Blog Entries

Even Better Than The Real Thing

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 15:12:52 +0100

Let me outline a kit design fanatic's descent into insanity - assuming, of course, that insanity is not a prerequisite. First he'll tell you that football fans should have greater input into their teams' kits, via kit design competitions and votes. Then he'll backtrack, saying kit manufacturers have listened and learnt and we should leave them to it. Next he'll qualify that assertion, suggesting some fantasy and amateur kit designers are the peers of t [...]

Let Me Be Your Fantasy

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 17:29:23 +0100

About a year ago I wrote an article congratulating the football kit design industry. They had, in my mind, reached a point where we no longer needed to scream at them what we wanted in a kit, no longer needed to plead with them that they treat our club or country's colours with respect. They had listened and learnt.

That was, as history will clearly show, a sweeping generalisation. I stand by the sentiment - I believe the last 18 months or so's higher p [...]

2012 - A Review and look forward at what 2013 holds

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0100

So that's that. An eclectic year in the world of football design packed full of ample good, bad and ugly. A year when football design intertwined with some of the biggest news stories to ensure 2012 would leave thousands of brightly-attired images indelibly printed on our memories. Let's take a look back...

The London 2012 Olympics

As cliché'd as it is to bring it up, London 2012 nailed it in oh so many ways, not least with Stella& [...]

2012 Christmas Gift Guide

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 20:30:40 +0100

And so it's that foreboding time again, when we knock years off our life expectancy traipsing around shops and jumping from website to website desperately attempting to locate gifts for our nearest and dearest that will satisfy them, avoid us losing face whilst also maintaining whatever degree of solvency we hold in this current financial gloom.

I realise not everyone celebrates Christmas, and not everyone will be buying gifts during this period, but I will, and this is [...]

'Keepers of Their Destiny

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 22:42:27 +0100

Goalkeepers - a different breed. This goes for custodians and their wont of individuality in the attire they take to the field. We all will reference Jorge Campos' day-glo oversized kits of the mid-nineties and Fabien Barthez, the wannabe outfielder, bringing short-sleeved goalkeeper shirts to the Premier League - despite Peter Schmeichel having already eschewed forearm coverage for the same club previously - but the evolution has taken several twists and turns over the las [...]

Football Kits - The Primary Function

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 08:04:51 +0100

Over recent weeks football kit manufacturers - particularly Warrior and Under Armour - have been taking flak over their choice of their clubs' change kit colours. If we're honest, grumbles are consistently heard whenever new kits are released, a major objection being that the three kits over a season do not offer enough protection against the dreaded "clash", but the two new-kids-on-the-block American companies have taken this oversight to a new level.

Th [...]

Interchangeability Through The Ages

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0100

One of the great ruminations of football kit design is the concept of multi-purpose shorts and socks. That is to say, shorts and socks that suit, generally speaking are designed to suit, at least two of the outfield shirts in any team's season wardrobe.

There is a call for flexibility in this area due to greater emphasis than ever before being put on the avoidance of the "overall clash". The implication seems to be that when two teams face-off they should not appear, e [...]

Enhanced by the Sponsor

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 08:35:55 +0100

Whilst I make no apology for being opinionated, it occasionally becomes necessary for me to qualify my remarks. For example, I recently railed against the use of sublimation in football shirt manufacture, only to have it pointed out to me that major sportswear manufacturers utilise the technique to create stripes, hoops, sashes and other integral patterns. I was, of course, aware of this and merely hadn't been explicit enough in outlining that I was referring to sublimation [...]

Ruined by the Sponsor

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 16:55:08 +0100

"Ruined by the sponsor(s)" is an oft-repeated refrain on football shirt websites, particularly FootballShirtCulture.com, generally expressing disappointment at a warmly-received design carrying an organisation's logo which is to its detriment.

Football clubs need to make money. More than ever before, any potential injection of funds into a team's progress has to be considered, even with significant drawbacks. Chelsea took money from a Russian oligar [...]

Tailored by Umbro, Divested by Nike

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 02:45:13 +0100

di·vest [dih-vest, dahy-]

verb (used with object)

Commerce .

a. to sell off: to divest holdings.

b.to rid of through sale: The corporation divested itself of its subsidiaries.

Me neither. Put simply, Nike are going to try to sell Umbro as they're losing money.

Now, I'm about to argue pretty convincingly that I saw this coming, quoting myself seemingly spotting warning signs and melodrama [...]

Time To Take The Kits We're Given - We've Never Had It So Good

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Since I started writing this blog some four years ago a common theme has been recurring. That is the desire to see football fans involved in the design process, either by way of consultation, kit votes or simply allowing the fans to design the kits themselves in competitions.

Well now I'm done. We've got the input, we've had our say, the manufacturers and clubs have moved on the information we've given them and we've been greatly rewarded. Now it's time to allow designers [...]

The Best Bar None

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Dave Woods paused for effect immediately after delivering the dramatic news. With Channel 5 having hit the jackpot with their serendipitous adoption of Athletic Bilbao's Uefa Cup campaign - and reclaiming the formerly mocking "Thursday Nights on Channel 5" chant with all stigma banished - the commentator now had the opportunity to consolidate this success with a surefire winner. News had come through that Atletico Madrid were through to the Final and should Bilbao get past Sporting Lisbon [...]

The Nike LeBron 9 Low Liverpool Edition - Research and Destroy

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:51:48 +0100

The geniuses at Nike have done it again. If you are not aware, they were responsible for the recent debacle of releasing a pair of trainers for St Patrick's Day, which were described in the clumsiest of Guinness-referencing adjectives, and named, I kid you not, after the moniker given to the horrendously vicious British paramilitary unit which tortured and murdered Irish people in the early 1920s, the Black and Tans.

The only explanation for this PR disaster must be th [...]

The Brands With The Three Stripes

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:03:55 +0100

As I have mentioned before, somewhat unconvincingly, the "football" in "football design" doesn't have to refer to association football. There are several other codes which fall under that umbrella term.

I've already covered rugby and there is of course plenty to write about in Australian Rules football and American Football, but this time I'll focus on the Gaelic Athletic Association's version of the sport and its virtually sy [...]

The Death of the Long-Sleeved Football Shirt

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:20:14 +0100

Something I touched on recently in The Second Best Titled Blog Article Ever™ (I'm, naturally, also responsible for the best) that deserves expanding on is the yin to the rise of the baselayer's glorious yang - the demise of long-sleeved football shirts.

As wrapped up as I've been in celebrating the - as yet not entirely tapped - possibilities of undergarments, I've perhaps negected to pay true tribute to the mainstay of football through the ages, which is n [...]

All Your Baselayer Are Belong To Us

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Firstly, an apology. I did come up with the title myself but it seems as though the cycling community got there first. And second.

And as art so often imitates life, those pesky cyclists have set the bar for how to carry off undergarments and accessories to complement their activity's standard outerwear.

Fittingly, one of the earliest additions to shirt, shorts and socks that were seen on the football pitch with any great regularity were the humble cycling shorts. Sinc [...]

Team GB Football Kit - Damn Right, Great Britain's Got The Blues

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:45:28 +0100

At last, Team GB has its kit for the 2012 Olympic Games. And, sure enough, it's controversial.

To many the launch of the football kit - which I'll focus on for the sake of brevity - comes as a surprise. Not to me, not to Football Shirt Culture regulars and I'd guess not to many of the modest number that read this blog, but plenty assumed that the kit released last year, when the storm over the other 'Home' nations reluctance to release players for [...]

England Umbro 2011-12 Away Shirt Review

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Apologies to anyone who is offended by my timekeeping. The navy England away shirt has been out for nearly a year and only now am I going to review it. I do have excuses but they're wafer-thin so I'll get on with the business in hand.

As late as it is, it may actually be an ideal time to read about the pros and cons of the current England away shirt. There's a tournament coming - generally the point at which there is a spike in shirt sales - and England, despite my claims [...]

England Euro 2012 Home & Goalkeeper shirts? Hang on a minute, lads, I've got a great idea!

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:53:18 +0100

England have a new kit. For the fifth time in three years the Three Lions are mounted on a brand, spanking new outfield design.

And this time they're red.

The totally unauthorised leak/bizarre left-field Umbro-managed launch of the home and "goalkeeper" kit (more of which later) by supposed twitter legend Joey Barton (and subsequent drip-feeding on the manufacturer's facebook page) shows the crest, as intricate as the last two incarnation [...]

Més Que Una Samarreta

jfh29er@yahoo.co.uk — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:25:43 +0100

Over the last few days we've become aware of what the FC Barcelona shirts for 2012-13 will look like. Despite the Spanish media having form in getting this oh so wrong it seems this time they've nailed it.

The designs for the new Barça kits will again prove controversial, with a home shirt looking like a PSG number minus that nauseating white and through short-sighted eyes, and an orange away (they never go without that for more than a year) gradually lightening lower down. But, [...]