Launching new football kits has changed from being a bi-annual event to a yearly cycle at most Premier League clubs.
Of the 20 teams in the Premier League this season, just two teams will be keeping their home shirts from last year. This teams are Manchester United and Newcastle United.
The Telegraph reported on this subject, suggesting that Premier League clubs are putting pressure on parents to pay out regularly to keep their kids in the latest team uniforms.
It’s interesting to see that the clubs are blaming the increased regularity of kit changes on their kit suppliers. Of course their was no mention of the increased revenue the clubs will generate as a result of making last years kit obsolete and where kids are concerned, out of fashion.
Suppliers to Blame?
West Ham and Sunderland are both changing their home and away strips again this season, due to a deal with Umbro. Whilst Blackburn are modifying both strips after signing a new sponsorship deal with Crown Paints. Blackburn changed both of their kits last year when it switched to supplier Umbro. Manchester City says problems with sponsors has forced a redesign after just a year and West Brom has changed their shirt to be sponsor-less.
Arsenal have changed both their home and away shirts for this outing, and don’t forget that teams challenging in the Champions league now have a third kit….. A season ticket holder said “I take my two sons to nearly every home game at The Emirates. My lads like to fit in with the rest of their friends who watch Arsenal and that means they like to have the latest shirts. But it is becoming very difficult to furnish them with the shirts every year, so we normally buy them for Christmas or birthdays. But I can’t help looking back and thinking that these shirts have a shelf life of a year and that we are wasting our money now”.
Those thoughts were echoed by Michael Hollins, a West Ham fan who said “This year I have said enough is enough. Instead of paying out on the latest kit, I’ve bought a retro shirt which will give me more years than the latest updates on the home shirt”.
We’ve set up a poll to get a broader view on the topic. Find it on the bottom right hand side of this page, we’d like to hear your views…..
waa waa Quit your bloody pissin oo i cant buy my lads the new kit every year piss off get a another job then u bigg girls blouse they should change every year
Get a “pissin” grip you retard!!! Why should teams have to change their kits every year? doesn’t make them play any better, and theyll soon run out of designs. if you want to waste Ă‚£40 on a shirt every year, then you do that, but some of us have lives, and we would prfer to care for our families than get a football shirt every year, which doesn’t help anyone, doesn’t gain you anything, and when your in the stands chanting for your team, you dont exactly look down at the shirt every 2 minutes thinking, “money well spent”, you get home, take it off, stinking of sweat and shove it in the washing machine. get a life mate 😉
spot on its been every other season since i can remember it worked then it can work now its just the brand names wanting more money i love my team but from the templates i have seen of the new kits you would have to be mad to buy any of the adidas shirts they all suck