Historical Football Kits

Barclays Premier League 2009 - 2010

The domination of the big four, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, who captured the qualifying places for the European Champions League, continued in 2008-09 while Manchester United equalled Liverpool's record of 18 league championships with their second hat-trick of titles. The gulf between these four, bolstered by seemingly unlimited financial resources, and the rest of the Premier League (never mind the clubs in the Football League and below) now appears unbridgeable. Commentators warn that football clubs are not immune to the current global financial crisis and that the current financial models of many clubs are not sustainable.

Curiously, a large number of clubs from smaller towns are competing against the big city teams: Wigan, Hull and Stoke have all retained their places and are joined this season by Wolves and Burnley.

On-line gambling companies continue to make inroads into shirt sponsorship and HFK understands that replica shirts sold in child and junior sizes will carry different logos (the promotion of alcohol through junior replica kits having already been banned). So that's alright then.

Arsenal

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: Emirates Airlines

Arsenal's home kit is unchanged from last season and is worn with predominantly white socks. For 2009-10 an all-navy blue outfit is introduced. The new shirt features fine pinstripes and the cannon logo appears in white on the back of the collar. The white third kit is of similar design with redcurrant pinstripes on the shirt and "anthracite grey" shorts.

Variants worn in away games include red socks with white/redcurrant bands for the home kit, white ones with the navy strip and grey socks with the third.

(Lawrence Emanuel, Todd Prisk, Stein Jacobsen and many others)

Aston Villa

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: Acorns Hospice

Villa's new away kit commemorates the links between this famous old club and the national team (Villa have provided more players to the England team since 1882 than any other club). The navy crew neck includes fine piping in "Villa red," Nike-speak for claret I presume, while the body features a subtle halved effect with fine pinstripes woven into the fabric.

The only remarkable thing about Villa's new home kit is the publicity stunt that launched it. On 25 July the kits were driven to Malaga where Villa were playing in a pre-season tournament before being revealed. From Bullring to bullring was the tag line. Otherwise what we have is a standard Nike Classic III template customised with white piping at collar and cuff. Light blue shorts replace the white ones for some away games.

Last season's black and light blue away kit is retained as Villa's third choice.

(Konark Sikka, Cody Fulcher, Sam Gardner, Fadi Sabbagh, Michael Orr and many others)

Birmingham City

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: F&C Investments

Birmingham return to the Premier League having finished as runners-up in last season's Championship thanks to a final day victory over Reading. The black away kit was released in early May and features smart gold and white trim. Supporters had to wait until mid July before the new home strip was revealed. After mining the Blues' back catalogue over the previous two seasons, Umbro have come up with an original design with a white yoke on the front of the shirt (Southampton have also adopted this template for their away kit). White socks are used when colours clash in away games.

The red and white change kit from last season made an appearance when City visited Chelsea in January.

(Alexander Perkin, Rob Horton, Bertie Wright, Michael Orr)

Blackburn Rovers

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: Crown Paints

Umbro are turning out some fine kits this season and have resisted the temptation to fiddle around with Blackburn's classic halved shirts. Red is reintroduced at the V neck and cuffs, with white and blue trimmings.

Blackburn's website announces that this is the first time that the team has worn a white away shirt but regular HFK afficionados will know that the team that played in the 1890 FA Cup final also wore white. Last season's away kit now becomes Rovers' third choice.

(Rob Rob, Steve Toogood, Alex Howells, Jon Jones)

Bolton Wanderers

Designer: Reebok

Sponsor: 188 Bet

Although Bolton's shirts still carry the Reebok brand, for the first time in 19 years, the sportswear manufacturer is not sponsoring the club's shirts. The new design features some odd trimmings to the shirt, which have not pleased the Trotters' more traditionally minded supporters. The away kit is identical with the navy and white reversed and red trimmings on the shirts and socks, so the different elements can be mixed and matched when required.

(Jon Grossman, Alexander Perkin)

Burnley

Designer: Errea

Sponsor: Samuel Cooke & Co

After an absence of 33 years, mostly spent floundering in the lower divisions, Burnley return to the top flight after winning the play-off final against Sheffield United. With a population less than the average gate at Old Trafford, Burnley are the smallest town ever to have hosted a team in the Premier League. Their stunning new kits are replicas of those worn by the Burnley team 50 years ago when they won the League title. The manufacturer's logo on the home shirt appears on the sleeves rather than the chest and there is a small gold detail on the lower front of the shirt to commemorate 50 years since the team won their last First Division title.

For away games against teams in white shorts, Burnley wear light blue shorts with their home shirts.

(Ralph Pomeroy)

Chelsea

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Samsung

The new Chelsea home kit manages to combine tradition with a distinctively contemporary look. The overall shade of "reflex blue" used is slightly different to the usual royal blue we are familar with while the shirts feature slightly darker panels across the midriff and upper chest. blue socks are used in away games if the standard white sets clash.

Given how fussy match officials are about colour clashes these days, the choice of dark navy (enlived with neon yellow trim) for the away kit is a curious one and makes the white third kit essential even if UEFA did not require this for teams competing in Europe. The team wore their new 2010-11 strip in the FA Cup Final.

(Ade Kellers)

Everton

Designer: Le Coq Sportif

Sponsor: Chang Beer

After a gap of 26 years, Le Coq Sportif are once again Everton's kit suppliers and their debut kit is a reinterpretation of the one they designed for the team in 1983. Replicas of the original shirts are popular sellers and this new version is likely to please supporters and neutrals alike. The distinctive collar has a much deeper V inset than on the original but the distinctive shadow pinstripes return, albeit in a new pattern. As usual, an all-blue version is available for away games. The blue used appears to be a slightly lighter shade than usual. The much-trailed away kit is an eye-catching all-black affair with narrow pink horizontal bands and is being marketed under the strap-line, A flash of brilliance.

Once again, the club has introduced a charity kit in aid of Liverpool Unites. Unlike its pink predecessor this limited edition appeared on the pitch at White Hart Lane on 27 October.

(Lee Fenton, Jack Dominic, Robert Vincent, Steve Flanagan, Kevin Shiels)

Fulham

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: LG Electronics

Black sleeves are added to Fulham's usual white shirts for the new season. The shoulders are also trimmed in black and a white stripe extends down the sleeves themselves, Nike's new Classic III template. In away games Fulham wear white shorts and/or red socks when there is a clash. A limited edition replica shirt is available with the legend Fulham 130 years embroidered below the crest.

The away kit features a deep red shirt with black trim and will be worn, according to the club's website, with the home shorts. They will have to wear alternate shorts in a number of away games.

The third kit, in a novel shade of midnight blue was launched in October. The legend Fulham 1879 is embroidered on the back of the collar while 09/10 appears on the bottom left hand corner at the front. This strip was worn in the Europa League final.

(Adam Balchin, Andrew McEwan, Jon Grossman, B Appleby)

Hull City

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: Totesport.com

After an excellent start last season, Hull dropped down the table like a stone and survived largely thanks to the implosion of the north-east clubs. The Tigers return to plain amber shirts for the new season decorated with black pinstripes and worn with black shorts. Several critics have pointed out that the outfit looks more like a classic Wolves kit. With Wolves now in the Premiership as well, Hull's new pale-blue away kit is guaranteed at least one outing.

(Adam Balchin, Stephen Toogood and many others)

Liverpool

Designer: Adidas

Sponsor: Carlsberg

After challenging for the title for much of the season, Rafael Benitez's team fell short, finishing four points behind Manchester United as runners-up last season. Their all-red home kit is unchanged but a smart all-black outfit has been introduced as a change kit. This features red piping and is trimmed in gold. Gold shorts and socks trimmed in black and red are worn when required. An all-white third/European change kit completes the set.

To mark the ending of Carlsberg's spponsorship and as a gesture to the club's considerable following in the far East, the sponsor's logo was written in Chinese characters in their final home game against Chelsea.

(Todd Prisk, John Holmes)

Manchester City

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: Etihad Airways

City's previous owner, the former prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, was forced to transfer the club to a Dubai-based consortium, the Abu Dhabi United Group in September 2008 after his assets were frozen by the Thai courts. The new owners have signalled their intention to inject huge amounts of cash to attract world-class players to the City of Manchester Stadium.

City's new Umbro home kit is a recreation of their classically simple 1960s design and apparently benefits from Umbro's new "tailored design process," which is why it shares the new Umbro logo with the new England kits as does the all-black away kit. Just quite what this wonderful new process is remains a mystery. The new white third shirt with a red and black sash was distributed to supporters who followed the team to South Africa for a pre-season tournament and used for the first time against Portsmouth. It is inspired by an old favourite from City's back catalogue but has the double sash reversed as well as a small sponsor's logo, all intended to emphasise the club crest.

(Robert Lee, Bertie Wright, Adam Balchin, Martin Le Roy)

Manchester United

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: AIG

Having equalled Liverpool's record of 18 league titles, capturing the FIFA World Club championship and reaching last year's European Champions League final, Sir Alex Ferguson has set his sights on establishing United as the most successful English club of all time before he finally retires. The new, much anticipated home shirt features a black chevron on the front as well as a black crew neck and is a reintepretation of the kit worn in the 1909 FA Cup Final. United's shirts sponsors, American International Group Inc, are in the final year of their four-year £56.5m agreement, the most valuable deal in English football, despite needing to be bailed out by the United States' government during last year's banking crisis. As usual, black shorts are available to be worn with the home kit.

The away kit is similar in design but in dark charcoal gray with mid-blue chevron and shorts trim. Last season's white strip is retained as United's third kit. There is a small chevron on the back of the home and away socks.

(Todd Prisk takes the chequered flag for alerting HFK long before the home kit was officially revealed. Todd and Curtis Mcardle provided away kit details. Bertie Wright & Yves Paemen also contributed.)

Portsmouth

Designer: Canterbury

Sponsor: Jobsite

Pompey are under new ownership having a agreed to a takeover by United Arab Emirates businessman, Sulaiman Al Fahim, who was earlier involved in brokering the sale of Manchester City. As expected, the team turn out in their traditional blue shirts, white shorts and red stockings this season although the shade of the shirt is considerably paler than its predecessors.

Supporters with long memories will be pleased with the revival of Pompey's 1973-74 strip as the new away kit.

Canterbury's financial problems meant they could not fully comply with the full terms of their contract with the club, who themselves narrowly avoided being wound up and became the first Premier League club to enter administration. Against all the odds, however, they reached the FA Cup final, wearing a new kit by Kappa in the semi-final.For the final itself, the team wore white and burgunfy trimmed with pink, a reminder of their original colours. Kappa will supply their kits in 2010-11.

(John Grossman, Adam Balchin, Ben Surry)

Stoke City

Designer: Le Coq Sportif

Sponsor: Britannia Building Society

Last season's very broad stripes are replaced by an altogether more traditional look, even down to the central white stripe, a feature of Stoke's shirts for some fifty years in the first half of the twentieth century.

Stoke follow the trend for all-black alternative outfits this season, trimmed in the club's traditional red and white colours. An interesting detail of both kits is the curved cutaway, edged in white, at the sleeve and shorts.

(Mario Covas, Rob Rob)

Sunderland

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: Boyle Sports

Sunderland narrowly managed to avoid joining their local rivals, Newcastle and Middlesbrough in the Championship for 2009-10. The new home kit has broader stripes than Sunderland's traditional shirt. The simple design suggests that Umbro's designers have learned a thing or two from their new bosses at Nike.

The new away kit provides an excellent contrast and features "sulphur yellow" trim and "impactful carbon" sleeves. The third strip is the away kit from last season.

(Richard Young, Adam Balchin, Michael Orr)

Tottenham Hotspur

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: Mansion.com

Marketed under the slogan, "Glory Comes in Three Colours," Spurs new strips are variations on their traditional white, navy and yellow pallette and are based on Puma's new templates. The addition of a third colour to the shirt is an unusual development for the club that usually prefers to stick with white and navy. Purists may not be pleased with the yellow trim, which never works well teamed with white.

Spurs usually retain a set of white shorts for some away games but this has not yet been confirmed.

(Adam Balchin, Robert Paul Brown, Nick Hawkins)

West Ham United

Designer: Umbro

Sponsor: SBOBet

Every so often the Hammers drop their famous sky blue sleeves and turn out in claret shirts, a decision that is not always popular with supporters. The new Umbro home kit may receive a mixed reception. The shirt features an 80s-style checkered pattern embossed into the fabric. Last season, West Ham wore an all-sky blue away kit, which caused problems when they visited Aston Villa. With Burnley playing in the Premier League as well, the Hammers have sensibly opted for a complete contrast, introducing a navy blue change kit. Replicas for children and young people carry the Bobby Moore Memorial Trust instead of the on-line betting company that stepped in as shirt sponsors late last season.

(Shez, Steve Toogood)

Wigan Athletic

Designer: Vandanel

Sponsor: 188 Bet

Since club chairman Dave Whelan sold his interest in JJB Sports the club has switched to a new kit supplier and sponsor. Vandanel are best known for designing kits for clubs lower down the leagues and their contract with Wigan marks their debut in the Premier League. Standard mid-blue replaces the distinctive shade worn in latter years which was JJB's corporate livery.

Wigan's website goes to some lengths to explain that the new away kit, marketed under the slogan Spirit of '78 is modelled on that of the great Dutch side that created total football. 1978 is also the year that Wigan were elected to the Football League. An obvious connection, then. Vadanel take the opportunity to create their own version of the branded trim that was so popular in the Seventies, but never, of course, worn by the Netherlands.

(John Grossman, David Gray)

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Designer: Le Coq Sportif

Sponsor: Sporting Bet

Wolves return to the Premiership having clinched the Championship title at the end of April. Their long-term kit supplier, French company Le Coq Sportif, have turned out a conservatively styled home kit albeit with a slightly incongruous baseball-shirt collar. Old gold shorts may be used away from home. The red and blue sponsor's logo is somewhat jarring but works much better on the smart white change kit, which is trimmed in red.

(Karl Stringer, David Lane)