One of the most innovative sportswear companies in recent times as been the Italy-based Erreà.  Through technical sponsorship deals around Europe with football teams and other sporting associations, the brand continues to build its reputation as a respected manufacturer of high performance clothing and equipment.  We spoke to Michael Craddock, their UK Customer Services Controller.
 
Michael, thanks so much for speaking to us.  Firstly, could you just let us know what your particular role at Erreà entails?
 
I look after the day-to-day affairs of Erreà's UK retail outlets and I act as liaison between our UK professional clubs and our in-house Design and Production departments.  So, basically, I get paid to talk about football all day.  It's tough.
 
That does sound like Hell.  So what qualifications, skills and experience is required for your job?
 
Other than the usual secondary school exams, I do not have any specific qualifications for my work here at Erreà. I obtained my original position within the company as a result of my previous 20 years of experience of the UK marketplace, including 10 years working directly with amateur, semi-professional and professional sports clubs and associations, prior to moving to Italy.
 
So you're saying that not only did your work revolve around football for a decade in the UK but then you got to move to a Mediterranean country as well?  Ok, moving on, what about the designers?  What does it take to go and design football kits in the sun? 

Football Manager Live’s uniqueness is borne out of the fact that it confers the user with the ability to create their own team. The game contains teams created from scratch by the managers. So instead of people managing real life teams like Liverpool and Manchester United, teams are totally distinctive.

This gives the game a sense of individuality as the team you create will be the only one bearing that name. It creates an attachment that is palpable as the team is essentially your baby. Once created it is up to you to bring that team success. You can customise your club in a number of ways, and some are described in more detail below.

There is a space on your team profile page for you to upload a customised team badge. These can be a jpeg or png file. This is one of the areas where the distinctiveness of the games excels. People have embraced this concept immensely and there are a number of expert graphics experts who can create your teams badge to the exact definition you require. Some of the badges created would put professional designers to shame and a number surpass the design and personality of many real life team badges.

If you are
adept at Photoshop ( download here Adobe Trial Link )you can make one yourself, but there is an excellent badge designed accessible via your account of the FMLive website. To those that have created their own it is a real labour of love. The game will automatically resize the badge created and show it alongside your team name when playing a match. 'Club' -> 'Profile' -> 'Change Badge' will allow you to upload badges from wherever they are stored.

Sometimes when I scroll through fantasy kit designs galleries and forums, I see kits with great potential, but with a lack of presentation.

Therefore, I’d like to introduce you to the world of making fantasy football kits (the easy way).

First, we’ll need a couple of things before we can started:

- Adobe Photoshop (free version is available here: Adobe Trial Link

- A FMG Live template pack.here

-Or this one

The second point can differ based on taste, as there are various options (i.e. SS’08, SS’09, LS’09, FMG’09 and so on).

I’ll be using the SS’09 templates pack for my tutorial, which is my favourite because SS’09 gets updated with new templates quite often.

So once you have downloaded the above, where to begin?

Tottenham Hotspur has published detailed plans of its Northumberland Development Project, including an exceptional new public square designed by Martha Schwartz Partners, the widely acclaimed landscape architects behind some of the most exciting new public spaces in the world - including Grand Canal Square in Dublin, Exchange Square in Manchester, Nexus Kashi Housing Project, Fukuoka, Japan and the Jacob Javits Plaza in New York City.

The public square will contain two distinct but connected spaces - an active space for events and performances and a smaller, quieter space. Each space is defined by stepped landforms for seating, new planting and a ribbon of Astroturf that connects the landforms and provides softer places to sit. Together they provide places to watch events, read, meet up or just relax.

The Club will actively manage these spaces to promote their positive use, for example as a host for a street market, a temporary ice rink or musical performances as well as being used by local schools, churches and Haringey Council for events and activities.

Football design does not always necessarily relate simply to the presentation of football clubs and players on the pitch.

The style carried by football fans is also an ever-changing element and can convey fashion and social trends. From the flatcap and suit wearing supporters of pre-war years, via their skinny jeaned and adidas Gazelle-wearing counterparts of the 70s, the most recent image is that of Burberry and Stone Island.

But society and the fan are transforming again. One most pertinent example of the latest development is the new range of football scarves released by WONG WONG.

We spoke to the company's creative director Stephen Wong.