Gavin Hope

Premier League, Kit Log – Match Day 11

Nov 6, 2018Nov 7, 2018Posted in Premier League Kit LogTagged England, EPL, Football, Football Kits, Kit Geek, Kit Log, Kits1 Comment

The 2018/19 Premier League season is in full swing, we are seeing records being broken at the top (and bottom) of the league but that’s not why we are here, we want to look at the kits, what teams have worn and some stats / details around what they are wearing.

Overview:

Here we have the snapshot of what each team has worn through each “Match Day”:

In the total of 220 kits worn (110 games) so far this season, we have seen the following:

Home Kits worn – 73% (66% full Home, 7% variations)
Away Kits worn – 18 % (12% full Away, 6% variations)
3rd Kits worn – 8% (7% full 3rd, 1% variations)
4th Kits worn – 1% (0.5% full 4th, 0.5% variation – thank you Fulham)

Variations:

Kits are more than just about being Home, Away and Third (and 4th Kits…..Fulham)…, it is also about the variations that worn within these kits and those of you that have read my previous posts and follow me on Twitter will know this part of the Kit “Geekdom” that I really enjoy.

Looking at the variations worn so far this season (11 games):

7 Variations:

Fulham, who fast becoming this simple Kit Geek’s favourite team in Premier League so far this season, what will they wear next… all navy, or White/White/Black home kit combo.

6 Variations:

Burnley, who thanks to wearing three variations of their away kit are now up to 6 variations.

5 Variations:

Manchester City and West Ham United.

Man City, with combinations in both their Home and Away kits, also by wearing a variation of their 3rd kit, so we may see a 6th variation at some point in the season.

West Ham, always one to use a variation of each of their kits, here we may see a fourth variation of their home kit if they go for a white short, blue sock combo.

4 Variations:

We have seen several teams that used four variations of kit.

Arsenal
Cardiff City
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Huddersfield Town
Manchester United

3 Variations:

AFC Bournemouth
Brighton and Hove Albion
Liverpool – (the only team to have used three different kits, no variations so far)
Newcastle United
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur

2 Variations:

Leicester City – wearing their home kit for 10 games and those being the first 10 games of the season
Watford (only have two registered kits at the moment)
Wolverhampton Wanderers (only have two registered kits at the moment)

Points per kit:

Another area I like to look at is the points won wearing certain kits, to keep this simple and not over confuse with the variations used, I have combined variations of kits, so below you will see Home and Away kit League tables based on points per game when the Home and Away kits were worn, there is also a 3rd kit league, this also includes…. yes, you guessed it Fulham’s 4th Kit appearances.

Home Kit League:

Manchester City not surprisingly are sitting top of the Home Kit League, with a maximum of 3.00 points per game for the 7 games they have worn their home kit (and its variation)

The only surprise looking here, would be Watford, who sitting in joint 5th Place with 1.88 points per game.

Away Kit League:

Arsenal and Leicester City top the Away kit League, however there 100% record from just one game is the main reason for this.

Manchester United and AFC Bournemouth are both performing well in the away kits this season, with 2.25 and 2.00 points per game, interestingly (well maybe just for me)

Manchester United have yet to wear their registered away kit season (Pink Shirts, Black Short, Pink Socks), however have worn a variation of Pink/White/Pink and Pink/Black/Black in its four appearances so far.

3rd (and 4th) Kit League:

We have three teams with 100% records in the 3rd (4th) Kit League, Tottenham Hotspur winning all three of the games when they have worn their 3rd kit this season. Burnley’s white third kit’s only outing has also resulted in a win for them.

Several teams are yet to wear a 3rd kit this season, with Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers currently only having two kits registered, something that will be unlikely to change as we move through the season.

Unseen 2018/19 kits:

Looking at these stats it shows a number of kits that are yet to be used this season in the Premier League (however some have made appearances in the League Cup), these kits are:

Newcastle United Away (one that I am looking forward seeing in action)
Tottenham Hotspur Away
AFC Bournemouth 3rd Kit
Brighton and Hove Albion 3rd Kit (last season’s yellow away)
Leicester City 3rd Kit
Manchester United Away (this is surprising giving the marketing giant that is MUFC)
Southampton 3rd Kit

and

Fulham 5th kit…. go on, you know you want to!!

So that’s it, a view and some stats on kits, let me know what you think and what your favourite kits of the 2018/19 Premier League season have been so far.

My favourite, at this moment a variation of Huddersfield Town’s home kit, worn with Black socks, a simple but classic look.

Journeyman Series #2 – Peter Beardsley

Oct 5, 2018Oct 5, 2018Posted in Journeyman SeriesTagged Beardsley, England, Football, Kit Geek, Kits, Liverpool, NewcastleLeave a comment

The Journeyman Series returns, taking some time to look at one player and some of the kits worn through-out their Journeyman career.

Journeyman Series #2 – Peter Beardsley

Peter Beardsley is a name that you would not automatically think of as a Journeyman Player but a closer look at his career shows he played for 11 different clubs between 1979 and 1999 (this involved two spells at two different clubs) across three different Continents.

Whilst being a player that will often be thought of for his playing days at Newcastle United, Beardsley is one of the rare players that has played for both Liverpool and Everton, as well as both Manchester United and Manchester City.

Added to the spells with Newcastle between 1983/87 and 1993/97, Beardsley also had two spells at NASL’s Canadian Team Vancouver Whitecaps, firstly in 1982 and returning in 1983 after his short, often forgotten spell at Manchester United.

As well a club career that spanned 20 years, Beardsley also represented England at Senior and “B” level, winning 59 caps and scoring 9 goals across 10 years including playing key roles in Mexico 86 and Italia 90 World Cups.

A selection of kits worn by Peter Beardsley for the teams he represented.

* on loan from Parent Club

Some kit highlights:

Vancouver Whitecaps, 1982

NASL, what a time for a Kit Geek.

This in terms of NASL kits was a fairly conservative offering by Vancouver Whitecaps, there was also an “2nd” kit which was this kit with the colours reversed also worn by Beardsley during his two spells at the club.

Newcastle United, 1996

One of the classic kits of the 1990’s, the first kit produced by Adidas for Newcastle United was simple but very effective and one where the sponsor also just worked perfectly with the kit, coupled with a unique away kit (which is what the 2018/19 Newcastle United away kit also based on).

Manchester City, 1998

For me this kit falls under the bracket of “Kit Perfection”, a truly wonderful Manchester City kit created by Kappa (remember it was the late 90’s, the perfect storm of Oasis, Manchester City, Kappa), although this was not a successful time on the pitch for the club, they will certainly be remembered for this beauty (and its sister away kit of navy and fluorescent yellow stripes – another kit which influences the club’s 2018/19 season’s away kit).

Liverpool, 1989

At the time the biggest club in country, Liverpool took to the field in one of their classic kits, the late 80’s is where football kits seemed to shift to another level in terms of design, this Liverpool kit is one that will never be forgotten and again another kit that pair with its “Silver/Grey” away kit is a favourite for Kit Lovers and Liverpool fans alike.

England, World Cup 1986

Finally, Peter Beardsley wearing one of my favourite England kits, the 1986 World Cup version of the home kit produced by Umbro, this was slightly different from the Umbro produced kit worn between 1984/87 to help combat the Mexican heat but all in all a great kit worn Beardsley at the start of his England career.

There are several other kits worn by Peter Beardsley that deserve an honorary mention, at Newcastle United, any of the silver Umbro kits, the Asics home and away kits of the 1993/94 season, the Everton kit (NEC sponsored) kit of the early 90’s to name just a few.

What are your Kit highlights for Peter Beardsley over his career?

If you have a Journeyman that you would like to see featured in this series, then please let me know.

Premier League, Match Day 5 – Kit Review

Sep 17, 2018Posted in Premier League Kit LogTagged Crystal Palace, EPL, Football, Fulham, Kit Geek, Kits, Manchester United, Premier LeagueLeave a comment

The Premier League is now in full flow, the recent weekend (15th – 17th September) or known as “Match Day 5” in some corners has now been and gone with no great surprises in terms of results but did give us some interesting talking points in terms of kits, so lets dive in and have look at some of the kit talking points in more detail.

Fulham – 4th Kit of the season

There is only one place to start and that is Fulham who wore their 4th different kit of the season and in fact it has been 4 kits in 4 games, quite possibly a record within the Premier League era.

This run of kits started with the introduction of a red third kit in the game against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on 18th August 2018. This kit was no surprise giving that a change was needed with Fulham’s home and away kits not providing a contrast to Tottenham’s current home kit. This was not a new kit but last season’s third kit, updated with this season’s shirt sponsor.

In the next game, Fulham’s home game against Burnley played on 26th August 2018 there was no surprise that they would play in their traditional White shirts / Black shorts / White socks combination.

The next game, away at Brighton and Hove Albion on 1st September 2018 is the one that took the our little kit world by surprise, again as with the game against Spurs, Fulham’s home and away kits would potentially cause a clash with the blue and white stripes worn by Brighton but assumption would be that the red 3rd kit would then make an appearance providing an adequate alternative, however in this game they wore last season’s black away shirt with this season’s home shorts and socks, providing them with a 4th kit for the 2018/19 season.

This brings us to this past week (15th September 2018), where Fulham away at Champions Manchester City would see the first appearance of their new navy blue away kit, however the full away kit was not worn it was paired with what appears to be the home socks, the registered socks with their away kit this season are also navy blue.

I am unaware of a reason behind the choice of kits, particularly in the Brighton game but it creates good conversation and debate around this and football kits, for me a simple Kit Geek this is indeed a wonderful thing.

Crystal Palace – New 3rd Kit

As expected when Crystal Palace visited Huddersfield Town this season we would need to see an alternative to their Home and Away kits, this was launched at the weekend with a fantastic all yellow kit, with a faded red / blue stripe running down the centre of the shirt.

With the additional of this kit, I believe Crystal Palace have one of the best set of kits in the Premier League this season.

Away kit variations

Another area of the world of kits that I enjoy is those variations within a team’s kit, different shorts and socks worn with each kit. This weekend we saw six different variations for team’s kits, West Ham United and Arsenal wore variations of their home kits. Fulham (which we have already discussed), Manchester United, Cardiff City and Brighton & Hove Albion all wore variations of their away kits.

West Ham’s home kit combined with sky blue shorts and socks, is one that really works for me and a variation that I like to see on the pitch.

Manchester United wore their pink away kit for the second time game in a row and for the second time varied from the Pink – Black – Pink combination, this time surprisingly wearing white shorts with the Pink shirts and socks. I was surprised that when moving from the registered black shorts that they did use pink shorts as an alternative but the white seemed to work okay as a contrast.

Plenty of discussion points from this week’s Premier League fixtures in terms of Kits, let me know your thoughts on this.

Revamping the Champions League

Sep 12, 2018Dec 12, 2023Posted in GeneralTagged Champions League, Europe, Football, UCL, UEFALeave a comment

First things first, this post is not about Football Kits….

With news coming out this week about UEFA considering a third European Competition being introduced in 2021 to be played alongside the Champions League and Europa League…. the return of the Cup Winners Cup, who knows??

Read more about this announcement here – BBC Sport report

A friend then reminded me of a tweet a sent out in October 2017 about an idea that I had about revamping the Champions League.

When I was a child, I used to invent these kind of Super Leagues, creating squads from the best of the Football League, Scottish Premier and European Giants, well the one’s I knew about thanks to Match and Shoot Magazines in years of 1987 to 1990.

This memory got me thinking about how I could use that format and revamp the Champions League’s current format….. yep, I was that bored at some point that I spent time devising and working a competition, just to see if I could make it work.

So, for your pleasure, I give you my thoughts on a piece of paper in a little more detail.

PRE-QUALIFYING ROUNDS – JULY to AUGUST

This part of the competition would not change, there would continue to be four pre-qualifying rounds, with the same knock out format. With clubs joining the competition at each round depending on the Country’s Coefficient.

ROUND 1, ELIMINATION ROUND – SEPTEMBER

After Pre-qualifying we are now left with 32 teams (as we are now) but this is the first change in the Competition. Currently these teams are split into 4 pots and then drawn into 8 groups of 4 teams, in this vision Pots 1 and 2 are combined, so league winners of the major leagues, holders and the highest ranked teams will be make the 16 teams in “Pot 1”, the remaining 16 teams would then make up “Pot 2”.

For an example, lets take the 4 pots from this year’s Competition and show you what this would look like with Pot 1 and Pot 2 making the new “POT 1” and Pots 3 and 4 making the new “POT 2”:

These teams would then be drawn into 16 ties (POT 2 v POT 1), this would be a two legged tie and would also be drawn so that teams from the same country could not be drawn against each other.

Using this year’s competition again as an example, the draw would look like this (and yes I did recreate the draw myself with 16 bits of paper, I was going to Kinder Eggs in the place of balls but thought would be a step too far):

In the draw above, the teams from POT B were drawn first to complete that half of the draw and then the teams in POT A.

In the 2nd tie Monaco were drawn from POT B, then PSG drawn from POT A, as they are both from France they cannot play each other in this round, so PSG moved down to the next available tie (Tie 3), where they play Liverpool.

Games would be played in September, in the week after the International Break and the following week.

ROUND 2, THE LEAGUES – OCTOBER TO APRIL

This is where my competition has its biggest change, the 16 remaining teams will then be drawn into 2 leagues (LEAGUE A and LEAGUE B), there will be no more than 2 clubs from the same country in each league.

Again basing this on the above draw from the qualified teams from the 2018/19 competition and not being particularly scientific in terms of the results, apologies to any supporters of clubs that I have just eliminated from the competition, we have the following leagues drawn out of the hat.

The Leagues are drawn alternatively, so first club drawn goes into League 1, the second in League 2, the third into League 1 and so on…. if a club is drawn into a League where there are already two clubs from their country they move to the next league.

So there we have it, our 2 Leagues….. now, that gives us 14 fixtures to play between October and March (each team playing each other Home and Away).

Looking at the current European Calendar, there are five rounds of fixtures in Between October and early December. Last 16 games are played over four match days in February and March, then the first leg of Quarter Final is played in first week of April. So currently there is ten potential match days already in the calendar, therefore another four weeks are needed…. again looking at this seasons competition the following weeks could be used:

QUARTER FINAL – APRIL

We now are in early April and the leagues have finished and we see the return of the knock out rounds.

The Quarter Finals are sorted by the top four teams in each league moving forward, with 1st Place in “League 1” playing 4th Place in “League 2” and so on, initially in my little sketch I had this as a two legged tie but on reflection, a one off tie with the teams finishing in first and second place playing at home may work better and be a reward for those teams finishing in the top 2 of their respective leagues:

There is no restriction on clubs from the same country playing each other, as we have now at the Quarter Final stage of Champions League.

SEMI FINAL – MAY

Semi Final time and this time two legged games are back, the ties are sorted by the Quarter Final Fixtures, therefore potential keeping the teams finishing top of their groups apart at this stage.

Games will be played over two weeks in May and leave us with our two finalists.

FINAL – JUNE

The final, played as has been seen over the the recent years on the first Saturday of June at a Neutral Venue in a one off fixture.

There are of course plenty of issues and questions that this would raise, its not the perfect idea, if it was then I’d have a job at UEFA somewhere and not rambling on like this, but this gives what many of the clubs and fans are looking for with more fixtures where the “Big” European clubs are playing against each other and I would imagine the Television rights that something like this would generate would be of the likes we have not seen yet in Football.

For balance, some of the issues needing addressing:

Additional Game Weeks needed
What would happen to clubs knocked at Round 1
Impact on Domestic Leagues
International Breaks are taken into account but would they be impacted
Player burn out
It would take a minimum of 20 games to reach the final, from 13 games now
And so many more

Well that’s my idea, yes expanded from initial thoughts on a piece of paper and if you have got this far I thank you for taking the time to read through this, I have spent far too much thinking about this competition but I’ll be honest, I have quite enjoyed it!!

Let me know your thoughts and if you have any ideas for your own competition.

Journeyman Series #1 – Freddy Adu, Football Manager Legend

Aug 30, 2018Aug 30, 2018Posted in Journeyman SeriesTagged FM, FM2005, Football, Football Kits, Football Manager, Journeyman, Kits, Soccer, USA, USMSTLeave a comment

I wanted to start looking at football kits in a slightly different way and was thinking on how best to approach this, so here goes the Journeyman Series. Where I will be taking some time to review the kits worn of those players we regard as a “Journeyman”.

Journeyman Series #1 – Freddy Adu

For those Football Manager addicts, the name Freddy Adu needs no introduction, the “Wonderkid” first hit the headlines when he signed a contract with the MLS at the tender age of just 14 in 2003 and was picked up by DC United in the 2004 player draft as number one pick.

The eyes of the world were on the youngster, photo shoots with Pele, high profile trial at Manchester United all followed and heaped the pressure on the his shoulders, unfortunately that weight of expectation was never truly fulfilled.

However we are here to talk about the kits worn by Mr Adu not his footballing career. From his first club, DC United in 2004 he has played for 14 different clubs in 8 countries in 14 years (including a year out of the sport), as well as representing United States at Under 17, Under 20, Under 23 and Senior teams.

* on loan from Parent Club

Above you can see a selection of the kits worn through out the ongoing career of Freddy Adu, he is still playing at Las Vegas Lights and only 29, so I would expect to see a couple more clubs added to this list over the coming years.

Some Kit Highlights:

DC United, 2004

The first home kit worn by Freddy Adu, a classy Adidas kit, simple black with the “3 stripes” in white, including the band across the chest.

United States, 2006

There is something about United States kits that I really like, the combination of colours and the way often change these colours around just works well for me.

United States, 2012

Another example of United States kit, this time revisiting the historic “Sash” and using a deep red for the home kit.

Tampa Bay Rowdies, 2015

Any chance I get to take a look at a Tampa Bay Rowdies shirt I will take it, this one using a basic Nike Template was worn in 2015 and for me just works and enhancing the template.

Las Vegas Lights, 2018

Looking at this Las Vegas Lights kits, one word springs to mind…. unique! Flashes of neon against the black, screams Vegas at night and made by Australian sportswear manufacturers BLK, famously known for they Rugby League kits.

So my Journeyman series starts here, let me know what you think…. any kit highlights for you from Freddy Adu’s career, anything from the teams he played for in Turkey, Finland or Brazil.

And if there is a Journeyman you would like to see featured in this series, then please let me know.

Premier League, Kit Log – Match Day 2

Aug 22, 2018Aug 22, 2018Posted in Premier League Kit LogTagged EPL, Football, Football Kits, Kit Geek, Kit Log, Kits, Premier LeagueLeave a comment

We are now two games into the 2018/19 Premier League Season and based on what happened in the World Cup with the number of Countries using there both Home and Away in the opening games (World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 2), I thought it would be a good time to look at the kits worn this season so far.

The Kit Log….

Surprisingly (well maybe just for me) we have seen 30 home kits worn out of a possible 40 kits from the first 20 games and of these 30 kits, 29 have been the full home kit with no variation, the only team to wear a variation of their home kit… Arsenal wore red socks when playing Chelsea on 18th August.

Kit Breakdown after Match Day 2:

Home – 75% (29 Full kits, 1 Variation – Arsenal)

Away – 12.5% (4 Full kits, 1 Variation – Burnley)

3rd – 12.5% (5 Full kits)

As we approach Match Day 3, there are 10 teams that have worn two different kits so far, will any of these make it 3 kits in 3 games…. West Ham United are likely to based on their fixture away at Arsenal and having not used their blue away kit yet.

Overall my initial feelings of the kits on show have been great, I always prefer to see a kit in action before passing any judgement but 2018/19 feels like a good season…. and my favourite kit so far…. Manchester City Away, worn against Arsenal on 12th August.

Any thoughts about what we have seen so far this season, let me know?

EFL, Kit Log 2018/19

Aug 9, 2018Posted in EFLTagged EFL, England, Football, Football Kits, Kit Geek, Kits, League One, League TwoLeave a comment

The EFL kicked off last week so that gives me 72 teams kits to look at, so lets keep this brief and look at some of my kit highlights:

The Championship

Bristol City’s 2018/19 kit selection
West Bromwich Albion’s Yellow/Green “Change” kit
Middlesbrough returning to Hummel
Blackburn Rover’s home kit
Queen’s Park Rangers’ Pink Away kit

League One

Charlton Athletic’s away kit, another Hummel beauty
Plymouth Argyle making green work in home and away kits
Gillingham’s 125th Anniversary (3rd) kit
Bristol City’s Home and 3rd Kits
AFC Wimbledon kit selection

League Two

Colchester United’s camouflage away kit
Forest Green and their Hummel home and away kits
Newport County’s simple but effective home and away kits
Carlisle United (A), Exeter City (3rd), Grimsby Town (3rd), Port Vale (A) rocking purple kits
Lincoln City’s home kit, stripes and pin-stripes

This is a work in progress and I will continue to update as we move through season.

I will also be keeping a log of the kits worn within the Championship, similar to what I have done in The Premier League over previous seasons – Premier League Kit Log – END OF SEASON UPDATE

Let me know your favourite kits in the EFL.

World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 3

Jun 29, 2018Posted in World Cup Kit LogTagged Football, Football Kits, Kit Geek, Kits, Russia 2018, Soccer, world cupLeave a comment

48 games….. 8 completed groups…. 32 teams and 62 kits used….!!

We have reached the end of the Group Stage with the final rounds completed and the biggest take away for me in this, is that 30 of 32 teams have worn both their kits. There has been some interesting choices in using the “Second” choice kits for clashes and in some cases both team turning to their “Second” kits when there would have no real clash in using their “First” choice kits, FIFA or Manufacturer’s marketing their products, we will probably never know.

Kits used for the first time in the Competition in this round:

Russia, Second kit
Spain, First kit
Morocco, Second kit
France, Second kit
Peru, Second kit
Germany, Second kit

I want to call out the Germany kit here, this kit really is magnificent and for me one of the best kits seen produced in the recent years and unfortunately due to the team’s performance at this World Cup will always be remembered as the kit that was worn when they were knocked out the Competition

We are still yet to see the full Colombia first choice kit, both appearances of the shirt have been matched with white shorts and socks, a surprising choice as not sure the blue shorts/red socks would have clashed too much with the all green kit of Senegal.

Japan and Poland meet in their final Group games, a game that saw the only two teams to wear their “First” choice shirts for all three games in the group, however Poland did use white shorts, to create an all white kit which was a variation from their home kit, leaving Japan on their own as the only team to use one full kit for the Group Stage.

Round 3 kit highlights:

Germany’s kit, a thing of beauty that will now be remember for the wrong reasons
Japan wearing the full kit for all three games, only team to do so.
Finding out that teams have to nominate bib colours as well each game

My favourite kit of the round is the Germany kit.

To see my look at the previous games in the Group Stage check these posts out…

World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 1

World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 2

Jun 25, 2018Posted in World Cup Kit LogTagged 2018, Football, Football Kits, Kit Geek, Kits, Russia 2018, world cup2 Comments

In what seems to be a flash of the eye we have reached the end of round 2 of the group games in the 2018 World Cup is over, no more 3 games spread over the day!

Looking at the kits used, the biggest thing that stands out for me is 24 out of the 32 teams have worn both there kits and there has been question as to reason that Countries have made these changes, especially as in the past the same teams have met and been able to wear their first choice kits. Is this also a marketing ploy by kit manufacturers to maximise sales of kits or stricter FIFA ruling in terms of kit usage or maybe a combination of both….

Russia’s socks were changed from the first game, on of my highlights of the first round of games (World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 1) this was reported due to the top of the sock would clash with Egypt’s socks. Another team that used their “First” choice kit for a second time with a variation was France, who wore a striking combination against Peru, with the dark blue shorts combined with the dark blue shirt and red socks for one of the complete kit highlights of the tournament so far for me.

Nigeria used their much talked about “first” choice kit, this really is something completely new and I think the reason why it works so well and looks great in action. I also really like the Sweden “second” choice kit, the rich blue and yellow complimented each other perfectly and really stood out as a great kit.

The highlight of these games for me was Mexico’s kit, a stunning kit, the deeper shades of Red and Green used in a classic style and design not often seen with the two horizontal stripes on the shirt, just stands out as a class kit.

My final highlight is Colombia, that stunning blue kit based from the kit worn by many teams in 90s but interestingly not Colombia as far as I can tell, match with the bright orange trim, orange tonal badge, throw in the sea of yellow, blue and red in the crowd it just looks amazing all round and then David Ospina’s goalkeeper kit which is a call back to the Rene Higuita’s kit, a black kit with purple, green detailing and pink tonal badge…. Colombia creating a festival of colour!

Round 2 Kit Highlights:

France’s variation of “first” choice kit against Peru
Mexico’s kit… stunning!
Sweden in Blue
Colombia and all the colours….!

I am going to split my favourite kit of this round of game between two… including a goalkeeper kit… Mexico and the Colombian Goalkeeper kit.

And so on to Round 3 of group games….!

World Cup Kit Log, Group Stage Round 1

Jun 19, 2018Posted in World Cup Kit LogTagged FIFA, Football, Kits, Russia 2018, world cup2 Comments

The World Cup is well and truly underway, we have now seen each of the 32 teams take to the field, so time to review the kits worn so far by each of the teams.

I am still not 100% sure whether the “Home” and “Away” kit labels are completely correct when it comes to International Tournaments, I think for the time being I will refer to them as “First” and “Second” choice kits.

A few stats….

For the total of 32 kit appearances, we have seen “First” Kits (and variations) used 66% and “Second” kits (and variations) used 34% of the time.

First Choice – 15

First Choice variations – 6 (Egypt, France, Denmark, Croatia, Costa Rica, Colombia)

Second Choice – 8

Second Choice variations – 3 (Uruguay, Argentina, England)

It is nice to see some of these kits finally in action, the Adidas kits have stood out to me, in particular the Argentina kit and the Mexico kit, I also want to call out the Iceland kit here as well, whether it was the contrast with the black Argentinian kit or the bright white kit on a summer’s day but it really seemed to work, coupled with a goalkeeper kit that is of the same template in red, the package just works for me….. well played Errea.

England went for an all red kit, the first time they have worn an away kit (which also was all red) at a World Cup since 2010, to be fair that was only three games! I thought this looked great, the red shorts and in particular the red tonal badge and Nike “swoosh”, really worked and gave the kit a more modern balance in terms of colour.

Overall kit highlights for me…

Russia’s socks
Argentina v Iceland…. (maybe the new Scotland v Denmark in Mexico 86 for World Cup kit match up perfection… I have gone too far, I know)
Mexico’s kit
England all in red

For me, my favourite kit on show so far, is this combination of “Second” choice shirt and socks, with “First” choice away shorts from Argentina