Blogs

Southampton, Cardiff & Manchester United’s shared plight: The dreaded shirt re-design

|
Image for Southampton, Cardiff & Manchester United’s shared plight: The dreaded shirt re-design

The football shirt: a symbol of collective unity. The fans and players united by a combination of colour, design and fabric.

“For the passion, For the Glory, For the Saints”. The marketing spiel for the new Saints replica shirt.

But has this symbol of unity and club identity suffered at the tarnishing brush of commercialism?

The unveiling of the Southampton 2012/13 kit has been met with hostility with some fans bemoaning the lack in prominence of the clubs famous red and white stripes. Are fans right to criticise?

All you stripehards and bemoaners out there should spare a thought for our football supporting brothers across the border in Cardiff. Club Directors and Malaysian investors in their infinite wisdom have come to the conclusion that a rebranding of the famous Bluebird kit and logo to the somewhat contrived red Welsh dragon, on account of “expanding the appeal of the club”.

The fans have been robbed of their identity. Several impassioned pleas for a rethink have fallen on deaf ears, with fans demanding refunds before even a pre-season ball has been kicked. With words such as “exploiting” and “maximising commercial revenue” being bandied about, it is evident that the football kit is now a fully-fledged annual commercial excercise, if it wasn’t before.

Some may argue the incomes generated by such avenues are vital to prolonging the existence of many clubs.

The powerhouses of world football, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United have set the trend in kit sponsorship deals; Nikes shirt deal with United is in the region of £300 million over 13 years, rumoured to have recently increased.

[ad_pod id=’DFP-MPU’]

With such deals in place it is therefore inevitable that annual kit changes have become commonplace. Man United’s new “Gingham” offering has also been met with derision, supposedly harking back to Manchester’s ‘famous’ cotton industry of 1878. Does the average football fan care? It’s not likely.

Ryan Giggs claims “it looks the part”. Others have compared it to Rupert the Bear. The modern kit launch is a drivel-drenched affair dreamed up by creative types to tie in with products tweaked ever so slightly in order to justify us, the fans, spending nigh on £50 on an annual basis.

Drivel aside though; shirts appear to fly off the shelves. One only needs to view the picture gallery from the Saints website to reach such a conclusion.

Clubs are pilfering their history; cringe worthy phrases have been created in desperate attempts to convince fans that by purchasing the newest replica shirt is like buying into some sort of dream. The entire circus surrounding the modern kit launch craves honesty and credibility. Gone are the good old days when clubs kept their home shirt for two years, barring new sponsorship deals.

Some of the worst guff: Daniel Sturridge on Chelsea’s new offering “it suits the way we play”.

Liverpool guff: “It (the kit) makes you feel 7 feet tall”.

Cardiff’s re-branding guff: “symbolic fusion of Welsh and Asian cultures”.

What of tradition? Is this a new standard in football kit merchandising – a future fans should shut up and accept when parting with £50 a season? Although at St Mary’s, the future is bright, it may no longer be totally red and white…

Sorry stripehards…

Please follow @TheSaints1213 on Twitter for more articles and fantasy football chatter!

Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:


ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.

Share this article