Category: EFL

EFL, League One 22/23 – End of Season Report

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The 2022/23 League One Season came to a close on Sunday 7th May 2023, with Plymouth Argyle securing the title on the final day of the season and breaking the 100 point barrier, runners up were Ipswich Town who themselves managed a staggering 98 points to secure automatic promotion to The Championship. Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Bolton Wanderers and Peterborough United will compete in the Playoffs for the final promotion place.

I wanted to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 102 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 15 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 37% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 14 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 24% of variations worn
    • 19 3rd Kits worn
    • 5 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kit – 1% of variations worn
    • 1 Special Kit worn

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Overview

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15

Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30

Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the League One Teams

  • 1 Teams wore 7 Kit Variations
    • Accrington Stanley – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd x2
  • 5 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations
    • Barnsley – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2, Special
    • Charlton Athletic – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Morecambe – Home x4, Away x2
    • Oxford United – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Plymouth Argyle – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
  • 3 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Burton Albion – Home x2, Away x3
    • Derby County – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Lincoln City – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
  • 5 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
  • 10 Teams in just 3 Kit Variations
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 4 Kits
    • Morecambe: Red – White – Black / Red – White – White / Red – Red – Black / Red – Red – White
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Accrington Stanley: White – Black – White / All White / White – White – Black
    • Burton Albion: All Black / Black – Yellow – Yellow / Black – Black – Yellow
    • Plymouth Argyle: White – Black – White / All White / White – White – Green
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 2 Kits
    • Accrington Stanley: Black – Black – White / Black – White – White
    • Barnsley: All Black – Black / Black / White
    • Charlton Athletic: All Blue / Blue – Blue – White
    • Derby County: Black – Black – Green / All Black
    • Lincoln City: All White / White – White – Black
  • 7 Teams only used Home, Away kits and 3rd Kits with no variations
  • 3 Teams wore 3 kits with no 3rd kit, all using a variation of their Home Kit – Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town, Fleetwood Town
  • Most worn Home Kit – 38, Ipswich Town
  • Most worn Away Kit – 16, Cambridge United
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 12, Exeter City

Kit Grid

Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – @Kit_Geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

In 2022/23 League One teams wore 102 Kits, this was an increase in the number kits compared to last season where 94 Kits were worn, the 102 Kits were the most worn in an EFL League this season. All teams wore a minimum of 3 kits with only 3 teams in just home and away kits each of these team wore at least one kit variation of their home kit which gives us some different looks through out the season.

Bristol Rovers had a couple of Kit Tales this season, the first being in their game against Exeter City on 29th December when as the Home Kit they supported The Shelter “No Home Kit” campaign by wearing their Away shirt with Home Shorts and Socks, however they changed shirts at half time to return to their home shirt and ended the game in their full home kit, giving us the only kit variation to be used for half a game!

This half time change led to a run of 18 games, from 29th December 2022 to 22nd April where their only wore their Home Kit, this 124 day run was the longest run of just one kit being used in the English Leagues this season.

Morecambe used 4 Home Kit looks through the season, they used two different looks in home games with their traditional red shirts and white shorts paired with both black (default) and white socks. The other variations used on the road used red shorts with both pairs of socks.

There was only one special kit used in League One and that was Barnsley, who wore a “Red Out” shirt that was to support their “Together Red” campaign which was to help raise awareness Barnsley’s no-tolerance message of discrimination of any kind, ensuring Oakwell is a safe place for all.

Kit sustainability is a topic that has been raised a lot of the past season, so I wanted to call out the many teams in League One that used kits in the 2022/23 season that have been from the previous season… 8 teams re-used 11 kits in total for a second season

  • Accrington Stanley – Home, Away and 3rd kits were from last season!
  • Bolton Wanderers – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
  • Bristol Rovers – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
  • Exeter City – Away and 3rd kits were from last season
  • Forest Green Rovers – Home kit from last season
  • Port Vale – 3rd Kit was last season’s away
  • Sheffield Wednesday – 3rd kit was last season’s away
  • Wycombe Wanderers – 3rd kit was last season’s away

Two of these teams left it late to use their 3rd Kits, with Sheffield Wedsnesday using their’s in their penultimate league game and Wycombe Wanderers using theirs in the final game of the season both teams had only used Home and Away Kits up till that point!

Wycombe Wanderes were also part of one of my favourite “Kit Match Ups” of the season, when they played Bristol Rovers on 26th December 2022, giving us the unusual kit site of two quartered shirts playing against each other, and what a sight it was… perfectly balanced kits and works so well in humble opinion!

My final thought of 2022/23 League One season is with the Champions Plymouth Argyle… their away kit this season which pays homage to the kit worn when they played in Playoff Final at Wembley in 1996. This kit is my favourite kit in English football this season, its design, use of the club’s traditional colours and overall balance is a stand out kit from Puma, so my congratulations to The Pilgrims not only for the return to The Championship but doing it in the one of the best kits of the recent years… (please keep it for another year!!)

There we have it, League One’s End of Season Kit report for 2022/23, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek

You can find other End of Season Reports below.

Premier League – 2022/23 End of Season Report

Championsip – 2022/23 End of Season Report

League Two – 2022/23 End of Season Report

EFL, The Championship 22/23 – End of Season Report

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The 2022/23 Championship Season came to a close on Monday 8th May 2023, with Burnley becoming Champions after accumulating a staggering 101 points and returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Sheffield United secured the second automatic spot to return to Premier League after two seasons in the Second Tier. The teams competing in the Play-Offs are Luton Town, Middlesbrough, Coventry City and Sunderland.

I want to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 99 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 33% of Kit variations used
    • 25 Home Kits worn
    • 8 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 35% of variations used
    • 23 Away Kits worn
    • 12 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 30% of variations worn
    • 22 3rd Kits worn
    • 7 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 2% of variations worn
    • 2 Special Kits worn

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Overview

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15

Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30

Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the Championship Teams

  • 1 Team wore 8 Kit Variations, most in The Championship
    • Luton Town – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd x3
  • 1 Team wore 7 Kit Variations
    • Stoke City – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x3
  • 7 Teams in 5 Kit Variations
    • Birmingham City – Home x2, Away x2, Special Kit
    • Blackpool – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
    • Bristol City – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
    • Hull City – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • QPR – Home x2, Away x3
    • Reading – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Sheffield United – Home, Away x3, 3rd
  • 4 Teams in 4 Kit Variations
  • 11 Teams in 3 Kit Variations – Just Home, Away, 3rd Kits
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 2 Kits
    • 9 Teams in Home Kit and 1 variation of Home Kit
    • Bristol City in 2 different Home Kits (Hummel and O’Neills)
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Luton Town: All White – White / Navy / White – White / White / Navy
    • QPR: Maroon, Navy Hoops / Navy / Navy – Maroon, Navy Hoops / Maroon / Maroon – Maroon, Navy Hoops / Maroon / Navy
    • Sheffield United: All White – White / Black / White – White / Black / Black
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 3 Kits
    • Stoke City: All Black – Black / Red / Red – Black / White / White
  • 13 Teams worn no variation of kits
    • 11 Teams in just Home, Away and 3rd Kits
    • Huddersfield Town in 4 kits, Home, Away, 3rd and Special
    • Bristol City in 5 different kits – 22/23 Home, Away, 3rd and 23/24 Home, 3rd
  • Most worn Home Kit – 38, Norwich City
  • Most worn Away Kit – 15, Rotherham United, West Bromwich Albion, Wigan Athletic
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 13, Stoke City (including variations)

Kit Grid

Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – @Kit_Geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

In 2022/23 Championship teams wore 99 Kits, this was an increase in the number kits compared to last season where 97 Kits were worn.  The increase of two can be directly linked to one club…. Bristol City.

After Hummel’s UK Kit Supplier Elite Sports Group when into Administration it meant there were supply issues for the teams they provided kits too in EFL, Bristol City took this opportunity to introduce their 2023/24 Kit Produced by O’Neills and took to the field in their new kits from end of February with 14 games still to play, they also introduced their 3rd kit for next season as well, wearing that 3 times in total, this meant that they wore 5 different kits this season with no variations.

Stoke City promised the world for a Kit Geek like me this season, their initial kit launched promised several looks that the team could take to the field in this season, in the end they “only” used 7 different Kit Variations through-out 2022/23 but the overall idea and execution of their Kit Set should be applauded in my eyes.

Socks are often overlooked in terms of Kit desgin, so I want to call out Hull City’s away socks which are a thing of beauty with their black, amber, red hoops which complement the details on cuffs and collar of their away shirt

Blackpool were the only team not to wear their away kit in it’s default look, initially launch with “Tangerine” shorts, the actual shorts were never used with the white shirts and socks, The Seasiders going for an all white when wearing their away kit on just 3 occasions. However the shorts did see plenty of action by giving Blackpool an alternative all “Tangerine” look which was used 8 times on the road and interestingly not used after Michael Appleton was sacked as Manager in January.

For the second season in a row there was a theme of clubs wearing their 3rd Kits more than their Away kits… with 8 times falling under this bracket.

  • Blackburn Rovers – 10 times
  • Blackpool – 8 times (2 variations)
  • Brisol City – 8 times (Hummel and O’Neills)
  • Coventry City – 10 times
  • Huddersfield Town – 9 times
  • Hull City – 5 times
  • Middlesbrough – 7 times
  • Stoke City – 13 times

There were two “Special” Kit used this season in The Championship.

Huddersfield Town’s kit for Yorkshire Air Ambulance which was a yellow and red kit, very Melchester Rovers and worn against Norwich City (one of only two teams to wear yellow as their home kit), the match shirts were auctioned after the game.

Birmingham City, had a special kit for their “Arthur” memorial kit with profits going directly to NSPCC Birmingham and was worn at home against Preston North End, again a team which caused a clash with the special kit.

There was other examples of teams wearing change kits in Home Fixtures, there was a second campaign across the EFL for Shelter, “No Home Kit” inititiave was used to highlight homelessness around the Christmas period this season and teams took part in The Championship this season… with Cardiff City, Coventry City and Wigan Athletic

Watford celebrated their centenary with a black and white kit (used as their 3rd Kit this season), the colours they initially wore 100 years ago.

Sunderland went with red shorts in their game against Hull City, this was for the Foundation by Light charity and the charity’s Small Change Big Difference campaign. The shorts were auctioned at the end of the game.

There we have it, The Championship’s End of Season Kit report for 2022/23, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek

You can find other End of Season Reports below.

Premier League – 2022/23 End of Season Report

League One – 2022/23 End of Season Report

League Two – 2022/23 End of Season Report

Stoke City Kits – 2022 / 23

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As mentioned in the latest Edition of The Heat Press I called out this graphic from Stoke City which shows their Kit launch for 2022/23 and how they will be used as an overall set, it was something I wanted to take a little deeper look into.

On the 1st June The Potters launched their home kit, which was followed in the next two days with the two change kits (no kit designated as Away or 3rd), showing us these kits are being viewed as an overall set not three individual kits.

Macron have produced Stoke City’s kits since 2016 and in their 7th season as a partnership and for the first time since 2017/18 (their last in the Premier League) have produced three kits for the forthcoming season, having only had Home and Away Kits in the past four seasons and using alternative shorts and socks with these kits to avoid clashes.

However a rule was brought in by the EFL at the start of the 2021/22 season which requested clubs only have three shirts, three shorts and three socks in their “Kit Locker” for use, The Potters have shown this season how using these elements of kit sensibly and viewing the kit set as a whole kit can provide alternative that work well for the club and keeping a constant theme across all kit variations, we had an excellent example of this with Walsall in the 21/22 Season, details of that can be found here

Home Kit – The default Home Kit combines the traditional red and white striped shirt (this year seeing some detaling in the stripes) paired with white shorts and socks, the alternative of red shorts and socks (something we have seen regularly used over the past seasons) and a new look with black shorts and socks.

White Change Kit – The next kit launched was the white change kit, taking inspriation from the away kits of the 70s with the two coloured sash, this gives an unique look for the club (that kit being matched with black shorts and red socks). Looking at the club shop it appears this version will be used with black shorts and socks as default, with the red and white offering alternative looks.

Black Change Kit – The final kit lauched was the black kit, again using the club shop as the basis of this look will be paired with Red shorts and socks as a default look and this gives each short and sock colour block a first choice default look with one of the three kits.

So there we have it, currenly nine different kit variations offered with just three shirts, shorts and socks, we could even see up to a total of 27 kit variations possible if the shorts and socks are also mixed and matched, could we see a different look in each Away game in The Championship, part of me certainly hopes so.

Well done to Macron and Stoke City in delivering which is likely to be one of the best kit overall kit sets seen in the 2022/23 Season.

EFL, The Championship 21/22 – End of Season Report

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The 2021/22 Championship Season came to a close on Saturday 7th May 2022, with Champions being Fulham, who are returning to the Premier League at the first time of asking and scoring over 100 goals in the process. AFC Bournemouth secured the second automatic spot with a game to go to return to Premier League after two seasons in the Second Tier. The teams competing in the Play-Offs are Nottingham Forest, Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United and Luton Town.

I want to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 97 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 38% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 13 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 38% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 13 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 22% of variations worn
    • 18 3rd Kits worn
    • 3 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 2% of variations worn
    • 2 Special Kits worn

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Overview

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15

Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30

Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the Championship Teams

  • 5 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations, most in The Championship
    • Barnsley – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Fulham – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
    • Luton Town – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Millwall – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Queen’s Park Rangers – Home x3, Away x2, Special Kit
  • 4 Teams in 5 Kit Variations
    • AFC Bournemouth – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Birmingham City – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Coventry City – Home, Away x2, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Huddersfield Town – Home, Away x3, 3rd
  • 5 Teams in 4 Kit Variations
  • 7 Teams in 3 Kit Variations
  • 3 Teams in just Home and Away Kits, 2 Kit variations
    • Middlesbrough
    • Reading
    • Stoke City
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 3 Kits
    • Barnsley – Red / White / Red (x2 – once with 3rd “Monochrome” shorts), Red / White / Purple (Charity Socks)
    • Millwall – Navy / White / Navy, All Navy, Navy / Navy / White
    • QPR – White shorts & socks, Blue shorts & socks, Blue shorts & white socks
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Fulham – Black / White / Black, All Black, Black / Black / White
    • Huddersfield Town – Navy / Navy / White, Navy / Navy / Black, Navy / White / Black
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 2 Kits
    • Luton Town – All White, White / Navy / White
  • 10 Teams worn no variation of kits
    • 7 Teams in just Home, Away and 3rd Kits
    • 3 Teams in just Home and Away Kits
  • Most worn Home Kit – 38, Bristol City
  • Most worn Away Kit – 21, Reading
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 13, Nottingham Forest

Kit Grid

Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – @Kit_Geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

In 2021/22 Championship teams wore 97 Kits, this was a reduction in the number kits compared to last season where 110 Kits were worn.  The reduction is linked to the number of times teams had variations of their kits, with only 29 variations of Home, Away, 3rd kits used compared to 39 variations from the default look used in 2020 / 21 season.

Bristol City wore their home kit for 38 times, but a special mention to Middlesbrough who wore their home kit 37 times, to be the most used kits in League this season, both Red, Both Hummel.

A common theme in The Championship this season was the use of 3rd Kits, with five teams wearing their 3rd kit more than their away kit.

AFC Bournemouth – 3rd Kit worn 8 times

Blackburn Rovers – 3rd Kit worn 12 times

Huddersfield Town – 3rd Kit worn 10 times

Millwall – 3rd Kit worn 10 times

Nottingham Forest – 3rd Kit worn 13 times (most in worn in the League)

Millwall where the only team not use their default Home Kit (Navy / White / Navy) in any of their away games this season, in their 23 games away from The Den they used two variations of Home Kit (All Navy worn five times, Navy / Navy / White worn twice), two away looks (White / Navy / White worn four times and All white worn twice) and their 3rd kit ten times.

Reading wore their away kit in 21 of their 23 games, only wearing their home kit in an away game for the first time on 26th February 2022 at Blackpool, the other fixture was at Hull City in April.

There were two “Special Kits” worn through out the season, these were celebration kits worn by Coventry City and Queen’s Park Rangers and were both worn in home games for the clubs.

Coventry City – Return to Ricoh Kit

QPR – 140th Anniversary Kit

There were two 3rd Kits that we did not see in their default look, Hull City only used their 3rd kit once this season against Huddersfield Town where they wore the kit with black shorts (Home Shorts) rather than the default Amber Shorts, which robbed us Kit Lovers of a unique look!

Cardiff City were the second team that did not use their default 3rd Kit look, it was communicated that “The Bluebirds” would use their away kit from 2020 / 21 as their 3rd kit this season, however in its two uses this season it was worn with white shorts and socks and not navy that was used last season.

A final Kit “quirk” of the season was in the first game of season (and thanks for the tip off from an eagle eyed fan) was Barnsley took to the field in the game against Cardiff City in their 3rd kit shorts, also white but have a monochrome version of the club crest on them (Can be seen the image below).

There we have it, The Championship’s End of Season Kit report for 2021/22, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek

You can find other End of Season Reports below.

Premier League – End of Season Report

League One – End of Season Report

League Two – End of Season Report

EFL, League Two 21/22 – End of Season Report

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The 2021/22 League Two Season came to a close on Saturday 7th May 2022, with Champions being Forest Green Rovers, who gain promotion to Third Tier of English Football for the first time with Exeter City securing Runner’s Up spot, Bristol Rovers securing a final day promotion with a remarkable 7-0 victory against already relegated Scunthorpe United, a successful season for clubs in that region of the country in League Two. Northampton Town, Port Vale, Swindon Town and Mansfield Town will compete in the Playoffs for the final promotion place.

I want to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 86 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 36% of Kit variations used
    • 25 Home Kits worn
    • 6 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 33% of variations used
    • 25 Away Kits worn
    • 3 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 26% of variations worn
    • 17 3rd Kits worn
    • 6 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 5% of variations worn
    • 4 Special Kits worn

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Overview

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15

Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30

Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the League Two Teams

  • Walsall wore 10 Kit Variations
    • Home x3, Away x3, 3rd x4
    • Full Details can be found here
    • 11.5% of all kits worn in League Two
  • Rochdale wore 6 Kit Variations
    • Home x2, Away, 3rd x3
  • 3 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Colchester United – Home, Away x2, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Stevenage – Home x2, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Tranmere Rovers – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
  • Bradford City wore 4 Kit Variations
    • Home, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
  • 15 Teams in 3 Kit Variations
  • 3 Teams in just Home and Away Kits, 2 Kit variations
    • Carlisle United
    • Newport County
    • Scunthorpe United
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 3 Kits
    • Walsall – Red / White / Green, All Red, Red / Red / Green
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Walsall – Green / Green / Red, All Green, Green / Green / White
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 4 Kits
    • Walsall – White / Green / White, White / Red / White, White / Red / Red. White / Red / Green
  • 12 Teams wore just Home, Away, 3rd (or Special) Kits
  • 17 Teams worn no variation of kits
    • Bradford City wore 4 kits with no variations
    • 3 Teams in just Home and Away kits
  • Mansfield Town wore two “Away” Kits, debuting their 2022 / 23 Away Kit in the final away league game of the season
  • Most worn Home Kit – 40, Mansfield Town
  • Most worn Away Kit – 19, Colchester United (22 including the one other variation used)
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 14, Salford City and Tranmere Rovers (who wore 3rd Kit 14 times in total. 13 default look and 1 variation)

Kit Grid

Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – @Kit_Geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

In 2021/22 League Two teams wore 86 Kits, this was a huge reduction in the number kits compared to last season where 117 Kits were worn.  The reduction is linked to the number of times teams had variations of their kits, with only 15 variations of Home, Away, 3rd kits used (7 of which worn by Walsall) compared to 50 variations from the default look used in 2020 / 21 season.

Two Teams, Colchester United and Harrogate Town wore change kits in all 23 away game. Colchester United in their away kit for 22 times and 3rd Kit once, where Harrogate Town had more of an even split with their Away Kit used 11 times and 3rd Kit worn 12 times.

Stevenage had two different Home Kits through out the season, an inital kit which was only worn four times before their actual Home Kit for the season was used.

The was a subtle difference in sponsor layout and additional stripes across the chest of the shirt in the final home kit.

League Two was also the home of “Special Kits” in 2021 / 22, with four teams wearing a special kit for a variety of reasons.

Bradford City – Limited Edition 4th Shirt

Colchester United – Ukraine Solidarity Kit

Northampton Town – 125th Annivesary Kit

Stevenage – Season Ticket Holder Tribute Kit

Walsall worn a remarkable 10 different kit variations, using elements of the Home, Away and 3rd kits to build these variations, I have gone into detail about this in a seperate article which you can find here

Mansfield Town wore their home kit for 40 games through out the season, the most of any team in the top four English Leagues, only wearing their away kit six times including debuting their 22 / 23 Away kit in their final away of the season at Salford City.

There we have it, League Two’s End of Season Kit report for 2021/22, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek

You can find other End of Season Reports below.

Premier League – End of Season Report

Championship – End of Season Report

League One – End of Season Report

EFL, League One 21/22 – End of Season Report

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The 2021/22 League One Season came to a close on Saturday 30th April 2022, with Wigan Athletic securing the title on the final day of the season, with Rotherham United securing Runner’s Up spot and therefore gaining Automatic promotion to The Championship. MK Dons, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers will compete in the Playoffs for the final promotion place.

I wanted to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 94 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 44% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 17 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 36% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 10 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 19% of variations worn
    • 14 3rd Kits worn
    • 4 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kit – 1% of variations worn
    • 1 Special Kit worn

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Overview

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15

Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30

Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the League One Teams

  • 3 Teams wore 6 Kit Variations
    • Accrington Stanley – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Cheltenham Town – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd
    • Portsmouth – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
  • 4 Teams wore 5 Kit Variations
    • Ipswich Town – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
    • Morecambe – Home x2, Away x3
    • Oxford United – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Sheffield Wednesday – Home x3, Away x2
  • 5 Teams wore 4 Kit Variations
    • Cambridge United – Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Charlton Athletic – Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Doncaster Rovers – Home x2, Away, 3rd
    • Shrewsbury Town – Home x2, Away x2
    • Wycombe Wanderers – Home, Away, 3rd, Special Kit
  • Most Variations of Home Kit – 3 Kits worn by 2 teams
    • Cheltenham Town, Black shorts / Red socks – Black shorts / White socks – White shorts / Red socks
    • Sheffield Wednesday, Black shorts & socks – White shorts & socks – Black shorts / white socks
  • Most Variations of Away Kit – 3 Kits
    • Moreambe, All Black – Black shirt, White shorts, Black socks – Black shirt, white shorts & socks
  • Most Variations of 3rd Kit – 2 Kits worn by 3 teams
    • Accrington Stanley
    • Ipswich Town
    • Portsmouth
  • 12 Teams wore 3 Kit Variations
  • 9 Teams only used Home and Away kits (no 3rd Kits), all used at least one kit variation of these two kits
  • 7 Teams wore kits with no varitations, just home, away and 3rd kits
    • Wycombe Wanderers wore 4 different kits with no variations
    • AFC Wimbledon, Lincoln City, MK Dons, Plymouth Argyle, Rotherham United, Wigan Athletic
  • Most worn Home Kit – 38, Gillingham (Most worn for 2nd season in a row)
  • Most worn Away Kit – 16, Plymouth Argyle
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 12, Lincoln City and Oxford United

Kit Grid

Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – @Kit_Geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

In 2021/22 League One teams wore 94 Kits, this was a reduction in the number kits compared to last season where 98 Kits were worn. There were 9 teams that wore just home and away kits which was the most in the English Top Four Divisions, however each of these team wore at least one kit variation which gives us some different looks through out the season.

Wycombe Wanderers wore a special kit in their against Plymouth Argyle on 15th April 2022, the kit was in the colours of Ukraine and were auctioned off after the game to raise money for charties supporting those impacted by the situation.

There were some teams that wore change kits at home for a various reasons, some took part in The Shelter “No Home Kit” campaign, wearing change kits at home to highlight those people are homeless and raise money for the charity and other to offer support to Ukraine.

Bolton Wanderers in away kit at home to Morecambe

Doncaster Rovers in 3rd Kit at home to Wigan Athletic

Sunderland at home to Crewe Alexander in their away kit

Wycombe Wanderers wore four different kits through out the season and between 2nd April and 15th April wore these four kits in four games in 13 days.

Ipswich Town wore their home kit for their first 13 games of the season, it was only in their 13th game where they deviated from their first choice home kit, wearing all blue against Portsmouth, the went on to use five different kit variations. Ipswich Town also doned all blue in their game against Lincoln City, who wore their yellow 3rd kit in supprt of the People of Ukraine

Plymouth Argyle used change kits in 18 of their 23 away games, wearing their away kit 16 time which is the most of any team in The League, this may be surprising as they are the only team with a green home kit in the league but given there are 10 teams with elements of red in the home kit, this supports those colourblind supporters and viewers.

There we have it, League One’s End of Season Kit report for 2021/22, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – @Kit_Geek

You can find other End of Season Reports below.

Premier League – End of Season Report

Championship – End of Season Report

League Two – End of Season Report

EFL – Kit Round Up

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We are now just over half way through the season for the three EFL Leagues, I wanted to document the Kits Worn by each team at this stage of the season.

The Championship

  • 87 Kits worn
  • 33 Home Kits worn (24 Regular Home Kits / 9 Variations)
  • 32 Away Kits worn (24 Regular Away Kits / 8 Variations)
  • 20 3rd Kits worn (19 Regular 3rd Kits / 1 variation)
  • 2 Special Kits worn (Coventry City / Queen’s Park Rangers)
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  • Luton Town / Millwall in 6 Kit variations – Most in The Championship
  • 4 Teams with 5 Kit variations (Barnsley, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Fulham)
  • 5 Teams with 4 Kit variations
  • 9 Teams with 3 Kit variations
  • 4 Teams with 2 Kit variations (Cardiff City, Middlesbrough, Reading, Stoke City) – fewest in the league

League One

  • 82 Kits Worn
  • 34 Home Kits worn (24 Regular Home kits / 10 variations)
  • 32 Away Kits worn (24 Regular Away kits / 8 variations)
  • 15 3rd Kits worn (14 Regular 3rd Kits / 1 variations)
  • 1 Special Kit (Doncaster Rovers)
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  • 4 Teams with 5 Kit variations, most in League One (Accrington Stanley, Morecambe, Oxford United, Portsmouth)
  • 4 Teams with 4 Kit variations (Cambridge United, Cheltenham Town, Ipswich Town, Sheffield Wednesday)
  • 14 Teams with 3 Kit variations
  • 2 Teams in 2 Kit variations, fewest in the league (Bolton Wanderers, Gillingham)

League Two

  • 73 Kits worn
  • 29 Home Kits worn (24 Regular Home Kits / 5 variations)
  • 26 Away Kits worn (24 Regular Away Kits / 2 variations)
  • 18 3rd Kits worn (16 Regualr 3rd Kits / 2 variations)
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  • 2 Teams in 5 Kit variations in League Two (Rochdale, Walsall)
  • 3 Teams in 4 Kit variations (Colchester United, Stevenage, Tranmere Rovers)
  • 13 Teams in 3 Kit variations
  • 6 Teams in 2 Kit variations, fewest in the League

So just over half way through the season, we have seen 242 Kits used by the 72 teams in total, what have been your favourite kits on show, Kit Mash ups and Kit Match ups in the 2021/22 season, let me know over at @Kit_Geek

The Two Season Kit Wonder

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On Wednesday 24th November 2021 Brentford FC announced that their home kit for their inaugural Premier League Season will also be rolled over for a second season and will be their home kit for 2022/23 Season.

This is unusual for top flight teams, the last time this was seen in the Premier League was between 2012 and 2014 when Arsenal used their Home kit for two season in a row but this is something more common place in League One and League Two.

So I wanted to share with you the kits that have been used in both 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons.

Arsenal’s Home Kit used for 2012/13 and 2013/14 seasons

Premier League

There are two examples in this season’s Premier League of kits from last season being used for this season, both are third kits and one is yet to be used yet, these are the all white third kit from the team that kicked off this piece Brentford and the second team is Brighton & Hove Albion, who’s yellow away kit from last season is registred as their 3rd kit this season.

Championship

There are four examples in The Championship this season, all four of these are again as the Premier League teams being used as 3rd Kits in the 2021/22 season with two being 3rd kits last season and two being away kits.

Cardiff City – Last season’s away is this season’s 3rd Kit and the only kit of the four that appeared in The Championship last season, this has yet to be used this season.

Fulham – their yellow away from last season has been used this as the club’s 3rd kit.

Peterborough United – are using the same 3rd Kit in the 2020/21 Promotion winning season from League One in The Championship this season.

Sheffield United – The second team relegated from the 20/21 Premier League season are using their Green / Gold 3rd kit from last season as this season’s 3rd kit as well.

League One

League One is the first division where we see home kits being re-used for a second season, in total there are 10 kits that we have seen for two division.

Accrington Stanley – A big shout here for “Accy” who are using all three of their kits for second season…

AFC Wimbledon – Closely following Accrington Stanley’s lead, AFC Wimbledon are seeing their Home and Away used again this season.

Cheltenham Town – Promoted from League Two last season, they are also using their home shirts again this season, however pairing with black shorts for 21/22 campaign, it was used with white shorts last season.

Fleetwood Town – Their unique Hummel home kit design, gets its second season of use.

Wigan Athletic – The team retained their home kit for 21/22 League Campaign, the second in a row in their 3rd Tier.

Wycombe Wanderers – Another team relegated last season, Wycombe kept both their home and 3rd Kits from last season, both the classic quartered shirt look for The Chairboys.

League Two

There are another 10 kits being used again in League Two this season.

Bristol Rovers – They are using their away kit from last season as a 3rd Kit now.

Colchester United – The Essex team are using both their home and away kits from last again in 21/22, interestingly they used a different home kit in one of their final home games of last season as a “Fans Kit”

Crawley Town – Another team to repurpose their away kit from 2020/21 as their 3rd kit this season, with the all black giving a constraiting alternative to all red home and all blue away.

Exeter City – Exeter are another team that are pairing their shirt from last season with different colour pair of shorts, last season it was black, this season going for an red short / sock combo.

Forest Green Rovers – A club where sustainability is at its heart, have had their current 3rd kit in use for 3 seasons now, introducing it 2019/20 it has seen use in the each of those seasons (thanks to @achrislatham for pointing this one out to me).

Harrogate Town – In their second in the top four divisions, they are using their Away kit again, their 3rd kit this season also made an appearence last season in the delayed FA Trophy final from 2020.

Mansfield Town – their away kit is being used again this season.

Port Vale – Port Vale’s popular all black away kit (partially designed by Robbie Williams) is retained as this season’s 3rd kit.

Sutton United – In their first season in the top four divisions have retained the home and away kits from promotion winning season, they have also introduced a black 3rd kit that gives us all three kits from the same Macron Template for tidy uniform look.

Although not common practise for teams, this still gives us a total of 26 kits re-used in the 2021/22 season that were previously used last season, with Brentford’s annoucement today will this will see this number grow in the 2022/23 season, is Football Shirt Sustainability and increased shirt cycles the future, let me know your thoughts in the comments below or over at https://twitter.com/kit_geek

EFL, League Two 20/21 – End of Season Report

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The 2020/21 League Two (4th Tier of English Football) league season came to a close on 8th May, Cheltenham Town claimed the title, with Cambridge United (Runners Up) and Bolton Wanderers earning automatic promotion to League One, with Morecambe winning the the Play Off Final against Newport County for the final promotion place.

I wanted to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 117 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 39% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 22 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 39% of variations used
    • 23 Away Kits worn
    • 23 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 19% of variations worn
    • 17 3rd Kits worn
    • 5 3rd Kit variations worn
  • Special Kits – 3% of variations worn
    • 3 Special Kits worn

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Overview

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15

Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30

Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the League One Teams

  • 4 teams wore 7 kit variiations – Highest in the league
    • Morecambe – Home x3, Away x4
    • Newport County – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd, Special Kit
    • Salford City – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd x2
    • Tranmere Rovers – Home x3, Away x2, 3rd x2
  • 5 teams wore 6 kit variations
    • Bolton Wanderers – Home x4, Away x2
    • Colchester United – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2, Special Kit
    • Exeter City – Home x4, Away, 3rd
    • Oldham Athletic – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
    • Scunthorpe United – Home, Away, 3rd x4
  • 6 Teams wore 5 kit variations
    • Barrow AFC – Home x3, Away, 3rd
    • Crawley Town – Home, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Leyton Orient – Home, Away x3, 3rd
    • Mansfield Town – Home x2, Away x2, Special Kit
    • Port Vale – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd
    • Southend United – Home x2, Away, 3rd x2
  • Most variations of Home Kit
    • 2 teams wore 4 variations of Home Kit
    • Bolton Wanderers: White / Navy / White – White / White / Navy – All White – White / Navy / Navy
    • Exeter City – Full Home kit – Home / Red socks – Home / Away shorts, socks (Purple) – Home / Red shorts, socks
  • Most variations of Away Kit
    • Morecambe wore 4 variations of Away Kit
    • All Navy, Navy / White shorts, Navy / White shorts, socks, Navy / Navy shorts, white socks
  • Most variations of 3rd Kit
    • Scunthorpe United wore 4 variations of 3rd Kit
    • All White – White / Black / White – White / Claret / White – White / White / Sky Blue
  • 6 Teams wore just used home and away kits (no 3rd Kit)
    • Bolton Wanderers
    • Carlisle United
    • Cheltenham Town
    • Harrogate Town
    • Morecambe
    • Stevenage
  • 4 Teams wore no variations of kit, just Home / Away / 3rd Kit
    • Bradford City
    • Forest Green Rovers
    • Grimsby Town
    • Walsall
  • Most worn Home Kit – 36, Leyton Orient
  • Most worn Away Kit – 17, Cambridge United
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 16, Walsall

Kit Grid

Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – https://twitter.com/kit_geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

The 117 kits worn in League Two was the most amount of kits worn in the top four English Leagues, there were several examples of kits worn being in all variations (Bolton Wanderers Home Kit, Morecambe Away Kit, Scunthorpe United 3rd kit), as well as several other kit mash ups with teams combining their kits to form different looks.

Bolton Wanderers were a team that used their home kit well, using different variations to ensure they could avoid kit clashes. at one point in April they used four different home kit variations in four games. The result of this home kit usage meant they only wore change kits 5 times all season, they only used their registered away kit once and their away kit with white shorts and socks 4 times.

Port Vale were another team to use their Home kit, this time they would change the socks (and baselayers) used with their home kit when playing at home to avoid clashes with their visting opponents, using combinations of black and white to change the look

There were 3 Special Kits used during the season, each of these appearences resulted in the team winnig in their shirts, so could been seen as lucky shirts this season.

Colchester United wore their one off “Supporters” shirt against Southend United on 20th April 2020.

Mansfield Town wore their “Thank you NHS” Shirt on 23rd March against Forest Green Rovers

Newport County wore their anniversary shirt celebrating 40 years since their European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final against Carl Zeiss Jena, against Bradford City

Some of the more interesting kit mash ups seen in League Two in 2020/21…

Crawley Town in Away / 3rd Kit Combo at Exeter City

Exeter City in Home / Away mash up at Grimsby Town

Oldham Athletic in Away / 3rd shorts and socks at Carlisle United

Stevenage in Away / Home mash up at Port Vale

There we have it, League Two’s End of Season Kit report for 2020/21, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – https://twitter.com/kit_geek

If you have seen my End of Season Kit Report for the Premier League, Championship and League One please click on the link below

https://kitgeek.wordpress.com/2021/06/03/efl-league-one-20-21-end-of-season-report/

https://kitgeek.wordpress.com/2021/05/26/efl-championship-20-21-end-of-season-report/

https://kitgeek.wordpress.com/2021/05/24/premier-league-2020-21-end-of-season-kit-report/

EFL, League One 20/21 – End of Season Report

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The 2020/21 League One (3rd Tier of English Football) league season came to a close on 9th May, Hull City (winners) and Peterborough United (Runners Up) earning automatic promotion to The Championship, with Blackpool winning the the Play Off Final against Lincoln City for the final promotion place.

I wanted to take a look at the kits worn during the league stage of the season (not including Play Offs).

Kit Stats

  • 1104 Kits worn (552 Games)
  • 98 Different Kit variations used by the 24 teams.
  • Home Kits – 42% of Kit variations used
    • 24 Home Kits worn
    • 17 Home Kit variations worn
  • Away Kits – 39% of variations used
    • 24 Away Kits worn
    • 14 Away Kit variations worn
  • 3rd Kits – 19% of variations worn
    • 15 3rd Kits worn
    • 4 3rd Kit variations worn

Overview of Kits Worn

Kit Overview

Kit Log – Match 1 to Match 15

Kit Log – Match 16 to Match 30

Kit Log – Match 31 to Match 46

Kit Variations

Looking in more detail at the kit variations worn by the League One Teams

  • 1 team wore 9 kit variiations – Highest in the league
    • Oxford United – Home x4, Away, 3rd x4
  • 2 teams wore 6 kit variations
    • Accrington Stanley – Home x2, Away x2, 3rd x2
    • Blackpool – Home x2, Away x3, 3rd
  • 3 Teams wore 5 kit variations
    • Northampton Town – Home, Away x3, 3rd
    • Sunderland – Home x3, Away x2
    • Swindon Town – Home x3, Away x2
  • Most variations of Home Kit
    • Oxford United wore 4 variations of Home Kit
    • Yellow / Navy / Yellow – All Yellow – Yellow / Navy / Navy – Yellow / White / White
  • Most variations of Away Kit
    • 2 Teams wore 3 variations of Away Kit
    • Blackpool / Northampton Town
  • Most variations of 3rd Kit
    • Oxford United wore 4 variations of 3rd Kit
    • All White – White / Navy / White – White / Navy / Navy – White / White / Navy
  • Bristol Rovers only used 2 variations of kit, Home and Away
  • 6 Teams wore no variations of kit, just Home / Away / 3rd Kit
    • AFC Wimbledon, Bristol Rovers (Home / Away), Doncaster Rovers, MK Dons, Plymouth Argyle. Wigan Athletic
  • Most worn Home Kit – 37, Gillingham
  • Most worn Away Kit – 16, Plymouth Argyle
  • Most worn 3rd Kit – 11, Rochdale

Kit Grid

Below is a graphic of what kits where worn against what teams, its one that I share on a weekly basis on my Twitter Account – https://twitter.com/kit_geek

Kit Highlights and Summary

League One teams used 98 Kits through out 2020/21 season, this was the lowest amount of kits worn in the Top Four Leagues in England, it also saw a more classic look for teams in terms of kit usage, 7 teams only had Home and Away kits (Bristol Rovers, Burton Albion, Fleetwood Town, Gillingham, Shrewsbury Town, Sunderland and Swindon Town).

Lincoln City did not wear their full home kit in an away game, the only game they wore their Home Kit was at Plymouth Argyle and was worn with 3rd shorts (white).

Bristol Rovers wore their away kit home against Shrewsbury Town when the away team wore their all white away kit.

Doncaster Rovers worn a 3rd Kit at Home against Hull City, this kit was commerate the career of James Coppinger, who has spent 17 years at the club and made nearly 700 appearences for them. The player himself designing the kit with his sons to celebrate his time with club.

Accrington Stanley, who wore 6 kit variations in total wore 5 different kits in 5 games (Match 25 to Match 29) – All White (Away variation), Black / White / White (3rd), All Red (Home), White / Black / White (Away), Black / Black / White (3rd variation).

Oxford United, who wore the most kit variations in the league with 9 different kits used, started the season with 5 different kits in their first 5 games… this became 6 kits in 8 games and 7 in 16 games, 8 in 19 games and they wore their 9th variation in their 38th game.

There were some classic kit mash ups in League One in 20/21…

Gillingham at Portsmouth…

Swindon Town again at Portsmouth

Sunderland at Plymouth Argyle

There we have it, League One’s End of Season Kit report for 2020/21, please let me know your favourite kit highlights from this division on the comments below or over at Twitter – https://twitter.com/kit_geek

If you have seen my End of Season Kit Report for the Premier League or Championship, please click on the link below.

https://kitgeek.wordpress.com/2021/05/24/premier-league-2020-21-end-of-season-kit-report/
https://kitgeek.wordpress.com/2021/05/26/efl-championship-20-21-end-of-season-report/