While I get what your saying, it's been the same with every addidas kit we've had, so I don't get why there is suddenly all this fuss now.
Agreed. Certainly not at the price the club will sell them for. I bet the knock off merchants are already knocking a batch up now. Even £21 will be too much with Cash Converters on the front. I like my mine for a tenner with just the club badge on it. Yes its a very good comparison. But lets hope that the new strip wont attract any clingons and Steve Bruce will energise the team back to the PL. Beam us up Brucey. The new strip also in a way reminds me of the kit we had back in the days of Parker, Jobson, Askew, Horton, Skipper. Yes now that looks much better. That would get my vote. Just the one ? Bet you shall see many more soon. ?
I think the fuss is down to a poor design and also that you can get it for a tenner (minus the badges and sponsor). Addidas should have designed something that they dont stock. I much preferred the Diadorra stuff we had when Peter Taylor was manager myself. Much better quality gear. imo.
Trouble is for me Tickler , the shirt collecting geek that lives inside my head will no doubt be bidding on eBay for a match worn poppy day / Dove house appeal shirt even though I don't like it.
before we start blaming the club for this... isnt it true that adam pearson and probably nigel would have agreed to this kit a few seasons ago ? i thought its always planned/agreed well in advance...
It'll be agreed less than a year before it's launch and it's normally the owner that signs off the kit(at least Bartlett did with the last one).
I do quite like the new kit, But something specially made for us would be nice, Then again if we did everyone would want one, so the kit makers would probably be scared off. Say what you like about the old 'tiger pattern' kit but it was unique, And as someone has already said, football kits arent a fashion statement. However there is a fine line between being unique, and being a laughing stock
People really seem to be missing the point here.... the FACT is that Adidas or any big manufacturer would love to design a bespoke kit for us. However if they did they would charge heavily for the design and manufacturing process to make up for the relative lack of sales. The way Man Utd, Arsenal, Milan, Inter etc have bespoke kits is because the manufactuer know they will sell a lot of shirts so dont have to charge the club to make up the shortfall in costs incurred. In a nutshell, we could have our own kit but the club would have to pay heavily for it and because we dont sell many shirts we would likely make a loss. It's pure commercial and if fans found out we made a loss in that eventuality they would say 'why dont you just take an off the peg design?'
And how about the manufacturers having to set up a completely different bespoke programme for printing said shirts?
For an order the size our shirt order will be, there would be no set-up charge from a factory, they use templates for everyone because it's easy, not because there's any significant cost saving.
The answer is a simple one then. As i posted earlier, get the Hull City fans to design the kit for 2013/14 and put the selections on the clubs website and we the fans vote for the one (one home and one away) we want to buy. The winning designers get a free season card to all home games. Its not hard is it to do. ?
We have no idea as to their factory costs and their margins involved so let's not pretend we do. But compared to other Adidas supplied teams we will make a relatively small order. It's more a case of if they did it for one, they'd have to do it for all. Adidas supply 100+ professional teams with kits, it would simply be too much hassle and eat into margins if they we're to start making custom kits for everyone.
You have to keep up the collection though i agree. Its not the worst we have ever had but no thought has gone into it. Its a lazy cop out. imo.
Actually, I do have a very good of what's involved, at least with regard to Umbro. They could at least let us select which of their templates we got, that wouldn't cost them anything(the club may get a choice already, but I'm referring to the fans).
That's just wrong. But it's not that simple is it? You dont just give a hand drawn design to a bloke with a machine and say "go on then Helmut, make that will you, squire?" Have you any idea of what goes into making a football shirt?
