shirts look really good and are a credit to Champion as a new name on the scene. The home shirt has a crisp, clean look with bold blue and white stripes (take note Umbro/WBA) with some interesting little bits of business going on around the shoulder area too. Nothing too showy or distracting, mind - this is all good stuff and hits the spot nicely, in our opinion.
Then there's the away shirt which perhaps isn't so cut and dried by virtue of the fact that it's that controversial luminous yellow in colour. When Chelsea tried the same trick last season, Adidas' found themselves universally ridiculed for their efforts, but somehow this one looks less 'in your face' (if that's possible for a luminous yellow shirt).
Wigan's version simply uses some bold black piping around the shoulders and down the sides to create a look that's easy on the eye while being bold and, of course, highly visible on the pitch. Jolly good, we think - well done, Champion.
The end...?So that's it - the end of our 20-team survey of all the new shirts for 2008/09, except for one shirt which has been launched in the last couple of weeks since
Part 2 of our guide. It's Manchester City's new third shirt and it's already been worn in the club's opening Premier League fixture against Aston Villa.
It's predominantly Flame Orange with a navy blue sleeve and collar. The colourscheme is distinctive and works well, but ironically its effectiveness is almost undone by that totally unnecessary bit of yellow piping down the left shoulder. What's that there for, for crying out loud?!? We're sorry, Le Coq Sportif, but that bit of yellow you've included there cheapens the overall look and smacks of a designer who didn't know when to quit while they were ahead.
Still, let's not be too harsh. This has some elements of originality to it, like the asymmetrical sleeves and the use of colours, so it's not all bad. A reasonable try on behalf of LCS, but a note for future reference - don't get too fussy during the design stage. Keep it simple and the fans will be happy.
Here endeth the lecture.
Labels: kit, Premier League, shirt, strip, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Brom, West Ham, Wigan
Premier League Kit Parade (Part 3)
posted by Chris O - Wednesday, August 13, 2008
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Yes folks, as sure as night follows day and Great Britain follows Swaziland in the Olympic medals table, it's now time for Part 3 of our look at the new shirts being worn in the Premier League this season. Before we start, a quick 'hello' to all of you joining us from
Fifastadt.de who, like us, enjoy finding out about the latest garments being worn in the world of football. Nice to have you with us.
So to begin, a curiosity. This might be a unique happening for 2008/09, but
Manchester United start the new campaign with only one new shirt to show off, and it's this white, red and blue away offering from Nike. In case you're wondering, their red home shirt was brought in last season on one of those old-fashioned 'two year deals', so they'll be wearing that one again this time around. How very quaint!
Anyway, this away shirt of United's looks like a decent design to us. We're not sure about the red and blue highlights as we're probably used to seeing Man U in white and black away from home, but nonetheless it seems to reek of Nike's usual high production values and should be a fan's favourite in a very short space of time. Oh, and don't be surprised if a new Man United third strip comes out during the course of the season, but for now, that’s all there is from Old Trafford.
And so to
Middlesbrough who, after a one season break, have returned to one of their all-time favourite designs - a classic that should never under any circumstances be discarded: the classic red shirt with a white band across the middle. Last year's all-red affair was decidedly uninspiring, but the white stripe's back and it looks pretty good to us.
Then there's the new away shirt which also returns to former values in the form of a blue-and-black-striped creation. This looks rather nice and is a hell of a lot better than those rather iffy looking kits featuring gold and ecru that have been concocted by Errea in the past.
And that reminds us - why Errea? They've been supplying Middlesbrough's kit since 1994 and to be honest they rarely seem to come up with the goods. Isn't it time for a change now, Mr. Gibson? For the time being though, these are a couple of reasonable shirts to be going on with.
Next up it's
Newcastle and like Man United, they're keeping their home shirts from last year. Instead, they've got new away and third shirts to show us and these aren't too bad either. Away from home, Newcastle have come up with yet another new colour to add to the many they've worn in the past, and it's purple. (Sorry if it doesn't show up too well in the picture.)
It's pretty standard fare from Adidas - a plain front with those three legendary stripes running down the sleeves - and it looks nice and slick… but that colour… will people want to buy and wear it in their droves? I've a feeling purple could polarise opinions amongst the fans, but for the likes of us that aren't, we don't mind it too much at all.
To continue the slightly controversial tone, Adidas have also produced a silver third strip for the Toons. (Note - that's
silver, not grey.) Again, rather nice and a lot better looking than the other silver/grey shirt Adidas have produced for 2008/09 (see Part 2 - Liverpool), but dare we suggest that white band across the middle looks somewhat Middlesbrough-esque? Don't complain to us, Newcastle fans - it was just an observation…
Next up it's
Portsmouth and they have a new home shirt that pares down the old design to feature just blue and gold. All the white trim has gone and what's left is a simple but effective shirt which should please more than it offends.
The away shirt, however, may divide your opinions. Some have called it a rugby shirt, others a cricket shirt, but either way it's… well… different. As you can see, the shirt is white with blue sleeves, a big chunky flyaway collar and a blue panel around the bottom.
For our money, this is exactly the sort of well-executed inventiveness we want to see more of in football shirt design, and as a result, we love it. Admittedly there's a practicality issue around that big collar flapping up in your face while you're running, but apart from that it looks modern, looks distinctive and for all that has our unequivocally wholehearted support. Top marks to Canterbury for showing the way forward.
Finally today, we turn our attention to one of the Premier League's new boys,
Stoke City. Renowned for their red and white stripes, Stoke's new home shirt doesn't disappoint and this new version sees Le Coq Sportif widening the middle stripe to give us something a little bit different. It looks great with its simple but very pleasant styling and if it isn't snapped up by the truckload, we'll be very surprised.
The Potters' away shirt is yellow, a colour they haven’t used for quite some time. With blue trim around the collar and under the sleeves, it provides a strong contrast to the home kit and takes us back to a time in the mid-70's when seemingly everyone's away kit was yellow and blue (think Derby, Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal, etc…)
While not the most exciting of offerings, it certainly ticks all the important boxes so we've no real reason to grumble. A good effort on both counts from Le Coq Sportif and one that Stoke fans should be rather happy with.
That just about wraps it up for Part 3 of our new shirt perusal for the upcoming Premier League season. In the fourth and final part coming soon, we'll be finding out what the good folk at Sunderland, Tottenham, West Brom, West Ham and Wigan will be wearing, so stay with us for that…
Labels: kit, Man United, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Portsmouth, shirt, Stoke City, strip
Premier League Kit Parade (Part 2)
posted by Chris O - Saturday, August 09, 2008
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And so we arrive at Part 2 of our saunter through the exciting landscape that is the Premier League shirts for 2008/09. Today we have five more teams to concentrate on, and this being an alphabetical list of sorts, we continue with...
EvertonSay what you like about The Toffees - when it comes to their home shirts, they don't like to change things around too much. Consistency is everything. There again (as Oscar Wilde once said), consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative, and we happen to agree with him there.
So what will David Moyes' men be wearing this season? Well, apart from their new blue shirt which looks staggeringly reminiscent of the last one, there's also a more enlightening away shirt that's white with a navy blue and grey band across the top of the chest.
Even this, however, can't really be treated as being anything bordering on unique or a one-off as this 'double stripe' motif of Umbro's can be seen everywhere from the England away shirt to the West Ham away shirt - more of which in Part 4 of our Premier League Kit Parade.
But let's not be too harsh. Both shirts look smart, neat and in the case of that away shirt, quite stylish. Not bad, but come on Everton... why not go for something more interesting next season, eh?
FulhamThe club from Craven Cottage scored big points with us (and indeed most of you) for their new Nike kits last season, and here we are again with another couple that should meet with your approval.
In the home shirt, Nike have reintroduced a little more black around the collar and cuffs which, given that last years equivalent was completely white, may or may not be a good thing depending on your opinion. Other than that, it's as you were.
On the away shirt, however, Fulham have (much like Barcelona this year) gone from stripes to halves in red and black, and we think this is excellent - so much so that Fulham should stick with it in the future. We really do like it that much.
Once again, Nike have produced a couple of designs that are very simple but retain a very stylish and attractive look. Well done them, we say.
Hull CityAh, welcome aboard the good ship Prosperity, Hull. We're pleased to see you and we'll have difficulty missing you in your new home shirt which sees a return to those amber and black stripes you've worn so much throughout your history.
Yes, Hull are back in the big time and Umbro have given them a strip to be proud of. The thing you have to know about Hull City is that they regularly alternate between striped shirts and plain amber ones, and having had plain last year, Umbro have returned to the stripes for 2008/09. They've made a good job of it too, with a sleek, no-nonsense garment that should catch the eye without any trouble.
Away from home, The Tigers have got a more sombre dark grey shirt to wear. Hmmm... grey shirts... problematic, no? Perhaps. They
can be somewhat less than inspiring (as we'll be seeing shortly), but this one's saved by its dark, brooding tone which should make it easy for the players to pick each other out on the pitch.
All in all then, a pretty good effort from Umbro, if our opinion's anything to go by. And at least they've avoided the obvious pitfall of
basing a new shirt design on the team's nickname which, frankly, is unforgivable.
LiverpoolWhen Adidas replaced Reebok as The Reds' kit supplier in 2006, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Most of those Reebok strips from the previous ten years were, it has to be said, decidedly poor, so it was no surprise to find us rubbing our hands with glee when that run came to an end.
Sadly Adidas' first offering was, well, inadequate to say the least. That floppy collar and the wavy white piping did nothing for us, and so it's our great pleasure to welcome a much smarter replacement that proves that sometimes less is more. Very nice.
Unfortunately, the new away shirt undoes all that building anticipation by being light grey, and as if that's not bad enough, they've even incorporated a shadow checkerboard pattern that subscribes to the 1984 school of football shirt design.
There's no nice way to put this - it looks cheap, boring and unoriginal. At least Hull's grey away shirt has a slight air of panache about it, but this, this... needs to be replaced as soon as possible. Liverpool have brought out a third shirt for this season - a pretty good green one - but it'll only be seen in their
European away games. Shame, that. It would have been a far better away shirt
full stop.
Manchester CityAnd finally to Man City who've had the dubious honour of having Le Coq Sportif as their kit manufacturers since 1999. For this season, they've produced a home shirt that improves on the rather bland pinstriped affair of 2007/08, and though it lacks a little excitement, we think it's a step back in the right direction.
Out go those pinstripes which proved such a talking point last season, and in comes a plain light blue shirt with a white stripe running across one shoulder and a thin navy blue stripe running across the other. With a nice navy blue v-neck collar, it doesn't look at all bad in our book.
A little more troubling, however, is City's away shirt. It sees a return to the old red-and-black-stripe arrangement, and we
think it looks OK... but we're not sure.
What's causing the confusion are those white pinstripes that flank the red and black bands. If it weren't for those, we think this'd be an almost perfect design. Sadly those thin white lines take the edge off it and that means the best we can call it is 'good' and/or 'interesting'.
So there it is, another five sets of shirts for you to judge and assess. We'd love to hear whether you agree or disagree with our rather presumptuous views, so why not drop us a comment and give us your thoughts on any or all of the shirts above.
Our thanks go to
Football Shirt Culture and
Historical Kits for their help with our research, and don't forget to join us again soon for
Part 3 of our report on the new shirts for the 2008/09 Premier League season.
Labels: Everton, Fulham, Hull City, kit, Liverpool, Manchester City, shirt, strip
The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #73
posted by Chris O - Friday, August 08, 2008
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Oblique styling10 Football Teams That (Have Been Known To) Wear Shirts Featuring Diagonal Stripes1. Crystal Palace (home)
2. Guatemala (home)
3. LA Galaxy (home / away (featured))
4. Leicester City (away)
5. Lorient (home)
6. Manchester City (away)
7. Netherlands (away)
8. Peru (home (featured) and away)
9. River Plate (home)
10. Vasco Da Gama (home)
Labels: diagonal stripe, Friday, kit, list, Little or No Consequence, shirt, strip
Premier League Kit Parade (Part 1)
posted by Chris O - Wednesday, August 06, 2008
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This time last year, SPAOTP brought you pictures of some of the new shirts being released for public purchase by each of the Premier League clubs, and we asked you to tell us what you thought of them.
This year, we've back again for more of the same and we've got even more new designs to show you, so let's crack on and see what the twenty clubs of the Premier League will be wearing this season. In Part 1, we begin with...
Arsenal...and the first thing you notice about their new home and away shirts is that they're strangely familiar - particularly the away one.
Nike have this time come up with another of those 'controversial' Arsenal home shirts where the sleeves aren't predominantly white as we're all used to seeing - a bit like the first one they produced for The Gunners back in 1994 - but that navy blue stripe resonates with their 2000-2002 kit as well.
As for the yellow change shirt, that can only bring back memories of one thing - the exciting climax to Arsenal's 1988/89 season in which they beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield to clinch the title.
It's the classic combination - yellow with navy blue sleeves, and it's bound to prove a big hit with the Arsenal fans, purely for nostalgia value alone. A good pair of shirts from Nike, we think, and a slight improvement on last season.
Aston VillaOnce again, we have a couple of offerings from Nike, but this time we're left with a slight feeling of disappointment.
Oh don't get us wrong - both the home and away shirts are nice and smart and no doubt well made, but they lack any sense of excitement or specific interest. Perhaps Nike went for the traditional look - something non-flashy and respectable?
Either way, the home shirt isn't vastly different from the one Villa wore last season, while the Summer Blue away shirt contrasts nicely with the previous white one. The thing is, we like Aston Villa's white away shirts so even that isn't scoring big points with us.
All in all then, a couple of safe shirts
design-wise from Nike but if this were a school report we'd now be scribbling down the immortal phrase 'could do better...'
Blackburn RoversThe first of six Umbro offerings here, and already there's one thing to note - the new Blackburn away shirt is already available to buy via their club website, but the home shirt isn't. You'll therefore have to make do with a picture of David Dunn wearing it for the time being.
So let's begin with that home shirt. Once again, the pendulum that is the eternal debate about whether the kit should have red trim swings back in the direction of 'No'. In many ways, that makes this shirt smarter and more refined - OK, we're tempted to say it's potentially less interesting to look at, but we think it's nicely styled, actually.
And then there's the away shirt. Now this is more like it... We're big fans of this one as it's that classic 'feature stripe' design that comes back in vogue every so often. This one's well executed with a white and royal blue stripe going down the middle on a navy blue background, but a technical point here - shouldn't an away shirt be coloured in such a way that it contrasts significantly with the home shirt? Discuss...
Bolton WanderersNow here's where we enter the realms of the surreal and the slightly comedic...
As you can see, Bolton's new shirts for home and away have what you might call a 'unique design element' - a strange dark-coloured
thing that goes around the neck, over the shoulders and under the arms.
Seen from a distance and from certain angles, it looks like any player wearing one has got a rucksack strapped on his back. Suffice to say we fear for any replica shirt-wearing Bolton fan that has to catch a Tube train home from an away match in London this season.
While we're all in favour of creative design and a fresh approach, we think this is a step too far on the part of Reebok. We're also tempted to say that this is the sort of kit that you'll either love or hate, but to be honest it's more likely to just make you laugh more than anything. We'd like to be persuaded otherwise, though, so if you're a fan of Reebok's latest, leave us a comment and tell us why...
ChelseaSomewhat typically from one of the 'Big Four', we have not two but
three new shirts for the coming season, all of which are once again brought to us by Adidas.
Seen side by side in this manner, you'd first have to say there's an element of the 'template kit' about this (not that Adidas are any strangers to the art of designing template kits) but there is at least some difference in all three shirts as can be seen by (a) their colours, and (b) their collars.
Yes, it's another example of that 'let's keep it simple' mentality which you can't really knock but at the same time it doesn't really set the pulse racing either. We think the first point on the agenda when Chelsea met up with Adidas this summer was 'Get rid of that fluorescent yellow aberration from last season', and that they've duly done. It's been replaced with an old-fashioned (for Chelsea) warm yellow and blue edition which is much more pleasing on the eye, although it'll probably end up selling fewer units than the black one.
Still, all three look good to us and they're probably already flying out of the Chelsea club shop as we speak. So what are your thoughts on the new Chelsea shirts, or indeed any of the shirts mentioned above? Which would you be happy to keep as a memento for your future grandchildren and which would you happily set fire to in a frantic fit of pyromania?
Leave us a comment and tell us - we'd love to know your opinions. Meantime, look out for Part 2 heading your way shortly as it features Everton, Fulham, Hull, Liverpool and Man City...
Labels: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Bolton, Chelsea, kit, shirt, strip
Childhood Football Kit Amnesty
posted by Chris O - Thursday, July 17, 2008
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It's that time of the year when lots of new football kits are being released in readiness for the new season, and SPAOTP will be bringing them all to you very, very soon - never fear.
In the meantime, we'd like to conduct a short interactive survey on a not dissimilar topic - that of football kits. More specifically, we'd like to unearth your personal shameful memories on those football kits you wanted to own when you were a kid - the ones belonging to teams
other than that which you supported.
The more shameful your secrets are, the more we want to hear them! Did you always want that Man United home strip in 1984 despite being an ardent Liverpool supporter? Was it always your ambition to get your hands on that silver Newcastle away kit even though you were a Sunderland fan?
Step into the SPAOTP confessional and tell us all! We promise to keep your identity secret (if you pay us enough money) and you'll be making the rest of us feel less guilty about those hoped-for (or even paid-for) purchases we had when we were young and carefree.
Speaking personally (as a West Ham fan), I always secretly hoped to get the Norwich City home kit for my birthday or Christmas when I was about eleven years old. Adidas were just starting to bring out their new wave of pinstripe designs, and that yellow and green one (above) worn by The Canaries had a certain 'je ne sais pas' about it to my mind.
Sadly, my local sports shop didn't have it in stock at the time, so I had to make do with my second choice instead - the Liverpool home kit made by Umbro around the same time (right).
(You can see I had a thing for pinstripes, can't you?)
My parents duly bought it for me with what little money they had at the time, and I felt suitably grateful. The fact that I was arguably showing turncoat tendencies against my beloved West Ham didn't enter my head back then - it was all about wearing a kit that looked resplendent in its 'cutting edge' design.
So there it is - I admit: I once owned and proudly wore a Liverpool home strip back in 1983 despite being an ardent fan of The Hammers. Forgive me, Mooro, for I have sinned.
Care to own up to any of your own fleeting childhood desires (in terms of football kits only, please)? Leave us a comment and get it off your chest - you'll feel a lot better for it…
Labels: kit, Liverpool, Norwich City, pinstripes, shirt, strip
Obscure Kits From British Football History #7
posted by Chris O - Saturday, July 12, 2008
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Aberdeen (home)
1976-1979When you go into business as a football kit manufacturer, the chances are you'll produce some designs that prove very popular with the supporters and some that will turn out to be absolute stinkers. No maker of football kits can ever claim to have hit the bullseye with every design, but if they at least come up with something original, they'll at least have achieved
something.
This is effectively what Admiral did in the mid- to late-1970's. Having secured the contract to supply kit to the England team under Don Revie, Admiral were keen to flex their design muscles and show the world what they were capable of.
What followed was a series of kits smothered in a rash of Admiral logos on the shoulders, sleeves, shorts and anywhere else they could fit them in, but before that came a brief period where the company logo took second place to some genuine unashamed invention.
With Adidas starting to roll out their distinctive 'three stripe' motif all over the world, Admiral tried something similar but with an interesting twist. For Aberdeen, they'd put initially five and later four white stripes all the way down one side of their red shirts and shorts. Not down the sleeves, not down both sides of the shorts, but down one side of the shirt and shorts.
As is perhaps the sign of a true design classic, it's never been repeated since but Admiral did lend the four stripe motif to one other club back then - Manchester United, for their away kit. Theirs featured a white shirt with four black stripes, but it was Aberdeen's all red strip with those white tramlines running from shoulder to thigh that had the biggest impact.
I'd have to say it's one of my favourite kits from that era as it shows how a simple device like a bunch of consecutive lines can be used to make a football kit look that little bit different from all the rest.
Whether or not you like any of Admiral's other efforts from the 70's such as the brown
Coventry City kit or the plethora of logo-infested designs foist upon everyone from West Ham to Norwich, this one stands head and shoulders above them all.
Well done, Admiral. This was one of your finest.
Labels: Aberdeen, Admiral, kit, shirt, strip
Obscure Kits From British Football History #6
posted by Chris O - Saturday, April 12, 2008
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Sunderland (home)
1981-1983We've talked before about how some teams are synonymous with a particular look to the kit they wear. Many teams prefer a bold strip of just one colour (think Real Madrid and Liverpool), others like to wear hoops (a la Queens Park Rangers and Sporting Lisbon) while a distinct minority have adopted an interesting half-an-half appearance (such as Feyenoord and Blackburn Rovers).
For many though, it always was and always will be stripes for their club's kit. One such team that falls into that category is Sunderla
nd, and as you'll all be aware, they consider their red and white stripes to be the perfect antidote to the black and white of their near neighbours Newcastle United.
Those big red and white bands running the full length of the Sunderland shirt have almost always been accompanied by black shorts, except for a spell between 1961 and 1973 when they were white. The stripes seemed a non-negotiable facet to the club's identity, but when Sunderland returned to the old First Division in 1980 after a three-season lay-off, a change to the kit was not far off.
Someone somewhere decided that as this was the start of a new era in the top flight for The Rokerites, the kit should reflect the new beginning that was underway. For the 1980-81 season, Sunderland were to wear a home strip featuring no bold red and white stripes, no black shorts - not even white shorts. This was something utterly different than anything they'd worn before.
The new kit was made by Le Coq Sportif who, back then, were a major manufacturer of football attire for people like Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and even the Argentinean national team. They took on the Sunderland brief and gave them a design which, like all individual and revolutionary designs, would go down in history as either an unsurpassable classic or a never-to-be-repeated aberration.
The new shirt was predominantly white but featured a series of double tramlines in red running from top to bottom. These weren't stripes in the old-fashioned sense, nor were they the pinstripes that were so prevalent in the game around this time. These were 'thin stripes' and they were about as popular as they were visible from not-too-far away.
Even the shorts were red - another dramatic break from tradition - but then that's probably the only colour they could have been as white or black might have looked a bit silly. Finish off the job with a pair of red socks and there you have it - a kit that lasted for two seasons and has never been matched before or since.
It didn't go down well and the design was scrapped in 1983, as were the manufacturers. When Nike arrived as a new name on the British sportswear scene, they did the decent thing and wasted no time in reinstating the thick red and white stripes again. The old kit didn't even have the kudos of being worn by anyone famous (apart from Ally McCoist, pictured) such was the very ordinary team they had back then.
We can therefore say this was just an interesting experiment that's best left in the scrapbook of British Football Kit Design for another twenty-five years until someone else stumbles upon it. Sometimes you just don't win anything for trying to be revolutionary. Tradition is what people like, and more often than not as a football kit designer, you're best of just staying with the tried and trusted. It's just a shame no-one at
Le Coq Sportif knew that.
Labels: kit, obscure, shirt, strip, Sunderland
Come on you Reds...
posted by Chris O - Thursday, March 13, 2008
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Never let it be said that the universities of the world don't waste a single moment of their valuable academically-charged time. It's just come to light that a study by Durham University and the University of Plymouth has found that football teams wearing red shirts are more likely to be successful than those wearing any other colour.
Their research looked into the results of English football league clubs since the Second World War and it shows that, when playing at home at least, those teams wearing red are more likely to win than those wearing, say, white, blue or yellow. Apparently the trend doesn't apply to away form, which, if nothing else, conveniently deals with those statistical anomalies they couldn't find an answer for.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, those English league teams that have worn yellow or orange throughout history are officially the least successful. Something to think about the next time someone offers you a ticket to that exciting Norwich v Blackpool FA Cup tie.
Yes we may scoff, but there's obviously something in all this. Maybe it's the psychological effect teams in red have over their opponents that makes them seem somehow invincible. It's that kind of thinking which is already making waves in the football world - so much so that Kevin Keegan has already ordered a redesign of Newcastle's home strip in the hope that it'll change their fortunes too.
Here's what they've come up with, and you can bet your life it'll be hitting the shops sometime very soon…
Labels: Gold kits, red, shirt, strip
Obscure Kits From British Football History #5
posted by Chris O - Sunday, February 03, 2008
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Crystal Palace (home)
1971/1972 seasonWhen it comes to football kits, there are only so many different designs you can create which are simple, distinguished and can last the test of time. Whoever it was that decided black and white stripes were a winning combination must still be receiving royalties from Juventus, Newcastle United, Botafogo and many other clubs to this day.
Similarly, that pairing up of green and white hoops must have put a very large tick in the box for the people running Celtic and Sporting Lisbon when they were trying to work out what their team should wear.
As for Ajax, they must be have one of the most exclusive niches of all, thanks to that very individualistic broad red stripe running down the middle of their clean white shirts.
We can only guess it was this last example that prompted the chairman of Crystal Palace to go for something similar in the early 1970's when he opted to change the team's strip, but a big red stripe was too obvious. What they needed was something that nodded noticeably in that direction yet had a degree of distinction that would make the design all their own.
And so it was that in the 1971/72 season, Crystal Palace FC unleashed the following kit onto an unsuspecting world:
Yes, witness one and all the Double Stripe of Crystal Palace, replete in claret and blue.
Now at this point, the younger folk amongst you may be starting to make comparisons with the kit Crystal Palace wore on and off from 1976 onwards - you know, the one with the red and blue diagonal sash on a white background.
The thing to note here, though, is that while these days we're all used to seeing Palace wearing red and blue the whole time, back then their kit sported decidedly Burnleyesque hues.
So this was something of a radical departure from either claret and blue shirts or plain white ones as had been worn before it. This was a bold move and one which perhaps epitomised a brave new identity for the team and one which would would spark a change of fortunes for Crystal Palace.
It was. Call it coincidence if you will, but the introduction of the double-stripe initiated a gradual decline for the club which would see them drop from the First Division to the Third in the space of three seasons. As if to admit the new styling had had a derogatory effect on them, Crystal Palace altered their kit slightly for 1972/73, separating the claret and blue stripes with a thin white one.
It had no effect. Palace languished in the Second and Third Divisions until 1980 when Terry Venables' managerial expertise put them back where they were a decade earlier, but by then the claret and blue had gone, as had that distinctive two-stripe design.
It's interesting to note that this jinx of a design has never been reintroduced by the club since, although it
was chosen by the fans as the basis for a special kit to be worn in celebration of Palace's centenary in 2005. In the two games it appeared in, both of them ended as 2-0 wins for Crystal Palace.
Maybe they were a bit harsh to abandon that design after all...
Labels: Crystal Palace, kit, obscure, shirt, strip
Shirt Legend: Scotland (home)
posted by Chris O - Saturday, December 29, 2007
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Way back in February this year,
Some People Are On The Pitch launched its first ever
Shirt Legend poll. In it, we asked you to vote for what you thought was the
best England home shirt ever worn since 1964, and the response we got was fantastic. To date, we've received 164 votes and the poll remains open so if you haven't voted yet, make sure you do soon!
As you may have guessed by now, we love anything to do with football kits and football shirts here at SPAOTP, so you can imagine how pleased we are to finally bring you our second Shirt Legend poll. This time, we want you to vote for the greatest ever
Scotland home shirt worn since 1964.
It's exactly the same as our England poll - we show you all the home shirts Scotland have worn over the last 44 years, we tell you a little bit about them and then you choose the one you like best. Simple.
So here are the all-important 16 shirts as worn by the Scottish national team since 1964. Click on the image below to see a larger version...
It all begins with
Shirt A, which, for many, will be an all-time favourite due to its simplicity and no-nonsense styling. We think it was made by Umbro (as they were the kit suppliers of choice for most of the British countries back then) and it has a simple white round neck and white cuffs to compliment that famous dark blue.
It was replaced in 1973 by
Shirt B which featured a proper white pointy collar and a white triangle below the neck. The look was pretty typical of many countries' shirts at the time and looked a little more up-to-date than its predecessor.
Then in 1976 came a bold move into the world of commercialism as Umbro rolled out a design feature which was to become ubiquitous in British football until the start of the 1980's. As you can see from
Shirt C, it consisted of twin white lines running from the shoulders down the sleeves to the cuffs, between which was a repeated Umbro 'diamond' logo, also in white. The pointy collar remained, but that sleeve design was one you either loved or hated...
To see the difference between the Scotland home shirt of 1980 and the one before it, you need to look quite carefully. There was hardly any change at all in reality, but
Shirt D found itself without the white triangle below the neck while all around it remained the same.
A more dramatic change occurred in 1982 when Scotland again qualified for the World Cup and a new Umbro shirt was unveiled (
Shirt E). The slinky silk-like material which was already in use by companies such as Adidas had had finally arrived, and with it came a double white v-neck and some white piping below the shoulders too. The modern era had finally arrived.
A year before the next World Cup, Umbro changed things around again as a round neck was preferred for the first time since 1973 (albeit a stylised one) and the white piping was altered too (see
Shirt F). On its own it looked simply effective, but with the accompanying white shorts (featuring a broad navy blue band just below the waist), it looked altogether more startling.
Three years later and Umbro went for a very modern, sleek look (
Shirt G). A modern, traditional white collar with a red insert topped it off and the shade of navy blue used was ever-so-slightly different as well (from what we can make out). There was also a new badge to replace the circular ones of old and the Umbro badge changed from white to yellow. Yet again, the accompanying shorts added to the overall effect of the shirt, but we won't concern ourselves with them as you're voting on the shirt alone, of course!
Shirt H looks more like a continuation of the styling seen up to the arrival of Shirt G. The old navy blue colour was back and there was some funny white flashes on the sleeves which were typical of the early-90's which this one comes from. Not sure about that collar and the white thing below it, though...
If you're talking about radical redesigns,
Shirt I from 1994 is probably the most radical of the lot. Forget fancy lines or modern collars - forget white shorts, even. This was an all blue strip and one which had a single overriding design feature that really caught the eye:
tartan. It was another of those stark 'love it or hate it' shirts which really shocked a lot of people when it was launched, but if the players needed reminding who they were playing for, that subtle tartan pattern should have done the job easily.
Its replacement in 1996 had its feet firmly planted in the old design school (
Shirt J). No eye-catching patterns this time, but there was now a noticeable use of red around the collar and in the piping running the length of the shirt. There were also some bold white bands on the sleeves to accompany that bold white collar. A little messy, some might say, but at least it was a real contrast from the one before.
In 1998, Umbro released its last Scotland home strip, seen at the World Cup that year (see
Shirt K). Out went the red colouring and back came the simple navy blue and white. There was an understated v-neck collar as the main focal point of what was a generally understated shirt anyway, and that was about it.
The new millennium saw a change of manufacturer as Fila took over from Umbro as Scotland's kit supplier. The company, founded in Italy, began with a simple design (
Shirt L) that had a v-neck, white trim and white under-arm panels. It bore a passing resemblance to the World Cup '82 shirt, only it pushed the levels of simplicity even further to the extreme.
For the 2002 update, Fila created a new shirt (
Shirt M) that was a combination of two different eras. Around the neck was the 'white-wings-and-triangle' collar that came straight from the 1970's, and on the navy blue body was a series of white pinstripes that were redolent of the early 80's. The mix of devices was a curious one and came on the back of a retro revival not long before its launch.
In retrospect, Scotland fans didn't get much of a chance to admire this design as it was replaced only a year later with something from a different Italian company, Diadora. As you can see,
Shirt N shows a return to a plain navy blue body but with two white panels widening from the top of the shoulders towards the area under the arms. There was also a small white triangle below the round neck, all of which made for a smart, dare we say 'popular' bit of styling.
If Diadora had found the right balance between modernity and tradition, their second offering in 2005 lurched full-tilt towards the former (see
Shirt O). A strange white band had suddenly appeared along the left shoulder and that, apart from some subtle white piping down the sides, was all there was. It made up part of a quirky asymmetrical design which continued on the shorts and socks. One sided games, maybe, but one-sided
kits?
Finally, we come fully up-to-date with
Shirt P. Last year, Diadora did that rarest of things - make the whole Scotland strip navy blue, but that wasn't the only thing to note about it. To contrast with the blue, they used not white, not red, but
gold. The colour was used sparingly yet noticeably in the piping along the shoulders and on the cuffs as well as on the numbering to give their most recent offering a curious appearance.
So which of those shirts really lights your candle? Is there a simple, classic design from way back that puts a tick in your box, or do you prefer one of the strange, left-field offerings from more recent times? We'd really like to know, so make your selection using the facility below, and if you've got time tell us which ones you particular like or dislike by leaving a comment. We look forward to hearing from you!
Labels: kit, Scotland, shirt, Shirt Legend, strip
Shirts for 2007/08: Portsmouth (3rd)
posted by Chris O - Saturday, October 20, 2007
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So this is it, then - the final part of our look at some of the new shirts to be launched for the 2007/08 Premier League season. We've already featured one shirt for each team since we got the ball rolling with Tottenham back in May, but one team remains overlooked as we end our series and that's Portsmouth so let's look at their new 'third' shirt...
Here it is, and as you can see it's black and gold, thereby contrasting distinctly with Pompey's other blue and white kits. It's made by Canterbury, a company from New Zealand that's been making rugby kits for ages and we think they've made a fair attempt with their initial offerings for Portsmouth this year.
OK, so they may not go for the more spectacular line of styling and their shirts might not be universally liked, but as you can see from this one it's smart, subdued and inoffensive. Not only that, but it's also available, so why not head down to the
Portsmouth FC online shop and buy yourself one - they're only £39.99! (No? Oh well, at least we tried...)
So do you agree with our thoughts or are we wide of the mark this time? Have you EVER agreed with any of our thoughts?! Probably not, but let's not worry about that now... We'd like you to tell us what
you think of the Portsmouth 3rd shirt above, so leave us a comment, choose an option on our online vote below or do both. It's your last chance after all...
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VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS SHIRTThe final results were as follows:
Excellent: 20 (61%)
Good: 8 (24%)
OK: 1 (3%)
Poor: 1 (3%)
Terrible: 3 (9%)
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And that's about it. We've now featured all twenty Premier League teams, so if there's any you haven't judged for yourself, check out the 'Shirts For 2007/08' links on the right and add your votes. At the end of the year, we'll review the scores and see which shirts were the most popular and which you couldn't give a damn about.
Before we go, a quick heads-up for all you fans of football shirts and strips who might be fearing withdrawal symptoms. Fear not - we're lining up another Kit Legend vote like the England one we did back in February. All we'll say at this stage is if you're Scottish, we think you'll like what we've got to offer... :)
Labels: kit, Portsmouth, shirt, strip
Shirts for 2007/08: Aston Villa (away / 2nd)
posted by Chris O - Sunday, October 07, 2007
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Yes folks, we're nearly there. Only two teams remain unfeatured in our look at some of the new shirts on show this Premier League season, and today's penultimate offering is the Aston Villa away shirt:
Just when you thought the pinstripe was dead, here it is again in all its glory. (Actually this isn't the only shirt you'll see paying homage to the pinstripe - Umbro's new Northern Ireland away shirt is a tribute to the one worn in the 1982 World Cup and made by Adidas, curiously enough, but we digress...)
This shirt's made by Nike and is in itself a visual nod in the direction of the one Villa wore between 1981 and 1983. It's just come out on sale and you can pick one up via
Aston Villa's online store at the slightly pricey price of £45.00.
Is it worth it? Well perhaps so. Nike's recent trend for minimalist and slightly plain kit design appears to have been shelved temporarily to make way for this nostalgic and well-executed piece. To us it's got clean lines, is unfussy and makes good use of colour but hey, what do we know having judged nineteen shirts already? This feature's all about you telling us what
you think, and you can do that by leaving us a comment or by registering your basic feelings on this handy online voting facility...
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VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS SHIRTThe final results were as follows:
Excellent: 40 (66%)
Good: 12 (20%)
OK: 4 (7%)
Poor: 3 (5%)
Terrible: 2 (3%)
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Tell us what you think and let the world know how good a shirt this really is. Next time around we'll have the last in the series, and that'll be looking at the new Portsmouth 3rd shirt.
Get your handkerchiefs ready - it could be quite an emotional occasion...
Labels: Aston Villa, kit, shirt, strip
Shirts for 2007/08: Manchester United (away/2nd)
posted by Chris O - Friday, September 21, 2007
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Seventeen down, three to go, and here's the first of those three. It's the new Manchester United away shirt...
...and a return to the old black favourite that hasn't been seen since the 2004/05 season. This new Nike shirt forms part of an all-black strip and is yet to be worn so far this season. For all you small detail fans it has another one of those funny stripes that goes part way up the back, just like United's current home shirt. On this shirt, it's red, rather than white.
Like the other recent offerings that Nike have brought Man U, this one has modest, unshowy styling which perhaps borders on the boring and unspectacular, depending on your viewpoint. Always a bone of contention, that - does simplistic mean boring? We'll save that for another day, perhaps...
Anyway, if you want to buy this quality garment, you can get it from the
Manchester United online shop. It'll cost you upwards of £39.99, although if you get the word 'Ronaldo' printed on the back, you can pick it up for only £10.99 (ho ho...)
But enough of such poorly executed jokes - what do you think about the shirt? Is it sleek and stylish or black and bland? Leave us a comment or register your opinion with this handy online vote button-type-thing...
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VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS SHIRTThe final results were as follows:
Excellent: 44 (59%)
Good: 9 (12%)
OK: 13 (18%)
Poor: 3 (4%)
Terrible: 5 (7%)
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Labels: kit, Man United, shirt, strip
Newcastle United's sponsor - on the rocks?
posted by Chris O - Tuesday, September 18, 2007
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Yet more news from the business world following
last week's story about QPR being taken over by two Formula 1 bosses. This week it's something altogether more sinister as UK bank Northern Rock loses more than half its value on the Stock Exchange.
It's prompted many of its customers to queue up outside high street branches of the bank in the hope of withdrawing much of their money. The Bank of England has been called in to help out but many people see the news as a portent of a wider economic downturn to come.
Northern Rock, as many of you will know, are the shirt sponsors of Newcastle United and the club has been forced to review its spending strategy in the light of their recent financial devaluation.
To that end,
Some People Are On The Pitch can exclusively report that the first change to be made by the Newcastle club is to reduce its investment in the supply and manufacture of its kit. As a result, we can now reveal Newcastle United's new kit for the remainder of the season, as modelled here by Michael Owen, and we think you'll agree it's not bad considering the budget they now have available…
Labels: kit, Newcastle, Northern Rock, shirt, sponsor, strip
The F1 Influence...
posted by Chris O - Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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News reached us last week that Queens Park Rangers are about to be bought out by Formula 1 motor racing bosses Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone for £14 million.
After a swathe of Russian millionaires and American sports team owners, it's an interesting twist to now see the great and the good from the glamourous world of F1 now getting involved.
Will it have a noticeable influence on the English game? We're not sure, but in the meantime
Some People Are On The Pitch can exclusively reveal QPR's new home and away kits for the 2007/2008 season...
Labels: F1, kit, QPR, shirt, strip
Shirts for 2007/08: Chelsea (away / 2nd)
posted by Chris O - Thursday, September 06, 2007
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Just four teams left on our list to go. Hopefully we'll cover every Premier League team by the end of September, but in the meantime cast your eye over the new shirt that Chelsea are wearing away from home this season...
Very yellow, isn't it?
Yes, those wacky funsters at Adidas have obviously been sniffing their flourescent markers too often for their own good as this is the new '2nd' shirt for Jose Mourinho's men. You may have already seen it being worn during Chelsea's recent away match against Aston Villa (let's face it, you could hardly avoid a colour like that) and has the rare distinction of being luminous - something which should come in handy for those night-time matches.
It features the ubiquitous three stripes of Adidas as well as some curious black markings that are, well,
different. I'll refrain from doing any lion-tamer jokes at this juncture and instead tell you that you can buy the shirt from the
Chelsea FC online megastore for just under £40.00. An added bonus is that if you collect your new shirt from the Chelsea shop itself, you can wear it on the way home safe in the knowledge that you won't be hit by any passing road vehicles. I think you'll agree that's gotta be worth the money alone...
Anyway, before we lose any Chelsea fans who might be regular visitors to this site, here's my personal opinion. I rather like it - more so than the black shirts that Chelsea have been wearing in recent years. No problems with on-pitch visibility of course, and that luminous aspect to the yellow makes it quite an original feature by the manufacturers. Full marks for that, I suppose.
My opinion, however, counts for very little on its own. It needs you to add your thoughts and opinions to it so that the world can see for itself whether this is a design masterpiece or a tribute to narrow-minded kit production. Leave us a comment or take part in our online vote below...
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VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS SHIRTThe final results were as follows:
Excellent: 12 (22%)
Good: 2 (4%)
OK: 4 (7%)
Poor: 6 (11%)
Terr
Before we press on with other matters, here's a final word on the subject of football kits.
