Historical Football Kits

Sky Bet League Two 2013 - 2014

Mansfield Town have bounced back into the Football League, five years after they were relegated. It used to be the case that teams that went down usually came back up again pretty rapidly but standards in the Conference have improved considerably since then while the financial consequences of relegation are serious. After years of struggling Barnet were relegated on the last day as were Aldershot Town.

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Contributors are credited in brackets. Opinions expressed on this page are those of HFK and not contributors.

Premier League | Championship | League One | League Two

Accrington Stanley

Designer: Samurai

Sponsor: storefirst.com

Stanley introduced a new home shirt but kept the shorts and socks from last season. The blue and yellow strip that appeared last year is retained. In December the club switched supplier and introduced new strips. There was no explanation from the management for this change although it unusual for the Football League to sanction a change to registered colours unless there are serious problems with the existing supplier.

(Michael Hollis, Arthur Cowburn, Mark Nicholson, David Rafelle)

Bristol Rovers

Designer: Errea

Sponsor: Eurocams (H), Highspec Travel Services (A)

We have made no secret of our preference for seeing Rovers wear their distinctive quartered shirts with white shorts and the new home kit demonstrates just how good this combination looks when delivered by a kit designer with flair. This one should delight Gasheads everywhere. The away strip in violet and black is both distinguished and distinctive.

(Alexander Perkin)

Burton Albion

Designer: Tag

Sponsor: Anvil Hire Ltd (H), Mr Cropper (A)

The special kit worn in last season's play-off semi-final reappears with a new sponsor. Supporters who bought the play-off shirt are offered a discount on the updated version. The colourful change strip is retained but is now worn with mid blue shorts.

(Dan Bower)

Bury

Designer: Surridge

Sponsor: Bury Council

Surridge supplied a temporary kit (Home 1) for Bury's opening match because the regular sets were not available. These were debuted against Crewe on 6th August. The all-red alternative is attractively trimmed in old gold.

(Joe Earp, James Beedie, Ben Gershaw)

Cheltenham Town

Designer: Errea

Sponsor: Mira Showers

Cheltenham's fine home strip is unchanged. The pale blue shirts worn as third choice last season now appear as the away strip, updated with Errea's characteristic swirly bits and matched with black shorts and socks. The third kit was needed at Scunthorpe.

(Simon Gardiner, Ben Gershaw)

Chesterfield

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: Napit (H, 3rd), Electric Safe (A)

The only distinguishing feature of Chesterfield's Puma King home strip is the grey trim at the collar and the shorts.

(Sytse Korts, Ben Gershaw)

Dagenham & Redbridge

Designer: Sondico (H), Vandanel (A)

Sponsor: West & Coe

The Daggers have retained last season's Vandanel away strip while the new home outfit, with a smart double sash, is by Sondico. Both brands are part of the JD Sports group.

(John Lovett)

Exeter City

Designer: Joma

Sponsor: Flybe

Last season's home and away strips are retained while a new yellow and blue third strip is introduced to celebrate the club's connections with Brazil. It is 99 years since the team toured South America and played the newly formed Brazilian national team in their first ever fixture. The team will travel to Rio next year for a commemorative game against Fluminense.

(Pete Nicholls)

Fleetwood Town

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: BES Commercial Gas (H), Commercial Power (A)

Puma rather than Nike now supply Fleetwood: their traditional white sleeved shirt looks quite effective with the sloping yoke design The away kit is the new Puma King template in black with red and white trim.

(Phil Brown, Vice Chairman FTFC)

Hartlepool United

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: Dove Energy (H), Bartercard (A)

The latest Nike made home strip is a considerable improvement on the silly jagged stripes worn for the last two seasons. The new shirt is exactly what a striped football shirt should be.

In their FA Cup game against Notts County, the team wore a one-off strip embroidered with a poppy (to mark Remembrance Day). These were then sold off to raise funds.

(Andrew Mihaleff, Michael Hollis)

Mansfield Town

Designer: Surridge

Sponsor: One Call Insurance

Five years after being relegated to the Conference, Mansfield are back in the Football League. Their new home kit is yet another retro influenced design, based on a mid-60s strip, reversed for the alternate away version. Very smart indeed.

For the last match of the season due to "unforseen circumstances" the team had to borrow some old black shirts from their hosts.

(Sulley Turner, Richard Williams, Arthur Nibble)

Morecambe

Designer: Fila

Sponsor: Blacks

White sleeves have frequently appeared in Morecambe's history and here they are again in a neat home strip that has some nicely understated features.

(James Main)

Newport County

Designer: Macron

Sponsor: 32Red

Twenty-five years after the original club was wound up, Newport has a team in the Football League once again. The all-gold strip chosen for their debut echoes the kit worn in the mid 90s and is partnered by white and black versions.

There are, incidentally, still substantial gaps in our records for the club and all contributions are welcome.

(Ben Gershaw)

Northampton Town

Designer: Errea

Sponsor: University of Northampton

Beaten by Bradford City in the play off final last season, the Cobblers are cutting their wage bill after one top earning player retired and another, the giant Adebayo Akinfenwa, was released.

The twin hoops on the new home shirt recall a popular design from the 60s and 70s although the colours then were reversed.

(Alec Hitchman, Colin Russell)

Oxford United

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: Animalates (H), Isinglass Consulting (A)

Park V is the most plain of all the Nike templates and has its critics. For some it is too dull for top level teams but as far as HFK is concerned, simplicity is the essence of a classic strip. The shirts are a deeper shade of yellow than in recent years. The Striker design is adopted for the away strip and for the first time in Oxford's kit history, is in purple.

(Andrew Mihaleff, Graham Barr, Raphael Howard, David Rafelle)

Plymouth Argyle

Designer: Puma

Sponsor: Bond Timber

After the traumas of recent seasons, Plymouth managed to retain their place in the Football League but it was a close run thing.

Supporters chose the new Evoque template from a shortlist of Puma strips for Argyle's new home strip. The choice of light blue as an alternative is an unusual step - the fans generally favour white.

(Craig Morris)

Portsmouth

Designer: Sondico

Sponsor: Jobsite

After more than a year in administration, a deal was struck in April that allowed the Supporters' Trust to take over the ailing club who were already relegated when the 10-point penalty for exiting administration was imposed.

The new home strip is an appropriately modest affair, the traditional colours livened up with contrasting flashes on shirt and shorts, complemented by a smart away version with a neat feature. The "Pompey Sailor," a cartoon character traditionally associated with the club, is printed as a watermark on the shirt. The third kit is a nod to the first colours worn by the team.

(Stephen Niven, Andy McCallum, Andrew Mihaleff)

Rochdale

Designer: Fila

Sponsor: Crown Oil

'Dales' new home shirt is not a patch on the well designed version worn last season although the away strip is very smart indeed. The tops were launched with last season's sponsor on them but this was changed when replicas become available. The third strip was made up for the match at Bristol Rovers.

(David King, Mark Wilbraham, Ben Gershaw)

Scunthorpe United

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: Rainham Steel

Scunthorpe have raided the Nike catalogue for their new strips. The predominantly light blue Inter Stripes home strip takes us back to 1987 when the Iron moved from the Old Showground to their present home, Glanford Park.

(Richard Young)

Southend United

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: Insure & Go

Southend have reverted to all-navy in Nike's Park design, set off with white socks that make it look very smart. Navy socks are also available. Inter Stripes III is the alternative, the choice of yellow and black an unusual one for the side prompting one contributor to wonder if this has anything to do with the appointment of Phil Brown as manager. Brown was first team coach of Hull City between 2006 and 2010.

(Alec Hitchman, Oliver Francis Greystone SUFC)

Torquay United

Designer: Sondico

Sponsor: Western Training Services

The Gulls have worn some outstanding kits in recent years and here they go again. The home strip was chosen by supporters and is modelled on a favourite from the 90s. Yellow and white really should not work together but in this instance they do, there being just enough navy in the shirt to create contrast. The choice of white shorts and socks rather than navy is a bold one and makes this one of the most distinctive and original combinations to appear this season. Gold star - go to the top of the class.

Their special trip was commissioned for the final match of the season against Wycombe Wanderers. and commemorates 125 years of the Football League. Supporters paid £125 to have their names printed into the front. Unfortunately tthe Gulls lost and were relegated to the Conference.

(Chris Connolly, David Rafelle, Arthur Nibble)

AFC Wimbledon

Designer: Tempest Sports

Sponsor: Football Manager (H, 3rd), SI Games (A)

Fans chose the new third kit from a short list of six but the results were tied so it fell the their manager, Neil Ardley, to make the final decision. The home and away kits will be changed next season.

(Thomas Brett)

Wycombe Wanderers

Designer: Kukri

Sponsor: Samsung (H), EA Games FIFA 13 (A)

The Chairboys have reverted to their usual quartered shirts, which now feature an interesting graded inset down the sides of the torso. The away strip is a very bright combination of yellow and orange with a dotted texture as the orange fades into the yellow.

The Samsung/EA Games partnership is now well established with several clubs. Samsung's logo appears on the front of the home shirt while EA Games goes on the back with the positions reversed on the away shirt.

(Dave Peatey, Ramazan Karsak, Ricki Frost)

York City

Designer: Nike

Sponsor: Benenden Health

York's home strip is unchanged.