Football Kit 20/21

[lassassinblanc]

Those Socks

[Colly]

I think they put all their energy into the socks.

[lassassinblanc]

I think they put all their energy into the socks.

True I think if they had of done something similar in regards to the black fade with the jersey stripes it would be very good,

I actually prefer the thinner stripes though over the larger variety.

[jpg]

I think they put all their energy into the socks.

Definitely didn’t put any of it into the shorts. Literally the exact same pair 5 seasons in a row now.

[Colly]

I think they put all their energy into the socks.

Definitely didn’t put any of it into the shorts. Literally the exact same pair 5 seasons in a row now.

That's a story in itself, look at the image Cal posted (genuinely love that website) and see how much variation there is in the Adidas shorts. I guess you can't do much with black shorts...

[bodacious benny]

On a vaguely related note, this is hilarious:

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 34516.html

[Speedo]

On a vaguely related note, this is hilarious:

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/foo ... 34516.html

This is tragic.

[Colly]

RIP Jude.

[jpg]

I can’t be the only one who finds that incredibly small-time of Birmingham?

[Colly]

You are not.

[DDuc]

Can't say I'm overly impressed with the kit design. Could be symptomatic of a late renewal with Puma along with our clear preference towards cheap manufacture.

One thing that totally boggles my mind is the exposed stitching at the collar:


Looks cheap and seems like it would easily come away after a few tugs from a jogger clad radgie on the 7-a-side pitch.

The top is essentially a striped rectangle on black and is far from inspiring for the reasons Cal has already cited. I do appreciate them keeping a striped reverse however; it's easy for clubs these days to go for the blank back in order to encourage fans to pay even more for printing.

Puma do have it in their locker to pull out a few distinct pieces, with my preferred tops (all ruined by the sponsor) from the last decade being the following:


Those tops are from being off the wall, but it just goes to show what a few stylistic tweaks can do here and there, such as coloured trims, pointed collars, thicker stripes, etc.

Although, Puma's major downfall is the general quality; I've been bitter about this ever since a bag strap clipped the whole front of my 2011-2012 kit not long after I got it. On top of a lack of durability, the material tends to lack fit or shape. This isn't to say I want tops to look like something Salomon Kalou circa 2011 would be wearing (remember when ridiculous muscle-fit football tops were a thing?), but a lot of Adidas tops seem to have more shape to them, without compromising the more portly members of a fanbase; maybe this is because a hem on an Adidas shirt tends to have a bit more stretch to it rather than just sagging, I'm not overly sure.

All of this is compounded by the ridiculous predatory price-tag that knows it can milk parents of little devout magpies for all they're worth. There's no reason for the price that I can see beyond greed, but if there's people willing to pay then there's gonna be no change on that front. Having ordered custom football kits for amateur teams before, I could easily get a striped Adidas template with a printed NUFC badge for less than a third of the price that is ten times better in durability and fit alone. That argument may not hold up when clubs are provided with bespoke designs, but it seems that if you're not one of the giants of world football you're just gonna get some variation of a template that is serving hundreds of other clubs across the world, although this can be forgivable when the quality isn't total utter w***.

[DDuc]

On that note, is there any design tweak that people would like to see that hasn't been explored before? At the risk of seeming too Juventussy, I've always liked the look of our top when paired with white shorts; it was a fun fresh edge to derby days when there was a kit clash, but you don't really see it in games anymore considering the abundance of away kits.

I'm also quite the proponent for hooped socks which we've had on a few occasions on the past.

...as well as Adidas sleeve/short stripes.

[bodacious benny]

I want an embroidered badge again, other than that I don’t care.

[DDuc]

I want an embroidered badge again, other than that I don’t care.

Would be nice (assuming nipple rash is mitigated), but are there any major clubs that have anything but a simple patch these days?

At least a stitched patch is better than what was essentially a sticker on the 2014-15 kits:


Strong contender for worst kit of the decade. Even they must have realised that they took cost-cutting too far with that one.

[bodacious benny]

Oh yeah those sticker patches were awful.

I’ve got our purple away top from about 7 years (?) ago with Jonas on the back still - that’s got an embroidered badge in the centre of the shirt.

[DDuc]

Oh yeah those sticker patches were awful.

I’ve got our purple away top from about 7 years (?) ago with Jonas on the back still - that’s got an embroidered badge in the centre of the shirt.

This one?


Think that's from the season we got relegated in 2009.
I've got that top and it's a great example of Adidas durability. Still take it out for kickabouts every now and again.

[bodacious benny]

Yeah that’s the one - mine is still in great condition even tho I wear it regularly.

[Sir Bobby]

That purple kit is the last one I bought and I also still wear it to play football

[Colly]

2009 is nothing, my 1997 is still in good nick, as well as most of those that followed it, except the blue trim Northern Rock one which accidentally got hot washed.

[Speedo]

tbf it does seem to look better on players: