First off,  a very happy Christmas to all you Footy Boots fans out there. We take it that as you are currently reading this, you’ve had enough of the in-laws / grand parents / Uncle Charlie (delete as appropriate) already!

Having looked out our favourite boots from 20 - 16 earlier this week, today it’s the turn of numbers 15 - 11.

We’d love to know what you think of our choices, so in between the turkey, Xmas pud and mince pies, do drop us a line by commenting below.

Strike Zone Pro Rage

Many people would probably argue that there were better incarnations of the Strike Zone series than the Rage - but I can honestly say these were the first boots where I experienced the oft-promised ‘glove-like fit’ from a pair of boots on the first wear. For anyone that never had the chance to try a pair of these boots - the Pro Rage sat slightly higher up to the ankles than most other boots, and were lined with - what one can only assume - clouds, dreams and pillows.

Well not really, but the point is the ankles were thick and supportive preventing any rolled ankles, and the forefoot had the bare minimum of laces on, for a sweet spot that was completely unsurpassed until the Lotto Zhero Gravity. Also this boot came at a prime time for Reebok, when Shevchenko was still in mercurial form for AC Milan and Giggs and Henry were battling it out in two highest place teams in the Premiership.

Mizuno Morelia

Not many brands can do classic cool like Mizuno; and no boot epitomises it quite like the Morelia Pro. Completely free of anything that might push the overhead up, the Morella Pro is a professional standard boot for every player.

Available only in the classiest of colourways, the upper is, once again, a supple K-Leather with streamlined stitching running across the toes to help it bend when running. A well worn pair of Morelia’s are just as comfy as a pair of slippers – and that’s why they deserve to be in the top 20.

Mercurial Superfly

A little bit controversial. The first mass-produced boot to smash the £200 price barrier, a mass recall due to a “product integrity issue” and STILL not as light as the Puma V1.08 Ferrari.

But sometimes it’s more what the boot stands for - in these days of leaked photos and scanned suppliers catalogues it was fascinating to see that it didn’t detract from the hype surrounding the boot and everyone that considers themselves a fan of football boots was watching when they were debuted by Christiano Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic in the Champions League.

Nomis Glove

The Nomis Glove is a boot that had to beat a very high set of expectations. Anyone that read my review on the Nomis Spark would get an idea that I thought they were a fantastic boot, so it was going to take a huge effort from their bigger brother push them off their laurels.

But The Glove went ahead and did just that - taking everything that I loved about the Spark (Sock-like fit, fold over tongue, Predator-style lacing system) and wrapped it in Wet Control Leather. Whilst many saw it as a gimmick the Wet Control tech is up there with the CTR360’s Memory Foam as an ‘why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?’ innovation.

PUMA v1.06

After a turbulent few years of speculation about its financial well-being, PUMA roared out the gates in 2006 with the first of its premier ‘v1′ series. In a make-or-break move to prove they weren’t just a prefix to the ‘King’ name, PUMA went for something completely different: a canvas-uppered, side-offset lacing, carbon-fibre sole-plated speed machine.

The following 12 months were a complete turnaround for the German giant, sponsoring 12 teams in the World cup (one of them being the winners, Italy) and a boot in their stable to compete with the likes of Nike’s Mercurial and adidas’ new F50 lines.

Numbers 10 - 6 in our festive countdown will be posted on Footy Boots on Tuesday 29th December.

In business, having a good idea isn’t a guarantee of success. Being forward thinking, innovative and creative are all great qualities, but in the end, it all comes down to the bottom line.

So it’s with a tinge of sadness that Footy Boots can confirm that Nomis, as a worldwide entity, has gone under, a fact that was confirmed to us in the last 24 hours.

Rumours of the company’s demise started to surface in mid-November when the Nomis distributor in New Zealand announced a closing down sale.

As news spread that some staff at their Head Office in Switzerland had been made redundant, the Nomis page on Wikipedia was updated to read:

Nomis is no longer in New Zealand, Europe or the United Kingdom. Unfortunately the company has recently gone bankrupt.

As of now, the company websites in Germany and the UK no longer work although nomisfootball.com is still functioning although there is no reference on it as to their financial plight. In fact, the operation in Australia is still in business and the company says it is looking forward to future opportunities there.

Having fallen foul of the economic climate, it will hit no-one harder than founder Simon Skirrow.

A former big-wig at adidas and co-creator of the original Predator, Skirrow was a visionary in the industry, always seeming to put the punter first. He came up with some ground breaking technology such as ‘Wet Control’ and ‘nomud’ and the company’s expertise with leather and K-leather was right up there with the very best.

This was confirmed when they came out with the NXGEN Spark, the first football boot to take small runs of customised, fully didgitised, hi-resolution designs direct onto a leather surface under the patented Dual Control grip enhancing treatment.

Admittedly, the design in the demo model wasn’t to everyone’s liking but the technology was unique and at that stage looked to point to a rosy future.

Speaking to exclusively to Footy Boots, Skirrow said:

My major regret is disappointment for the staff, many of whom put in a great deal of time and effort following the dream.

At Footy Boots, we were always quite big fans of Nomis and their staff as they didn’t just simply follow trends being more concerned with offering quality and value for money. They didn’t sign up big name ambassadors (though that’s a decision that might look a bit sick right now) as Skirrow always wanted to plough as much money in to research and development as opposed to a few players’ pockets.

Hindsight though is a wonderful thing. For nomud you can now read noNomis. And that’s a real shame.

The PUMA v1.10 is a boot that knows how to make an entrance. After making it’s bow in a startling yellow colourway exactly a month ago it’s still a point of contention everywhere.

From the Premier League - where Nicolas Anelka has been on blistering form in the v1.10 but Peter Crouch is yet to make the switch from the .08’s; to the Footy Boots community - where comments range from ’sickest cleat ever’ to ‘what were PUMA thinking?.

So which is it? Well, lets put it like this. Every new boot has two major talking points. What it looks like and how it performs. We gave the v1.10 a hard time on the former but fair’s fair. On the latter, this is a serious contender.

Comfort/Fit

After the ankle destroying endurance tests that were synonymous with wearing the v1.06 and v1.08 for the first time, I was wary of giving the v1.10 a run-out on a Sunday match with the boots only arriving on the Saturday. But wear them I did, and I was massively impressed. PUMA have finally started to get the fit right on their premier product.

For starters, whilst it doesn’t look like much of a change on first glance, the toe area has been reduced dramatically. Rather than the ‘too-roomy’ front end of the v1.08, the v1.10 has slimmed this area, down making a much welcome nod to the toe of the v1.06.

The heel has also had a revamp; PUMA’s ‘uni’ system seems to be following the trend that many boots have started taking- providing a snug fit that reduces friction by reducing the movement of the heel itself.

Durability

PUMA have taken some big gambles from a design standpoint on the v1.10. Whereas Nike and Lotto have favoured single-piece construction recently; PUMA have gone for a radical approach, with multiple components interacting to make the boot what it is.

Firstly, the v1.10 is one of the few boots to feature 2 materials in its upper. The toes and lace cover are made from a lightweight synthetic material (that bears very little similarity to leather, despite the product description claiming it to be synthetic leather). The closest comparison I can think of is the earliest model of the adidas F50 TUNiT, with a frictionless feel and thick cut to cover the laces.

The positioning of the new synthetic works surprisingly well with the other material in the upper, the v1 series trademark micro-fibre canvas. Whilst the canvas has always been tough to rip from contact with studs and blades, I’ve always had an issue with the material rubbing away against a firm surface (like dry ground or an artificial pitch) especially on the toe area, where I drag it along the ground when stopping, turning and striking. So having the firmer synthetic material in the way completely removes this issue.

Despite these marked improvements I can’t help but feel there’s a little bit too much going on the v1.10 for its own good.

The 2 uppers, heel counter, sole plate, rubber ‘seams’ and huge plastic PUMA stripe are all held in place by a Herculean amount of stitching. Looking at the boot there are double and triple-seams running all over the place! This in truth probably means they’re going to be able to take a lot of grief - a bit like covering a jigsaw in duct tape - but compared to the elegance of boots like the Zhero Gravity Tre and Mercurial Vapor you’ve got to wonder if there was a better solution.

Feel

Once again, PUMA’s latest is proving a divisive boot, with a multitude of contrasts all over the upper.

Thankfully I think PUMA have struck a decent balance. The micro-fibre canvas is a lot more cushioned and giving than the laminate synthetic, making a it a great choice to line the instep. This area hugs the arches of your feet nicely giving you a great area to receive passes and control the ball mid bounce – and despite it not being a priority it’s also a pretty good area to distribute from.

The most noticeable change from the v1 series previous incarnations is the inclusion of a lace cover, which is pretty much as expected. The surface on the front of the boot is absolutely huge when compared to some other boots, and there’s a slight curve that hugs the top of your foot for a nice clean striking area. Similarly,  the reduced width in the toe area gives a feeling of being much closer to the ball when skimming passes with the outside of the foot.

One complaint is the near-frictionless nature of that part of the upper. As the F50 line grew from the first TUNiT to the F50.9, adidas toiled away at improving the grip of the upper – and I think PUMA could have learnt from this. It would’ve been nice to see a more adhesive coating on the upper in the style of Nomis’ WetControl to help with controlling balls coming in from high, as the triangle pattern on this model isn’t quite up to scratch.

One indesputable factor on the PUMA v1.10 is the FG sole plate. Once again the carbon fibre shank makes a welcome return - as does the nearly unchanged stud configuration. Thankfully the rear blades have been shortened a little, which gives a more even feel when stood on flat ground.

Conclusion

The v1.10 is a boot designed with the fleet-footed attacker in mind. Others need not apply.

Normally I’d like to recommend boots for certain positions and types of player, but the v1.10 is very specialized to the sorts of winger and striker that looks burn the defender and get it past the keeper.

The good news for fans of the v1 series is there’s plenty to love here. There’s a mass of features ticking away under the skin of these boots that all work well - and PUMA have done a great job of refining the fit for this year’s model.

And for everyone else, if you can look past some (very) perplexing design decisions there’s a boot with a lot to offer. It’s like having some of the classy features of a new BMW and putting them in the chassis of a Ford Focus. A bright yellow one. Covered in stitching.

However, you might want to look it at like going to see Amy Winehouse in concert. Get past the look and you’ll love the performance.

Our interview with Darryl Cassingham last week resulted in a fantastic reponse with many of you commenting that you were looking forward to the next instalment. Good news - your wait is over.

As the Managing Director of Nomis Sports Innovations Pty Ltd, Darryl’s knowledge of leather is unsurpassed. He’s known the world over as ‘Dr Leather’ and when you find out that the letters after his name go something like this: MBA, HND, FSLTC and LCGI, it’s not too difficult to work out how he got his nickname.

In the second part of his interview with Footy Boots, Darryl looks forward to potential industry innovations and offers you the best advice on how to care for your precious leather footwear.

FB: How has the use of leather, K-leather and synthetics changed during your time in the business?

DC: With regards to leather, I think the biggest thing is that the more reputable tanners in the world are now using more advanced retanning and finishing techniques. Many years ago, the processing of leather was not so great from an environmental point of view, with low efficiency processing techniques being utilised and some dubious chemicals being used. Certainly nowadays, with thanks to research by tanners and the chemical suppliers, the majority of leather processing chemicals are all water based as opposed to solvent based, which is still typically used in the manufacture of synthetic leathers. And the reaction efficiencies have been steadily improved to reduce energy and water consumption in the manufacture of leather, along with enhanced environmental waste water treatment systems leading towards a closed-loop (i.e. fully reuseable in the process) system becoming common.

Doing it ‘old school’ - a leather tannery from many years ago

But this is only scratching the surface, and the processing techniques are far more in depth than I can explain in just a few words. Brands have also stepped up in creating strict specifications for their materials, to ensure that certain chemicals are banned or limited in their use in manufacture.

The above is a very important aspect. Many brands complete these points through either internal or independent auditing programs, but there is nothing like a brand employing a fully trained experienced leather technician that can go into a tannery anywhere in the world and know what he is looking for. ‘It takes one to know one’ as they say!!!!!

But sadly the use of leather appears to have declined somewhat in a number of the boots over the years. It has been a stealth approach in that the football boots change design each year, and steadily seem to have less and less leather in them. Without doubt there is a price conscious market out there that needs the options of a synthetic leather boot, but my philosophy is that the consumer is king, and we must provide fantastic product that will allow players to excel in their sports in all aspects. And in my opinion leather is still the number one material to utilise.

We have conducted a number of internal ‘blind’ tests in the past, where we have created football boots of all different upper materials, but every time not only the pro-player, but also the grass roots players, have picked the leather football boot. There is still the ‘old chestnut’ of the mass of the boot, and how it should be lighter, but most players see through that particular marketing story once they consider all aspects of the boots performance and benefits.

FB: Nomis is well known for producing football boots that offer player protection – which material would you recommend for players who want to look after their feet?

DC: Leather is still my recommendation, but it must be used in conjunction with a suitable design and overall footwear construction. The whole benefit of its conformity and moisture management properties is key to providing a player with a football boot of exceptional quality that works in harmony with the foot.

FB: Will synthetic materials ever replace natural leathers in the future?

DC: It’s possible. The synthetics have moved on over the years, but essentially I still just see them as a dumb copy of the real thing. I looked at ‘growing’ skin many years ago through accelerated techniques, which could then be used in a hybrid system with other materials, but sadly the technology is too slow and expensive for now. But sure, the day we can grow it from a chamber and create it in sheets would be very interesting. There is one company that is sort of trying to do this, I believe through hydro-entanglement of leather fibres, and so with modern processing technology advancement I see this as an alternative ‘stepping stone’ in how leather can be used.

FB: What advancements do you foresee in the industry over the next decade or so?

DC: From a technology standpoint, I wish I could answer this….. but cannot for Intellectual Property reasons. But we currently have about 15 technologies being developed in our Innovation Laboratory.

However the aspect of ‘cradle to cradle’ products will become very important. This means using environmentally safe and healthy materials, in conjunction with designs for material re utilisation, such as recycling or composting. The use of renewable energies and energy efficiency, efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production. And instituting strategies for social responsibility must become paramount.

FB: How will the advent of the technology used in the NXGEN Spark affect the industry going forward?

DC: Football boots seems to have evolved to incorporate a fashion statement these days. As a kid at school back in the 1980’s (a long time ago now!!!!) I only remember black football boots, and would have never dared to have worn a white boot!!!! But that has certainly changed, and the graphic designers and colour forecasters have certainly progressed these changes in recent times, especially with the subsequent opportunities offered for name and number personalisation, etc.

However, I would purport that the NXGEN is more revolutionary though, in that it opens up the whole individuality and customisation concept upon leather to the next level, and it is something that Nomis intend to capitalize upon. You’ll see smaller runs of exclusive designs, with the ultimate possibility of the consumer being able to really create their own design on their football boot in time to come. Effectively it creates a utopia for designers, but still with the ability to have the best fibre structure in the world (i.e. the leather) doing its job underneath. And is not limited to just football boots.

Also without revealing too much, the processing technique behind this technology will be used to deploy far more than just a graphical image….. but you’ll have to wait for that one!!!!!

FB: Should manufacturers spend more time advancing certain materials rather than gimmicky technology?

DC: I remember back in the 1990’s when gimmicky ‘buzz-words’ were common place in the sporting equipment arena. Titanium and carbon-fibre were thrown around by marketers without genuine understanding, and as such these supposed technologies became common place very quickly, but in truth I’m not sure if they actually contribute that much except in a psychological way. The latest seems to be ‘nano technologies’, which in truth is quite funny seeing as the leather and chemical industry has been working on the much smaller pico-sized technology platform for many years!!!! I think what I’m saying is there is a lot of gimmicks out there.

I truthfully believe that genuine technological materials with a demonstrable effect are crucial going forwards. Without doubt input from players is very important as they are our ‘eyes and ears’ of feedback from the products we make. The player is very savvy these days, and really the brands need to wake up to the fact that their job is to create a product that provides a solution to the player as opposed to making it look pretty and generating a good profit for their shareholders. In addition the point I touched on earlier of being a renewable resource will come in to play along with the modern thinking of ‘cradle to cradle’ materials. The beautiful game deserves beautiful solutions, not beautiful marketing.

FB: What is the best way to maintain a pair of leather or K-leather boots?

DC: Sadly, not all football boot leather, nor K-Leather, is made the same. Sure the fibre structures are, but the tanning and finishing technologies are not. The majority of football boot leathers have a very thin coating of a polymer on the surface to help protect the leather and provide a certain optical effect. I often read threads on forums about how to clean and look after leather, and really I become quite horrified. I read of one person using spray can polish one time!!!!! The modern day leathers should be simply cleaned after every use with a mix of lukewarm water and a pH neutral soap with gentle rubbing with a sponge or cloth. Then allowed to dry naturally, away from strong heat sources or direct sunlight.

However, there is a new cleaning product being developed specific to the modern day footwear leathers that is due for release soon, which I have had the privilege to try and it is very good. I’ll let you know more once it is fully approved.

Because Nomis uses two distinctive technologies, we have specifically considered the cleaning aspect and we provide cleaning products for our Wet Control and Dual Control leather footwear.

One other point is that of the use of leather foods. I have faced this many times in the car upholstery industry, where the after market business is huge. Special creams, conditioners, foods, etc. are all suggested. But what is not made clear is that the majority of these products are made for leathers made from more traditional tanning recipes, where the technologies used were not substantive (i.e. chemically fixed) to the leather, and as such they did require nourishing. The majority of modern day leathers simply do not need these ‘foods’.

Also, in general if your football boots become very wet, then simply remove the sockliners and pack absorbent paper into the boot to draw out the moisture, and change when necessary.

Looking after your football boots properly is a must and will help preserve their lifespan throughout the season. I mean….would you leave your leather jacket soaked through and covered in mud….. I think not.

When Footy Boots ran an article recently on football boot leather, it seemed to throw up more questions than it answered.

Many of you were keen to know more…about the materials used, the technologies employed and the techniques acquired by the football boot industry over the years.

In order to answer these questions, we went to one of the most qualified men in the game, the Managing Director of Nomis Sports Innovations Pty Ltd, Darryl Cassingham. Known simply as Dr Leather, Darryl’s forgotten more on the subject than most people will ever know.

Next week, he’ll be talking about advancements in the industry but in part 1 today, Cassingham looks back at his time in the sector and gives us a guide as to what and how different materials are used.

FB: Darryl, thanks for talking to us at such great length. First off, what’s your background in the football boot industry?

DC: I began as a leather technologist almost 20 years ago at the World’s leading technical leather tannery in England called Pittards. I studied at the British School of Leather Technology, based in Northampton in 1991-93 and came top in my class, but have continued to study throughout and was the first to be awarded an MBA in Leather Management in 2008. I was the youngest Fellow of the Society of Leather Technologists & Chemists, a Licentiate of the City & Guilds in the UK, and have won a number of awards within the leather industry.

I became the Innovations Manager at Pittards in the late 1990’s, and created many of the modern technologies they have relating to the gloving leathers, with specific technologies for the military. This culminated in a number of patents being created to protect Intellectual Property Rights of which I have extensive knowledge. In addition I researched into a lot of technology from other industries that could be transferred into the gloving and footwear industries, with a watching brief on competitor materials, including the synthetic leathers.

My role also involved input into the technologies and development of the Pittards soccer-lite leathers, which were exclusive from Pittards to PUMA for some time. Being the Innovations Manager I was free to investigate all aspects of footwear production, and look at all of the materials used. The TPU materials used in the outsoles were of great interest, and still are today.

I then accepted the fabulous opportunity to become Technical Director at Packer Leather in Brisbane, Australia in 2002, which is the world’s largest kangaroo leather tannery. Their predominant product was football boot leather, and so in this role I had greater exposure to the product development of football boots from all of the leading brands. In that time at Packer Leather I assisted in the creation of the Nomis leathers and technologies after a chance meeting with Simon Skirrow in 2003, which was extremely refreshing as he was only interested in the creation of materials that were suited to the needs of a football boot.

Nomis boss Simon Skirrow

A lot of the ‘other’ brands are driven by price of materials first, and there were countless times that development leathers that had been produced were presented to the larger brands only to be told ‘Sorry, but that won’t fit into our pricing structure for that boot’. That is extremely demoralizing and stifling at the same time, I can assure you!!!!

In 2008 I decided to join Nomis, and head up the Research Team. But also I have the responsibility of being the MD of the Australasian arm of Nomis, which is very important seeing as it is the birthplace of the brand. I now liaise with the manufacturers of all of our products, and always find it interesting when we head to Vietnam for our regular development meetings and observe the production of our footwear.

FB: What are the positives and negatives of the main materials used in football boot production, particularly with regards to uppers?

Synthetic Leathers:

To be truthful synthetics are a copy of genuine leather, and this should be stated from the beginning……. they simply are not leather no matter what anyone ever says. They are made through the use of a synthetic (man-made) woven or non-woven fibre structure, before being coated with generally a heavy coating of polyurethane or PVC based polymer.

PUMA use a synthetic material for their v1.08 football boots

Often they have little, if any, breathability or moisture management capabilities, which as players well know can cause the foot to heat up to facilitate in blister creation whilst also harbouring sweat which then creates a perfect diet for an army of micro-organism growth and smell.

Also their stretch characteristics are often brought into question, which can be detrimental to the boot conforming to the foot. They tend to feature around solvent based chemistries, which are questionable, although a few suppliers are now pioneering water based products. And really they don’t feature much else I’m afraid, apart from easier bonding during manufacturing due to most not having water resistance properties!!! Another point worth noting is that the majority of these synthetics are all hydrocarbon based, i.e. their base constituents come from the base material of oil. Therefore they are not all from renewable resources, and they are heavily affected through the price of oil.

In a positive sense though, these synthetic leathers are adored by footwear factories because they come in nice consistent large rolls or sheets which are simple to cut from, which make the cutting coefficients high, and thus the reduced prices linked to this fact are worshipped by a lot of brands creating product to ultimately please their shareholders. In addition, by having such a thick coating of polymer on the surface, the abrasion resistance is generally better, and they can be made with a number of optical effects including colours and surface looks through embossing techniques, along with screen printed options.

Genuine Leather:

OK, let’s start with a cross-section of a hide or skin, which is shown below. The grain section is the outside of the hide or skin and gives you the typical grain pattern on leather. The corium part is where the really strong fibres are to give strength. And then all of this fibre structure is stabilised and modified through chemical treatments during the tanning processes.

Leather Technicians Handbook (Sharphouse 1995) 

Essentially they all share a universal makeup, although aspects such as grain:corium ratio, angle of weave and others vary from different species of animals. These variations occur where the hide/skin of the animal has evolved to be suited to the habitat in which the animal lives, with one perfect example being a kangaroo skin structure having superior strength by having a very dense structure with little fat in it, the fibre weave being very flat, like a rope to give superb tensile strength, and a major proportion of corium fibre to enhance the strength still further. This is why certain animal fibre structures are more suited to one use than others. The clever bit is to select the right animal hide/skin as a basis.

The benefit of leather is that it is already a brilliant material to cover any anatomy. It is a renewable resource, in that the hides and skins of animals are almost exclusively by-products of the meat and farming industry, and this includes kangaroo leather contrary to popular myth that kangaroos are killed for their skins which is a fallacy.

The protein based fibre structure can be chemically modified with relative ease to incorporate many technologies to provide a superb foundation to create a smart material with many features and technical benefits. It has a fantastic capability to conform and mould to a foot when tanned correctly, and provide a brilliant moisture management control basis. It can be treated to offer numerous optical effects, and it just has a wonderful elegance to it.

The downside of leather is generally that is quite expensive due to the amount of handling required in its manufacture, and the numerous processing stages involved. There can be up to 100 individual processes in the creation of certain leathers!!!! It is not a continuous sheet of material, like the rolls of synthetics. Also because it is a natural material, there are invariably some surface defects on the material from scratches, skin infections, etc, and so finer grades of leather are more expensive. Here is where the consumer again must be careful, in that many products have the grain of the leather is actually buffed off, and an artificial grain created through a coating or a lamination process, with a ‘copied’ grain pattern embossed in to it. The term ‘Action Leather’ is associated with the instance of a heavy coating to create a false grain.

A Nomis classic - the Glove

There is also a high skill requirement to optimise the cutting of the leather, due to its odd shape and spread of sizes, which makes the cutting of shoe components time consuming, and so the footwear factories sometimes use this as an excuse to wanting to move to synthetics.

FB: What material do you prefer working with and why?

DC: I love and prefer working with leather. It has been a significant part of my life, and I still have a strong passion to create better leather products. Genuine leather has the invaluable benefit that it is composed of a natural fibre structure…..being skin!!!! Nature has it all figured out in this respect, and has created a biological marvel for the covering of creatures that is highly evolved and specific to the environment in which they live.

It provides a smart-material for Bodily Protection, Superior Strength, Thermal Regulation, Sensation, Excretion Capabilities, Chemical Absorption and Storage, Water-proofness, even the possibility of Communication and Adaptive Camouflage (e.g. a Chameleon) to name but a few.

However, when the animal dies some of these features are lost with it such as waterproofing….. but the scaffold is left in place. This is where the technicians in the leather industry reintroduce technologies brought about through chemical reactions in the tanning and finishing processes. We can recreate the water resistance, the colouration through dyes and pigments, rejuvenate moisture management systems within the structure, introduce anti-microbial properties, adjust the processing to make the leather softer or firmer, more stretchy or rigid, to name a few. Nomis has utilised the best of these, many being military spec grade technologies, in conjunction with its patented grip technologies.

You can check out the second part of our interview with Darryl Cassingham (MBA, HND FSLTC, LCGI) on Footy Boots next week.

There were some pictures of the actress Sharon Stone in a UK newspaper recently. Topless! The angle of the piece was ‘Doesn’t she look great for a 50 year old’. And you have to admit she did.

The dress she was nearly wearing looked expensive and the make up was flawless as was the hair do. So, here’s a question for you. If 10 women who read that article tried to re-create that picture, how do you think they’d get on? Yes, they could buy the same dress, have their make up done and their hair as well. But would they be a Stone-Clone at the end of it? Of course not.

The reason for this is simple. You need to have the natural talent in the first place (plus a bit of airbrushing if it helps).

It’s the same in football.

The speedy Cristiano Ronaldo uses the Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly

After Footy Boots ran the story about Theo Walcott being the fastest player in the Premier League, the whole debate on certain football boots making players quicker started again.

It’s easy to understand why given the claims of loads of brands regarding the attributes of their speed football boots. So many youngsters want to emulate Walcott, Ronaldo, Eto’o or Anelka that of course, they are going to be drawn to the same products their heroes wear. But they should be for the right reasons, not because they think the impossible will happen.

Let’s be clear about this. If your ultimate top speed as a player is 20 mph in proper fitting, appropriate footwear then it’s hugely doubtful that you will be noticeably quicker if you wear a different type of football boot, however brilliantly designed, light or well intentioned they may be.

Built for speed or what? The PUMA v1.815 Ferrari

Of course I get the argument about weight. A player in a standard kit will always beat another player wearing the same kit but carrying two bags of heavy shopping over 40 metres. But we are not talking kilos here, we are talking grams.

If we agree that an average player weights 80 kilos, a 200g pair of football boots represents 0.25% of his body weight. Equally, a 350g pair of boots would come in at 0.44%. And in today’s football boot market place, that’s a pretty big gap.

If we also agree that this player can cover 40 metres in 5 seconds, then the advantage that the lighter boots give him is…..one hundredth of a second. That may make a difference in an Olympic 100m final but on a football pitch, I’m not so sure.

Indeed, others will argue that the heavier boot gives a player a better platform to overcome inertia, just as sprinters use blocks on a track rather than going from a standing start. So, any advantage the lighter boot has over the ground will have already been negated before a player reaches sprinting speed.

By way of an experiment, and one which I accept was completely and utterly unscientific, I tried this weight theory out for myself.

Being a lumbering defender and using the lightest football boots I posses, the Nomis Spark, I ran 20 metres from a racing start on 3 occasions.

I then repeated the process in the heaviest boots in my locker, my trusted open-side flanker rugby favourites, the Nomis Supremacy. Now, my sprinting speed has been compared to that of a depressed hedgehog on valium. Usain Bolt hasn’t got anything to worry about. But the results were at least consistent. And there was no discernible difference over the 6 runs.

By way of a control, I also ran the same course in a pair of PUMA King XL’s, adidas adiPure II’s and finally the PUMA v-Konstrukt II.

Apart from getting a few strange looks from the hairdressers and dry-cleaner’s across the road, nothing. Nada. The times were virtually identical.

In the end, I suspect that it all comes down to perception and psychology. If you feel than you can run faster in one pair of football boots rather than another, then great. That’s maybe the edge you are looking for. And who knows, for players at our level, that could be enough.

So, if in your mind this means that some football boots can make you quicker, then so be it. I can live with that.

But I also know that if I walked down the local high street in a torso hugging T-shirt and jeans, not many people would mistake me for Jude Law! In the end, I’m convinced that life in general and football as a part of that all comes down to how you are built and what natural ability you possess.

Mind you, I did feel special in those bright red Nomis boots! Oi Jude. Over ‘ere son. First one to five?

Nomis football boots are sold direct from the manufacturer, an approach that cuts out the middle man and reduces their prices. So without the traditional shop to touch and feel the product, Kyle has taken a pair of Nomis Spark football boots on a road test to give you his searingly honest appraisal.

Nomis are a brand that I can honestly say I’d never heard of before I started visiting this site – but in the year or so I’ve been visiting Footy-Boots.com, I’ve been impressed with many things that Nomis have offered as a brand- i.e.; the design principals, the direct distribution and the willingness of the ‘higher-ups’ to talk to websites like our own.

So when the opportunity arose to take a look at the product behind the principal, I jumped at the chance.

Nomis Spark

Comfort/Fit
Anyone that read my Under Armour play-test will get the impression I’m passionate about the fit of football boots – I’m a firm believer that in this day and age companies should be capable of producing a boot that does what they’ve developed it to do and not rub the skin off your feet.

So, it’s not lightly that I say Nomis have developed an excellent fitting boot – the first outing for the Spark was a 2 hour training session in a glorious British July downpour – which would normally result in at least one blister – so I was massively impressed that Nomis could give a tight, glove-like fit whilst not having any friction between foot and boot.

Durability
The Spark has a nice one-piece leather upper – something that I prefer in a football boot, as it reduces the possibility of separation or tearing between two components.

One concern on the Spark for me is the heel counter – whilst it does the job and adds to the fit, I don’t think it offers much in the way of protection, as it is more or less just a rigid piece of PVC that covers the leather behind the heel.

Feel
The Nomis Spark has an interesting feel to it – if anyone remembers the adidas Supernova, then they’re already thinking along the right lines.

The Sparks have the feel of a Predator – without the signature vamps. The shape of the boot, the amount of studs, right down to the elasticated lace-cover tongue there’s a lot of similarities, not surprising that Nomis’ legacy is closely linked with Adidas.

On the pitch the Spark’s offset and covered lacing gives the instep of the football boot a huge, soft area that’s great for controlling the ball as well as laying off passes. This extends to the forefoot, which has minimal stitching for great contact when pinging in crosses.

Features
The first thing I noticed when actually handling the boots was how ‘sticky’ the upper is. If anyone’s touched the Puma logo on the v1.08’s you’ll know what I mean when I say that the boot is genuinely sticky. Most impressively, after a fortnight of testing I can report that the upper is still as tacky as it was out of the box.

An impressively adhesive upper is all well and good – but does it help with control? Whilst playing in a match, I honestly didn’t notice it adding much in the way of ‘extra’ control, so it might just be a gimmick – that said, if you asked me which would give better control; this upper or that of, say, the f50 or Vapor I’d say the Spark has the advantage.

Another of the touted features is the ‘NoMud’ soleplate – which is coated in a substance that stops mud clinging during play, thus keeping the boot light.

To put this to the test I wore a Nike football boot on one foot and the Nomis Spark on the other and did some simple sprint-with-the-ball exercises across the penalty area.

As you can see from the results there is certainly less mud on the Nomis boot than the Nike, especially in the heel. While, in my opinion, I don’t think there’s a big enough difference between the boots to call NoMud a rousing success; there is definitely a difference and perhaps it’ll be worth its salt in the boggy December months.

Conclusion
Given that Nomis are leaning toward direct distribution you’ll only find these boots for £95.00, which puts them right in the bracket of football boots like the Adipure II and the newly released Air Legend III.

So, if you’re after a football boot that’s a little bit different to what everyone else will be wearing this season, or you’ve never been a big subscriber to additions like the Concave, T90 Shot Shield or speed gimmicks like the Lotto Zhero G, or maybe you’re sick of boots promising a tight fit and then getting blisters for the first 2 weeks, it’s worth bearing Nomis in mind.

Colourway: Pearlized White / Black / Silver

Price: £95

One thing it’s difficult to accuse Simon Skirrow of is going with the flow. That’s why it should come as no surprise that the boss of Nomis, in these tough economic times, has hit upon a new way to sell his boots, making them cheaper and more appealing for the consumer.

Nomis boss Simon Skirrow

In the past Skirrow has been fiercely defensive of his marketing  strategy, mounting a passionate argument of why the company doesn’t employ big-name players to wear Nomis boots.

Now, he’s gone one step further – offering potential purchasers the chance of buying boots direct from the manufacturer, therefore cutting out the middle man and passing on the reduction in price.

Nomis Glove

The concept is called Nomis Direct and on his company web site, Skirrow has been outlining the thinking behind it. His statement reads:

Ever since I left the big sports brands to begin Nomis I have been determined to get the best quality football boots on your feet.

It’s why I remain deeply involved with the design and innovation process, why we’ve been twice rated Soccer International magazine’s football boot of the year and why we don’t pay famous athletes to wear them.

Because, ultimately, that’s what allows us to bring you the world’s best product at a price you can afford.

And now we are taking it one step further with Nomis Direct. Our new one-stop shop for buying Nomis football boots and trainers direct from the manufacturer.

As a father of three, I am well accustomed to the financial burden involved of buying new boots every season, especially in difficult financial times such as these. That’s why we at Nomis are making a true commitment to making your money go even further without compromising on any of our renowned product quality and performance, while guaranteeing you the most technological products on the market.

Skirrow is so confident in his boots performance that he promises a 30 day money back guarantee, no questions asked .

Typical savings on the Nomis site are £40 on the Glove and the Spark, £50 on the Flare and £65 on the Limited Edition NXGEN Spark.

Nomis NXGEN Spark

You can find out more at www.shopnomis-uk.com

Simon Skirrow of Nomis has revealed that one of his strategies of keeping his company profitable against the bigger boys in the boot market is to avoid sponsoring Premier League superstars, and instead to look to amateur and grass-roots players for free endorsements and development. But is this an effective strategy? I decided to look into the figures that have got the bigger companies where they are and see if it’s a worthwhile trade off.

Footy-boots recently revealed that, on a typical retainer for an England international, l could look to earn around £100,000 a year on a boot contract. Obviously some will be more and others significantly less, but given flagship players like Beckham and Owen will earn much, much more it seems like a good average to work with.

So for a full squad of players there’s potentially over £2 million in sponsorship deals. Meaning that this squad is hopefully going to influence 26,250 people to go out and buy new boots (at an average of £80 a pair) like their heroes, with each hero hopefully selling 1,250 pairs of cleats around the world.

Given that each new incarnation of a boot like the Total 90 Laser II or Predator range is usually revamped in time for a major tournament, using Euro 2008 as an example, a company like Nike or Adidas could be spending up to around £2 million in sponsorship for any one of the popular squads (obviously much less for the ‘minnow’ countries) to try and get the rest of the country into some new boots. So an educated guess might place their player sponsorship total at around £25 million for a continental tournament that is shown around the world. And so a question - could the sales of something as humble as a pair of footy boots possibly match such a huge total?

Adidas Predator Control

On the other hand, for a company like Nomis - who offers no professional sponsorship contracts - this is not a massive amount of money to spend, it’s a massive amount to save! Whilst it probably wouldn’t offer such lucrative deals or indeed have that money to invest in player contracts in the first place, it can afford to sell 312,500 less boots than a massive manufacturer whilst, based on the theory that they have somewhat similar production costs per unit, and still remain a profitable operation.

So, on paper, Nomis look to have a great strategy - don’t gamble massive sums on players having a huge influence over the boot-buying public, instead invest that money into keeping your bottom line solid and continue investing in product innovation. It’s a fantastic strategy that has sensibility at it’s core and helps guarantee that smaller boot companies will still continue to give us writers and fans something to report on and chat about, even in the current climate.

So what about the big companies? Have Nike and Adidas been wasting their money? Could they have invested those huge amounts of cash into paying a designer to develop a Mercurial Vapour V, instead of just painting a stripe on the IV’s?

Nike Mercurial Vapor V

A look at Adidas’ sales figures for the 3 months after Euro 2008 - available in their quarterly reports - showed that the sportswear giant’s ‘Sport Performance’ division’s (boots, running shoes, basketball trainers) year to date revenues were an astronomical €4.813 billion with football being the category claiming the majority of the growth.

Taking the term ‘majority’ at it’s loosest definition, this must mean the revenue generated from football products was over €2 billion. With boots being the most expensive item in most sportswear ranges, it’s fair to assume that they’re probably a big factor in that sum - but even if they were only responsible for a quarter of that remaining profit - the ‘humble footy boot’ still returned £250 million for the estimated £25m invested, and based on the average price per pair of boots - over 3 million pairs of boots sold.

Could this massive figure (that could fit 1 in every 5 human beings in the British Isles in a pair of boots) be pinned down to the hero-worship for players like Villa, Podolski and Robben? It certainly couldn’t hurt…

It’s definitely a massive call to make for any boot company - do you take a method that is guaranteed to save your business money or do you gamble on getting your name onto players feet, and ultimately, into the buying publics heads?

Leave your comments below with what you think is the best way for any company to sell boots.

Does it depend on the specialist nature of the boots?

Is it ultimately down to the way the company is run?

I know many of our regular readers were very vocal on Mr. Skirrow’s take on the debate in his interview and I’d love to hear back from anyone that reads the article! As already mentioned, please do use the comments section.

Slight disclaimer: A lot of the figures in my article are pieced together from the sparse bits of information available online to armchair journos like myself and are merely a tool to help anyone that reads the article get a better understanding, and most importantly, some enjoyment out of the economics of footy boots.

Simon Skirrow is the man who jointly designed the Adidas Predator along with former Liverpool star Craig Johnston. Involved in the sports shoe market place from the age of 17, he became one of the youngest ever Vice President’s at Adidas in charge of global production, sales and marketing. After a hugely successful period in Germany and then the USA, he took a spell out of the industry before returning to set up Nomis.  

FB: Having spent much of early career at the top of the Adidas tree before moving on to other projects, what made you decide to return to the industry?

SS: I was watching an international rugby match, England v South Africa and I thought that the skill levels on show were quite poor and it was clear that the equipment on this particularly rainy day simply wasn’t helping them. My thinking was that if the professional sportsmen, those who were born with talent, need some help with skills, then the ordinary man in the street most certainly will. So in 2001 I looked with a very critical eye at the industry and thought if I come back am I doing so because I can’t do anything else, because I can’t let go or because I think I can produce better products than those already out there.

Now I firmly believe that every brand has to do what they think is right and I agree that coloured, lightweight boots have an appeal to certain school kids or players who want to look cool and have the current day stuff and that’s OK. It’s the same with cars, the same with fashion – why would football boots be any different? But for me, if you are going to wear a football boot, why put yourself through the agony of blisters and damaged toes just because you believe that the boot is made by a credible company.

It’s my feeling that the industry hasn’t provided the education to the buying public and so the consumer has no idea what boot is right for them.

FB: Not so long ago, there was a massive debate raging about the number of kits each team brought out on a regular basis, do you think we are seeing that same scenario now with boots appearing in colourway after colourway?

SS: Its gone mad hasn’t’ it and in some ways, it’s got ahead of itself. And you could argue that the market is potentially taking the consumer for granted. In saying that, football has to thank a number of the big brands for the investment that they’ve put in to the sport. Let’s face it, Fifa, Uefa, clubs like Man Utd have had a great supply of revenue and investment from these brands because equipment has become so iconic and fashionable. So on one hand you’ve got to say that they’ve done a lot of good things. On the other hand, this monthly or bi-monthly release is a mockery of the way a football boot needs to perform in tune with the foot and the human body as a whole.

Your foot doesn’t change every 2 months and if you really love a boot, how annoying is it that a couple of months later that model has been dropped in favour of another that don’t fit you quite as well? I imagine that the consumer will start voting with their feet and perhaps looking around mid size and smaller brands for something a little more permanent.

FB: Does it concern you that Nomis boots aren’t endorsed by a horde of Premier League players?

SS: No, not at all. I can honestly say that my focus is working with the amateur player who turns out at the weekend and trains 2 or 3 times a week. With the exception of Australia where I started the Nomis brand and have personal relationships with a number of professionals who really want to wear the boots, I’m not going to drive the brand by paying out fortunes for endorsements. It’s not the direction I want to go in at all. Now, if a top Premier League player came to talk to me, my overriding thought process would be ‘what sort of a man is he’? However, the reality is you normally only get to meet the agent or the marketing company and you can talk till you are blue in the face about the qualities of the boot, the innovation and technical aspect of it because all they are interested in is how much money they are going to get paid.

FB: Just a couple of quick fire questions to finish off. What’s the favourite boot that you’ve played in, including one Nomis boot and one other?

SS: My favourite boot growing up, for about 15 years or so, was the Adidas Penarol which was the creation of a wonderful French designer called Jacques Chassaing. I loved it. A for my own stuff, it has to be the Nomis Glove because even now, I’d suggest it’s 10 years ahead of it’s time.

FB: And lastly, which do you think is the most important boot to have been designed over the past 25 years?

SS: I’d have to say the Adidas Predator because what Craig and I tried to do was to change football boot design from the 60’s and 70’s and bring it right up to date. And whilst I don’t think the boot was perfect, I think it changed the way people appreciated how performance could be built in to a football boot.

Simon Skirrow is the man who jointly designed the Adidas Predator along with former Liverpool star Craig Johnston. Involved in the sports shoe market place from the age of 17, he became one of the youngest ever Vice President’s at Adidas in charge of global production, sales and marketing. After a hugely successful period in Germany and then the USA, he took a spell out of the industry before returning to set up Nomis. 

FB: Simon, let’s start right up to date. Can you tell us your thinking behind the latest Nomis boot, the NXGEN Spark?

SS: Well I guess we are trying to express a couple of things. First, a new dimension of applying function by allowing us to personalise and individualise our technology but with a really nice feel and look to it. But in saying that, I certainly didn’t want the overall look to interfere with the technology, comfort or performance. And that’s a real trick because often, new technology can be harsh and aggressive. So we enhanced what we had already created by finding a way to apply a high quality digital design on to leather which is one of the hardest things to do. It took us about 16 months to perfect and that’s with a guy pretty dedicated to it full time. But now, the staff who’ve been working on this are thrilled to see the boot in production.

Secondly, as for the boot itself, when you get it in your hands, it’s like nothing else you’ll have experienced before. The possibilities are endless but we are going to treat this carefully as it’s not something we want to do on a mass production basis.

FB: One imagines that being a smallish company has advantages and disadvantages, but in terms of the NXGEN, do you think that a major brand couldn’t or wouldn’t to have produced something similar?

SS: It would be hard from me to say whether they would or wouldn’t want to do it but I would suggest that it’s a case of once having the technical know how, seeing if that fits in to your business model. Looking at the market place a year ago, for most brands it was pretty optimistic but that is not the case any more. I would be shocked if most of the international brands aren’t going to be 20 to 30% down. Now when that happens, innovation becomes a questionable direction.

Past recessions have shown us that companies retreat to what they know they can do so in terms of retailers, I’m concerned that they’ll only buy the standard products like the Adidas Copa Mundial or the Puma King. And let’s not forget, these are products that were designed decades ago.

As for why we did it, quite simply, we aren’t pumping our money in to the likes of say Cristiano Ronaldo. We are pumping the money in to the product. And I’m personally devastated if someone buys one of our products and can’t get on with it because we’ve tried to design them with every consumer in mind.

So as far as the NXGEN is concerned, I think it’s a space that we can own, we’re really motivated by doing that sort of thing. I think it’s much harder for the big brands to do it and I’d imagine that the mid-size brands, not that I class ourselves in that category, are probably scratching their heads at the moment thinking ‘what do we do now’?

FB: Being up against huge multi-national companies with enormous budgets for production and marketing, do you ever wake up in the morning and think, sod this for a lark, I’m going to start cleaning windows?

No. Never. This whole pursuit is just so enjoyable for me. Don’t forget, I have been part of a big brand, I’ve gone through the era before sport became fashionable, I’ve seen company directors concern themselves about sponsorship and the like and that’s how we’ve ended up where we are today which is with the market being totally oversold.

My real goal is to be the friend and the server of the football player. And rather than concerning myself with the pro’s, it’s far more exciting for me to pitch up at an amateur club and introduce myself, not that they’ve ever heard of me, and sit and talk to them about why I started Nomis.

And I’m there to treat them like a professional. I want to give them the exact same service I gave Bayern Munich in my previous career. That to me is far more rewarding because the truth of the professional game is that you can’t ‘touch’ these players any more. They’re not real people to me. That’s not their fault. It’s just that the pressure on them within the game has turned made them untouchable. And yet, the consumer looks at these people as idols and role models, even though in my mind they are invisible.

My dream was to produce better football boots but take them to the people who pay for them.

In part 2 of Simon’s exclusive Footy Boots chat, find out why he returned to the industry, what he thinks of the explosion in the number of football boot colourways and he tells us his which is his favourite boot of all time.    

Football is currently in the process of fantastic contradiction. On one hand you have the traditional powers in English football saving the pennies as the recession hits hard. On the other you have the seemingly endless wealth of Manchester City.

Similarly in today’s world of cutting back and toning down, you have the Nike Berry and Citron Vapors. Inspite of the global credit crunch footballers are (obviously) yet to be affected and can afford the luxury of still showing their ability in the loudest possible boots, as manufacturers continue the current trend of bright and intriguing colourways. But what does the future hold for the design of football boots?

No doubt the design of boots will take a radical turn in the next five years as customizable boots hit our shops hard and the ability to change more than just studs and laces will come to the fore. The Nomis NXGEN Spark has already set the benchmark in today’s race for the most customizable boot aesthetically, but the masses want more! We want a change of uppers, heels and design! We want a mouldable boot around our foot! We want technology!

Nomis NXGEN Spark

If the dreams of fully personalised designs materialise (and they will), one fact will remain constant against today; there will always be an idiot somewhere!

Take for example Niklas Bendtner, the striker with a penchant for missing the target but a real passion for playing in pink boots. The poor lad had to wait 23 years before Nike finally realised Pink (or Berry apparently!) is the way forward. Or not, as the subsequent lack of success demonstrated. As for Niklas, his work is done and dream fulfilled, all that remains now is the imminent decision to retire!

Fast forward ten years and a different kind of idiot will be gracing local parks on a Sunday morning near you. This one however far exceeds the Bendtner syndrome. Oh yes! As Adidas and Nike improve their personalised boot services, photos on boots will no doubt be a feature for footballers across the globe. Professional players will fill their boots with photos of their superstar, glamorous wives. As will amateur players, of their less than glamorous girlfriends. Be prepared for pictures of Stacey from Staines passed out on a beach in Benidorm proudly displayed on Dave’s boots in the Surrey Western District League!

Jokes aside, football boots will no doubt see a technological revolution in the next 10 years as customization reaches new heights. The F50 Tunit has given a glimpse into the future as players can alter their boot according to the weather and conditions. The next step is surely alterations according to the players mood, for example the colour of the boot on any given day, laces or not, red logo or blue logo and so on.

Adidas F50.9 TUNiT

The football boot contradiction lies here; the technology to create such a boot has been readily available for years no doubt, however business stipulates this may lead to a fall in sales as people currently seek the latest boot. If the latest boot is the last one a player purchased, sales will inevitable drop over the course of a season. However one crucial factor rules above all else, demand. Demand is forcing manufacturers’ hands and the signs are that the custom revolution is beginning to take shape. Watch this space……

In an exclusive interview with Footy Boots which you can read in full next week, Simon Skirrow, the boss of Nomis, says that the interaction he has and the feedback he receives from amateur players far outweighs the need to spend vast sums of money in securing professional player endorsements.

His approach, like a number of other ‘smaller’ brands may be based on ‘the bottom line’ but it does throw up an interesting point in terms of marketing strategies - what works, what doesn’t, what’s worth paying out the big bucks for and what isn’t.

It also begs the question; can the personally owned football brand make it on the big stage?

With Skirrow, the marketing plan seems to revolve around innovation. Create a product that no-one else can match and let the boots themselves to the talking. Nomis go big on comfort, safety and performance and as you’ll discover in the interview, Skirrow passionately believes that his boots are the best on the market. Add in a sprinkling of technical innovation too such as nomud, Dual Control and most recently, customised digital design as shown on the NXGEN Spark, it’s clear that Nomis are continuing a well trodden and successful path.

Nomis NXGEN Spark

And it’s not as if Skirrow hasn’t experienced the other side of the coin. As a big wig at Adidas and co-creator of the Predator, he’s seen how the big boys work and, probably more to the point these days, he knows just how much that can cost.

Meanwhile, as a newcomer in the market place, it was always unlikely that Concave would sign up masses of pro’s from day one.

Instead, as they explain in their exclusive Footy Boots blog, they went with a limited release of the PT1 which will be followed up this year by the all new kangaroo leather PT+, a mid range of boots and at least 2 new colourways. Plus, a la Skirrow, they’ve kept a keen eye on customer feedback and made some minor adjustments to the existing range as well as sending our replacement boots to any users who had problems.

Concave PT+

They also had to endure a pretty rough ride from the boot ‘experts’ who questioned, and to some extent still are questioning, the fundamental technology of the Concave boot with its enlarged sweet spot.

However, as can be seen from the new range, Concave are sticking to their guns and are still happy with their 4 pillars of performance; improved accuracy, power, protection and control.

How these two brands will fare in 2009 and beyond is of course anyone’s guess, but in a world where mass volume is understandably king, where celebrity endorsements create a seemingly unquestioning following and where large wedges of cash can sometimes be used to paper over the cracks, it’s refreshing that Nomis and Concave are out there fighting.

Read Simon Skirrow’s exclusive 2 part Footy Boots interview next week.

Looking to fill 2 new positions with young, influential, football boot experts, Nomis came to Footy Boots (where else) to try and find the right talent.

What follows is an exclusive invite which could land you with a hugely exciting role within the football boot industry. So if you are aged between 18 - 21 or 22 - 30, read on - you could become one of the most influential contributors in the world of football.

Nomis Foot Soldiers - Role Specification / Background

Having spent time talking to elite podiatrists, medical units and coaches about their athlete’s footwear needs, Nomis is well aware of the importance in providing comfort through the highest grade leathers and first class manufacturing. This is coupled with engineered outsoles aligned to the biomechanical needs of football coupled with considered stud configurations, point of flex and degree of flex.

Spark NXGEN FG 

Nomis is established in the world market of performance football footwear and fully understands your needs as an athlete but now we want to fully understand your wants. You will now have the chance to become a Nomis Foot Soldier.

Led by Nomis World HQ in Switzerland, The Nomis Foot Soldiers will report on what is cool, innovative and original. As a brand we value global relevance but more importantly we value your opinion. Foot Soldiers will be positioned globally. Footy Boots readers are a natural fit for Nomis Football – as they stay in the know and ahead of the curve. If you are global in outlook, confident, stylish and sociable then we want to hear from you.

The Glove FG

To become a Nomis Foot Soldier you must provide no more than 250 words why we should consider you. You can write about anything in and around football or footwear, something you feel passionate about and have a strong point of view on.

We have two places to fill:

1.    18 – 21 age group –1 position

2.    22 – 30 age group –1 position

As a Foot Soldier you will receive the following:

1.    Product six months before it hits retail

2.    Attend product launches

3.    Meetings at football matches with the Nomis Team

4.    Travel to Nomis WHQ for trend meetings and also meet with Nomis representatives in your territory.

5.    Meet and train with elite athletes.

We look forward to hearing from you.