Historical Football Kits

Coca Cola Championship 2009 - 2010

The Championship is the second tier of English football and the top level of the Football League, the world's oldest league competition. The top two teams are promoted automatically to the Premier League while those finishing third, fourth, fifth and sixth contest the play-offs at the end of the season for the last remaining promotion place. The financial gap between the Championship and the Premier League is now enormous and it has been estimated that the winner of the play-off final can expect to earn around £35m as the result of promotion, making this game the most rewarding in the season. Teams that are relegated from the Premiership are cushioned by "parachute payments" worth £24m over two seasons but if the club has not managed to return to the top level and/or restructured its finances, it can find itself in serious difficulty.

Secondary sponsorship is permitted on the back of players' shirts and shorts. Last season's League One champions are entitled to wear a special gold sleeve patch.

Barnsley

Designer: Lotto

Sponsor: Barnsley Building Society

Barnsley are, as usual, wearing a very simple outfit of red shirts and stockings with white shorts, their traditional colours. White cuffs and piping on the shoulder seam are the only decoration on the shirts while the stockings feature a pair of narrow red stripes down each side. The away kit is dark navy and trimmed in metallic gold.

(Rob Rob, George Tomlin, Colin Wilson)

Blackpool

Designer: Carbrini Sportswear

Sponsor: Carbrini Sportswear

Carbrini Sportswear, a brand of JD Sports, made their first appearance last season as shirt sponsors for several teams. For the new season they are both kit suppliers and shirts sponsors for the Tangerines and have plastered their logos all over the strip. The away kit follows the pattern of recent seasons by simply reversing the colours of the home kit, making it possible for the team to wear all-tangerine or all-white as required.

(Jonathon Whitehead, Rob Rob)

Bristol City

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: DAS Insurance

Bristol City's new Puma kit features a pair of white flashes across the upper chest as well as the now familiar Puma logos adorning the shoulders. The white stockings are a modest break with tradition. Last season's all-black third kit has proved sufficiently popular for it to be promoted to second choice, now styled in the Puma King template. Red shorts are also worn with the home kit in some away games and a white set are available for the away strip.

(Rob Rob, Mark Leech, Hugo Bebbington)

Cardiff City

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: SBO Bet

In recent years the city of Cardiff has acquired world class sporting facilities and now the Bluebirds kick off the new season in their own brand new stadium having narrowly missed out on last season's play-offs. HFK is reliably informed that over the summer Cardiff negotiated a kit deal with Adidas but this collapsed at the last moment. As a result they have opted for the popular new Puma design, which is available from their standard catalogue. The trim is in yellow, their third colour of choice since the 1970s. For their away strip, Bluebirds will wear a yellow and blue Puma King outfit. The team played in unsponsored shirts until 13 September when a deal with a far-east on-line gambling company, 777 Ball was completed. This was immediately dropped because the comapny did not have a licence to operate in the UK and was replaced by SBO Bet from 29 September.

(Joe Perry, Alan Jenkins)

Coventry City

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: Cassidy Group (Home), Stadi Arena (Away)

Coventry return to the straightforward sky blue and navy look last seen in 2002 (alternate sky-blue shorts are also available). The latest Puma template features a curved inset to the sides of the body as well as on the reverse of the stockings. Last season's gold-trimmed black away strip is retained.

The third kit is to be worn just once, at the Ricoh Arena against Sheffield wednesday on March 27. Like last season's special edition chocolate strip, this is a limited edition of 2,010 and is designed to celebrate England's participation in the 2010 World Cup. A small flag of St George above the legend "2010" appears on the right sleeve.

(Phil Arnold, Rob Rob, James Devine, Robbie Heer, Tom Ward)

Crystal Palace

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: GAC Logistics

Palace have switched from Errea to Nike for the new season and have adopted a pair of frankly unexciting kits from Nike's catalogue.

The special edition shirt was worn at Selhurst Park against Preston and was sponsored by the Supporters Trust as part of their bid to raise funds to buy a stake in the club, which went into administration earlier in the season.

Nathan Rose

Derby County

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Bombardier

Derby have renewed their association with the Clough family, having persuaded Nigel Clough to join them from Burton Albion in January. Their new home kit is a bog standard outfit from the current Adidas catalogue. The away strip is made in the same pattern in black and silver while the third strip is more or less unchanged from last season.

(Adam Balchin, Todd Prisk, Rob Rob, Phil Copley)

Doncaster Rovers

Designer: Vandanel

Sponsor: Wright Investments

Vandanel have redesigned Donny's kits for the new season with broad hoops edged in black and solid red sleeves. The stockings have yet to be confirmed. Last season's black and red away kit is retained and can be worn with the home shorts and stockings if required. The third kit is retained from last season but worn with slightly different socks.

(Christopher Worrall, Mark Alden)

Ipswich Town

Designer: Mitre

Sponsor: Marcus Evans

Ipswich rotate their kits every two years so for 2009-10 it is the turn of the home set to be revamped. Mitre offer a straightforward outfit with flowing, asymmetrical white trim. The red away kit is unchanged.

Following the death of Sir Bobby Robson, special edition shirts were commissioned for the match between Ipswich and Newcastle United. These carry the match details and logo of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Proceeds from the auction of these shirts go to the cancer charity that Sir Bobby set up. The white third choice shirts were commissioned for the games at Scunthorpe and Crystal Palace and are not on sale to the public.

(Rob Freeman, Simon Ståål)

Leicester City

Designer: Joma

Sponsor: Loros Hospice Care (Away)

Leicester are back in the Championship after a season in the unfamiliar depths of League One. To celebrate their 125th anniversary a commemorative kit has been commissioned complete with a special badge. After consulting with supporters last season, the club decided to forgo shirt sponsorship for the new season on its home shirt.

The away kit is a recreation of the club's original kit and was previously revived for the 2003-04 season and proved to be very popular with supporters. The logo type of a local charity, Loros Hospice Care appears on the away shirt and can be purchased from Loros' shops as well as from the club.

(Andy Guo)

Middlesbrough

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Garmin Sat Nav

After a relationship with Errea that goes back to 1994 during which the Italian company has created some fine, individual strips for the club, Middlesbrough have switched to Adidas for the new season. No amount of hype can disguise the fact that the home kit is a standard Adidas template. White shorts are worn for the first time in ten years. The light blue away kit is in fact made from exactly the same template but the curved stripes are made in exactly the same colour as the body of the shirt.

(Michael Sen, Paul Reid)

Newcastle United

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Northern Rock

After a season that resembled a slow motion car crash, the mighty Toon are in the Championship. Owner Mike Ashley has put the club up for sale for a reported £100m and refused to sanction any transfers or even the appointment of a permanent manager prior to a sale going through.

The new home outfit is a return to tradition albeit with Adidas' famous three-stripe trim. A special edition was commissioned for the match with Ipswich Town bearing the logo of the Bobby Robson Foundation.
The away kit in what we have decided to describe as banana and custard has provoked considerable comment from HFK's regulars ranging from the disapproving to the downright incredulous. Love it or hate it, this one will stick in the memory. Early sales were so poor that the club cut the price by 20% within days of the launch and only three fans queued up to buy it on launch day. It is probable that Geordie fans are expressing their fury with Mike Ashley's regime with a boycott. The third strip, revealed at the beginning of August, is a far more attractive business that resembles the colours of Internazionale of Milan. For the first time, all three of Toon's strips feature striped shirts.

(Alisdair Gibbs-Barton, Adam Balchin, Todd Prisk & many others)

Nottingham Forest

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: Victor Chandler

There are no surprises with Forest's new home strip, which is simply updated to the latest of Umbro's templates. usually the club rotate their kits every two seasons so we can expect this one to be in place until 2011. Capital One are replaced as shirt sponsor by yet another on-line betting company. The new away kit is a far more adventurous business in deep blue and grey with Umbro's revival chequerboard pattern embossed into the fabric.

(Richard Williams, Francesco Pernigoni)

Peterborough United

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: MRI Overseas Property until January then Sue Ryder Care (H), Free Kicks Foundation (A), Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (3rd)

Peterborough were promoted as runners-up last season and have climbed their way back up the leagues after dropping into the lowest tier in 2001. They are keeping their home kit while introducing an attractive new change kit in the classic Argentina style. In fact the Posh wore a similar outfit as their first choice kit in the late 1970s. The green and white third kit is also retained but now worn with green shorts and socks.

The all-white strip was worn in the 4-4 thriller at Cardiff on 29 December with proceeds from the auction of the match-worn shirts going to the Sue Ryder Foundation. Following the bankruptcy of their shirt sponsor, Posh featured charities on their shirts after 30 January.

(Alexander Perkin, Matthew Lake, Ian Raffel, Bertie Wright, Jacob BL)

Plymouth Argyle

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Ginsters' Pies

The new Argyle home kit is one of the standard Adidas designs introduced earlier this year and unveiled in the Major League Soccer. A new crest has been introduced and the familiar Ginsters' logo is considerably larger than previously.The away kit is more or less a mirror image of the home strip so the different elements can be mixed when required.

(Ben)

Preston North End

Designer: Canterbury

Sponsor: Enterprise

The Lilywhite's kit is provided by Canterbury this season: this company's practice is to maximise their branding so their logo appears on the shoulders and side of the shorts as well as the usual positions. The decision to adopt a red away kit has upset many supporters but the yellow third kit is less controversial.

(Oliver Kukolj, George McDermott)

Queens Park Rangers

Designer: Lotto

Sponsor: Gulf Air

QPR have restored their traditional white first choice shorts although a blue set is available for away matches when needed. The broad hoops now extend part way up the chest and the upper part of the shirt is mainly white. The red and black away kit is of similar design and recalls the version worn in the 1980s. The new third strip is dark navy and trimmed in silver.

(Simon Ståål)

Reading

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: Waitrose

Reading's new home kit is based on one of Puma's new templates, with "collar bones" trim combined with traditional hoops. Blue shorts are reinstated. The away strip in white and green is based on the Puma King template. The orange and blue away kit from last season is retained as a third kit with some minor alterations to the blue trim on the shoulder.

(Clyde1998, Simon Ståål)

Scunthorpe United

Designer: Carlotti

Sponsor: Rainham Steel

After finishing 11 points behind third place MK Dons, Scunny just squeezed into the League One play-offs last season but went all the way to final where they beat Millwall in a thrilling match. In the last season of their contract with Carlotti, Scunthorpe are reverting to stripes for their home strip, an arrangement last season in 1992. The reverse of the shirts are predominently claret with secondary sponsorship by Smith's Fashion. The socks were replaced after a couple of games with a set in claret with blue turnover.

(Richard Young, Nathan Soulby, Peter Williams)

Sheffield United

Designer: Macron

Sponsor: Visit Malta.com

The Blades reached the play-off final last season but were beaten by Burnley so have their sights set on another challenge for promotion. Their new kit provider is Macron, who replace Le Coq Sportif. United consult their supporters before finalising their new designs and this season stripes are restored to the back of the shirts. Otherwise the kit appears deceptively simple but Macron have devised some subtle design elements including a traditional wing collar, black insets where the chest and armpit seams meet and curved white side panels. Excessive placement of Macron's logos spoil what would otherwise be a fine, classically inspired outfit.

The black third kit has the names of every player to have ever represented the Blades embroidered into the fabric. The charity strip was worn at Hillsborough in the Sheffield derby.

(Adam Ellerington, Matthew Brownhill, Mark Wild)

Sheffield Wednesday

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: The Children's Hospital Charity

Wednesday have followed the example of Aston Villa last season by promoting a charity on their shirts rather than seeking commercial sponsorship. Puma's latest design for the new home kit has a strong, traditional theme but with stripes extending from the sleeve across the shoulder and an unusual inset on the side of the body, which has fine black and blue vertical pinstripes. A yellow and blue change kit from Puma's 2009 catalogue is also available in the kit room.

Special edition shirts were worn on 6 March against Leicester City, proceeds from the post-match auction going to the Help for Heroes charity.

(Mark Wild)

Swansea City

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: 32Red.com

Umbro certainly seemed to have learned from their mistakes of 2007-08 and have produced a very interesting shirt for the Swans this season. The traditional white top is embellished by a grey chest panel, itself intersected by vertical stripes that grade from white to gray, all fading subtly into each other. The effect is spoiled as far as traditionalists are concerned (and here at HFK we are nothing if not traditionalists) by the introduction of black shorts as first choice.

The away kit features shorts and socks that are interchangeable with the home kit so I anticipate we will see Swansea playing in their familiar all-white in several away games.

(Adam Balchin, Auckland Jack)

Watford

Designer: Joma

Sponsor: Evolution HDTV

Joma replace Diadora as Watford's kit partner and their first design reduces the red trim to the bare minimum. There are curious reversed seams picked out in black or red while the black panels on the shirt, sleeves and shorts have a patchwork finish. Red shorts may be worn when necessary.

The black away kit is unlikely to be needed in the league but as we anticipated, red shorts will once again be used from time to time when Watford play away.

(Alec Hitchman, Rob Rob, Stephen Toogood, Sam Gardner)

West Bromwich Albion

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: Various

Albion's supporters will want to forget last season's Premier League campaign, which saw them relegated in last place. The Baggies' new kit is a straightforward interpretation of their traditional design including predominantly white stockings, a motif that has been used frequently since 1957. On closer inspection some distinctive detailing becomes apparent: the V neck, for example is in in silver-grey with navy and white trim while the stockings are decorated with fine horizontal rings. The back of the shirt is entirely navy-blue. The away kit is basically red and navy trimmed with silver-gray and last season's yellow and blue strip becomes the new third kit.

Once again West Brom failed to secure a shirt sponsor so in November the club announced that they would offer short-term deals instead. Seven commercial companies, two charities and the England 2018 World Cup bid campaign all appeared in thirteen games.

(Stephen Toogood, Jon Grossman, Andy Guo, Todd Prisk, Dan Brown, Ian Raffel)