Saturday, May 26, 2007

New Jerseys for 2007-2008

Several teams have made changes to their uniforms for the upcoming Premiership and Football League season. Here, we'll take a brief glance at some new jerseys and I'll offer my opinions; yours are always welcome as well.

Some teams have scheduled their uniform release date for later on in the summer, though all of these dates are subject to change by the team:
Arsenal (July 7-home, August 7-away)
Chelsea (July 7-away, August 7-third)
Everton (July 12-away, September 6-third)
Liverpool (July 20-"European change")
Manchester City (August 7-away)
Manchester United (July 7-home, August 7-away)
Wigan (June 14-home, August 2-away, September 6-third)
Dates courtesy of: eplleague.blogspot.com

Blackburn Rovers unveiled two new jerseys for next season around the beginning of May. They were apparently voted on by the club's fans (I'd like to know why fans would vote for that away jersey, but I digress). The solid red away Blackburn wore last year was much more conservative, but the home jersey looks very similar. The 2007-2008 editions are a bit curvier and remind me of the jerseys which Adidas makes for the MLS teams, though Lonsdale is Blackburn's manufacturer again for next season.
Jersey designer-Lonsdale

Newcastle have released a new home jersey which they will wear up through 2009. It also looks fairly similar to last year's jersey; black and white stripes are the focal point. This is a very sleek-looking jersey, and Newcastle are marking the new era under Sam Allardyce in style.
Jersey designer-Adidas


The runners-up in the Championship intend to show up well-dressed when they make their return to the Premiership next season. Birmingham City will march into St. Andrews with a new home jersey, and hopefully for them, Steve Bruce (aka Jay Leno) will be able to solidify that club as a Premiership team to stay.
This jersey is not bad looking, but I would've liked to see a bit more blue in the middle and less white.
Jersey designer-Umbro



Liverpool's new black third jersey, worn here by John Arne Riise, is my personal favorite of all the new jerseys that have been released. I like this jersey far more than I liked the yellow one Liverpool wore this season during some away Premiership and away Champions League games, don't you agree? Adidas is also running a new campaign (http://www.adidas.com/campaigns/liverpool/content/liverpool.asp?adidas_cc=com&lfcprmid=18448104ool.asp?adidas_cc=com&lfcprmid=18448104)) that has a countdown clock which will supposedly reveal Liverpool's new away jersey on May 30, however, it's widely rumored that this jersey is white with red trim and images of it have already been leaked. Steven Gerrard is pictured modeling it to the right in fact. Well-kept secret, huh?
Jersey designers-Adidas








New Jerseys for 2007-2008 (Continued)

As noted at eplleague.blogspot.com today (May 26), the champions of the Championship, Sunderland, have released their latest away jersey. The club's logo is found at the upper right of the picture (the model's upper left), and the jersey keeps with Sunderland's traditional colors, as it should.

Jersey designer-Umbro



Manchester City unveiled their new home jersey about two weeks ago (May 14). Again, the team's logo is prominently displayed though the ThomasCook.com is a bit too large and takes away from the overall aesthetics of the shirt. New York Yankees-style pinstripes are included as well, which is a nice touch. Manchester City have a classy new home jersey for next season, but can they manage to score more than 10 goals in it? We'll see.
Jersey designer-Le Coq Sportif

Everton introduced their new home jersey on the team's official website on May 3. This jersey is a bit more traditional than the two mentioned above in terms of its similarities to last year's edition, but a hint of yellow around the collar is something the club did not have on their home jerseys for the '06-'07 season. It also appears to be a darker shade of blue; and the reason for this change is unclear. All the logos (Umbro, Chang, and Everton's) are located in the same place, and this jersey is not a dramatic change from last year's.
Jersey designer-Umbro

Tottenham unleashed their own version of the rainbow on May 12, with four new jerseys scheduled to debut in 2007: White (home), Yellow (away, and hideous), Dark Blue (third jersey), and Half-White, Half-Light Blue (125th anniversary shirt). Are four jerseys really necessary? There is most likely a color which every fan likes, but four jerseys seems a bit much.
Jersey designer-Puma