When they where little my kids wanted every kit, every season. Wasn't to bad in kids sizes, as soon as they went to adult sizes, they have to pick one. There's 4 of them, but the eldest can get his own. Generally one gets the home, one gets the away, one gets either the 3rd or the keeper kit. Football kits are a fair old must have for a lot of kids.
Mine aren't that bothered. Eldest will usually ask for one per year but could be literally any shirt, he picks what he thinks looks nice rather than the team (although he wouldn't pick certain teams no matter what). Other two have never asked. Just as well with how much they cost nowadays. Bloody £90+ for an adult!!!
I have several legit polos and tshirts, but all but one of my kits are fake. It's not that I'm diverting money from Liverpool to China, I wouldn't have spent the silly amount a kit costs for a legit kit anyway, I'd have done without, call me plastic, but I'm not spending that much. It's not like I wear them. A decade ago maybe. If they sold the kits for a legit £25 I would buy one of each, if just to frame.
Middle lad is fanatical about the game, I thought I was into it, but he makes me look like I just take a passing interest. He's got football shirts from all over, I think his favourite is one from Africa, hearts of oak I think their called. My daughter is getting there as well now. My youngest just wants to fit in. The two middle kids love their shirts its quite a big thing for them, so I don't really mind to be honest.
We have to have an away kit and that changing every year doesn't bother me, although some of them are awful. It's the unnecessary third kit that I don't understand. Do they make more money by giving three choices? Surely nobody buys all three, (not talking about Fool with three of his children wanting one so one each).
I really don't know how the finances work but it's not just 3 kits but training kit, casual wear and other forms of merchandise thst makes the club money. I'd in general agree that the costs are far far far too high to the ordinary fans. it's an amazing amount to demand for what it is.
My main point was that there's no club identity to those kits. The designs are frequently bizarre due to the need to come up with something different so often, and they're so ephemeral that they don't get the chance to stick in supporters' minds and become associated with the club. It's purely a commercial thing. Yes, you can say it gives the club more money (as if football isn't already awash with it), but I'm sure the driving force behind it is the manufacturers.
Sorry, I didn't address your main point, I went off on a tangent based on the replies. I agree with you about the lack of identity in an oft repeated manufacturer designed away kit i.e. we get the lilac version, a n other gets the blue version etc. The manufacturers are definitely the driving force. One of the stipulations of sponsorship is that the third kit is worn on at least one occasion so we'll see the team wear it when there's no colour clash just because they have to fulfill that part of the deal. Like you, I'd prefer the away to be all white, as it used to be. Apart from anything else, you can't mess around too much with white in terms of abstract patterns.
Well its like this, is lfc's away kit green, yellow, white, ecru, sort of blueish tinge or what?? the third kit has been as many other colours. blacks and greys. orange and purples etc.
I'm not that stuck on the white kit as such, just that it's practical. Your club colours and a white alternative covers every eventuality. Replica kits didn't exist when I was a kid, and when they came in they seemed to me to be a kids' thing. No offence intended to anyone on here who wears them, but to me it just didn't seem something grown-ups would wear. Of course times change and I'm used to seeing them, and I'm well aware of the fact that to many my opinion seems outdated - hence the thread title. As I said, I'd be happier if some sort of identity was preserved in the design - there's really nothing apart from the badges for you to relate to, nothing else that says "this is my team". Remember the fuss a few years ago over the one with the cyan trim? All attempts at preserving a club style seem abandoned now.
Think the 3rd kit is normally a bit more experimental and can sometimes be a fashion top rather than just a kit
If you read the blurb when they release a new kit there's always a spurious attempt at linking the colours with something local like the 'verdigris' (turquoise) coloured one a couple of seasons ago with the Liver birds.
Don't like the green and white one so wouldn't buy it? Fine, here's a purple one for you. Too insecure in your manhood to wear purple? Fine, here's a green and white one for you. By having two away options there's less chance someone pulls their nose up and skips the away kit. And I can see a few rare cases where ... if your home kit is a res and your away kit is white... you need a third kit for playing away to Stoke, or Southampton.
in the end I don't really understand it as I'd only want a red kit. now I was bought (didn't ask) the original candy grey kit as a kid and bought the same one for nostalgia and pulled it out of a draw in 2019 cl final win for the laugh. however lfc wear red so surely most people by red.
One of the rec league teams I played for our colour was black. First half of season we didn't have a uniform shirt (a lot of teams in that league didn't) our colour was black, so I used to wear a black Liverpool away top in that.... consequently my black top is the one Ive worn the most since I don't typically wear a kit otherwise. Don't ask me what colour the other team I played for played in... I don't want to admit I played in that colour... . No Liverpool kit (in my lifetime) ever been that evil football colour.
