Historical Football Kits

 

News & Updates Archive 2017

31 December

I have a few bits and pieces to finish off the year.

2017-18: Doncaster Rovers (charity strip added), Exeter City (3rd socks corrected).

Hull City (1963-64 trim at V necks & cuffs updated), Bradford City (1953-56 socks corrected), Leyton Orient (1964-65 socks updated).

The second part of this newsreel footage provides evidence that Port Vale were still wearing red shirts in 1935-36 and that Grimsby Town wore their special FA Cup strip in the Fourth Round as well as the semi-final.

Happy New Year everyone!

24 December

HFK Towers in actionTo all our visitors and contributors, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from all of us here at HFK Towers.

20 December

Republic of Ireland (1984 change added), Dagenham & Redbridge (1993-95 added, 1995-96 updated), Carlisle United (1988-90 shirt detailing added), Bury (1981-82 corrected).

19 December - 2017-18 Update

World Cup - Peru 1st added.

Premier League: Southampton (3rd).

Championship - Fulham (charity).

League One: Charlton Athletic (Special & 3rd kits).

League Two - Newport County have adopted "lucky" hooped socks, Cheltenham Town (charity).

Scottish Premiership: Celtic (4th), Dundee (3rd corrected).

13 December

macc;esfield fc 189I am grateful to Michael Chatwin for drawing my attention to the fine collection of team photographs on the Silkmen Archives. This has enabled me to add a large number of previously unrecorded kits and fill in a lot of missing detail going back to the end of the nineteenth century. On the left, macclesfield fc 1926-27for example, is the original Macclesfield FC, photographed in 1894-95 wearing blue and white shirts. They merged with another local side, Hallefield, in 1897 to form the club that would eventually become Macclesfield Town.

The archive has also helped to establish that the team wore black and white stripes with white knickers (not black as previously recorded) from around 1910 until 1927. The 1926-27 side is shown on the right.

(Photographs courtesy of the Silkmen Archives.)

12 December - World Cup Updates

2018 - Mexico (1st, 2nd updated), Colombia (2nd shorts updated).

1986 - Portugal (shirt texture corrected).

1982 - USSR (pinstripes corrected), Poland (detailing corrected).

European Cup Finals

1987 (Bayern Munich corrected), 2011 (Valencia now correct shade of orange).

5 December

Our FIFA World Cup 2018 section is now open!

As usual we encourage contributions from visitors to help update the section as the new kits are released and we will be adding links to leading retailers so you can buy your replicas as and when they become available.

 

27 November

Several Scottish graphics have been amended for the 2008-09 season thanks to Ian McConnel: Rangers, Aberdeen, Hibernian, Motherwell, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, St Mirren, Kilmarnock, Clyde.

Manchester United change kits updated for 1927-30, 1930-31 & 1936-38.

17 November

ipswich association fc team circa 1880The team pictured here is Ipswich Association FC. Although most of the team are wearing plain, dark shirts, several players have turned out in other tops and all sorts of knickers and headgear are on display. This is not unusual for ipswich town fc 1896amateur teams of the late Victorian period.

In 1888 the club merged with Ipswich FC, the local rugby club, to form Ipswich Town and adopted striped shirts. In the absence of any contemporary written information, I had assumed that these were mid-blue and white but a couple of press cuttings from 1896, again submitted by Brian Webb, which describe them as dark blue and white, have sent me back to the source material for ipswich town fc 1911 team groupanother look. The team photograph on the right corroborates the new information and into the bargain, offers a decent look at the club crest.

This team group, photographed in 1911, is more ambiguous but it seems likely that the team are wearing very badly faded shirts on which the stripes are made to appear even more pale by orthographic film stock.

I have concluded that the team wore navy and white stripes up until they turned professional in 1936. While black knickers seem to have been the official choice, these are mixed with white and navy versions in most team photographs.

(Photographs courtesy of Pride of Anglia which offers an excellent collection of team photographs from the amateur era. Free registration required.)

14 November

northampton town fc 1909-10This cigarette card serves as evidence that Northampton Town switched from striped to plain jerseys in 1909-10, solving a long standing riddle. The only existing photographs show the team wearing plain white tops, which I thought were most likely change shirts.

leeds city fc 1910-11I've had another look at my source material for the Leeds City section and made a few changes. A missing kit for 1908-09 has been added and I've concluded that the shirts worn 1909-11 were navy with narrow gold stripes and not the reverse. The confusion is caused, I now believe, by orthographic film, which reversed the tones as shown on the 1910-11 team photograph on the right. Incidentally, this also shows the reserves wearing the plain green shirts introduced afer five young Irish players were signed for that season. I now consider these tops to be a change kit.

Brian Webb has sent in a few more press cuttings. We can now confirm that Cheltenham Town adopted hooped shirts in August 1932, Wycombe Wanderers dropped their striped tops in favour of Oxford blue jerseys with Cambridge blue sleeves in 1912, not 1919, and Grimsby Town adopted chocolate and blue shirts in 1898-99, a year earler than my records showed.

9 November

nottingham forest march 1892Here's another puzzle but one of greater vintage. The team featured in this photograph is Nottingham Forest published in the Illustrated Sports and Dramatic News (20 March 1892) sent in by Brian Webb. Eight members of the team are wearing a crest, which suggests it come from some sort of representative game. Close examination reveals a monogram with the letters "FCP" or "PCP" whch rules out this being the club or Nottinghamshire FA badge. Any theories?

Several cuttings submitted by Brian Webb have allowed me to pin down the date that Cheltenham Town switched from hooped tops to white shirts with red collars and sleeves as the begining of the 1938-39 season. Furthermore the emblem worn on the new shirts is revealed to have been a robin and not the town coat of arms as I previously thought.

arsenal old gold shirts january 1958 fa cupHere is evidence that Arsenal's old gold shirts change shirts that appeared for the first time in the 1950 FA Cup were still in use eight years later. Here they are playing Northampton Town in the FA Cup third round in January 1958 and both sides had to change. The Cobblers are in their usual alternative blue tops but these would have clashed with the visitors change strip (blue shirts with white sleeves). Lesser clubs borrowed shirts in these circumstances but not proud Arsenal! (Photograph submitted by Peter Stevenson.)

8 November

port vale chamberlain brothers 1978-79We always enjoy a puzzle at HFK Towers but this image, submitted by Karl Fletcher, seemed straighforward enough. port vale admiral shirt 1978-79It shows the Chamberlain brothers turning out for Port Vale in 1978-79 wearing plain Admiral strips. My records show that the Valiant's kit for that season had Admiral's trademark trim on the shoulder and sleeves as shown by this example from Old Football Shirts. When I looked into this further I came across the club programme from that season and discovered that both styles appeared on the cover. What I found intriguing is that the version with the sleeve trim is being worn in photographs that have been staged for port vale programme 1978-79the camera whereas the two images taken during matches show the plain style. This leads me to wonder whether the trimmed set may have been supplied for the pre-season photoshoots before being replaced by the more plain set. If anyone can provide photographic evidence to confirm this one way or the other I would be grateful.

(Footnote: Tony Sealey has confirmed that Port Vale wore the plain version at Wimbledon in August 1978.)

Detailing added to 2016-17 Dundee United 1st, 2nd, 3rd kits. Burton Albion (1993-94, 2006-08 textures and sock detailing added): AS Roma (1984 European Cup final kit corrected).

7 November

Adidas have launched their new 2019 international strips ahead of the World Cup finals next year, featuring some interesting retro designs. These will feature on HFK when we launch the 2018 World Cup section shortly after the draw for the finals in December. Among those that will not grace the competition are new outfits for Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland, who must overcome Switzerland in the play-offs to reach the finals also have a smart new strip.

2017-18 Club Update

Rangers (3rd socks corrected), Dundee (3rd), Sheffield United (3rd), St Mirren (3rd), Accrington Stanley (3rd).

20 October

I'm going to post material from the late 19th and early 20th century today. Most are from contemporary newspaper cuttings and submitted by regular visitors.

newton heath v walsall 1899Paul Nagel (unitedkits.com) has shared this cutting found by James Thomas that mentions that when they visited Walsall on 21 January 1899 the home team wore dark red tops in anticipation of a colour clash. Newton Heath, however, also changed into "a black and red combination" expecting the home side to wear their usual white tops. Later the Heathens switched back to their own regular (white) shirts.

leicester fosse 1903The Athletic News (7 September 1903) records that Leicester Fosse adopted red jerseys for the 1903-04 season (right) and this led to a dispute with Barnsley FC over which team should change when they met. It appears that Football League rules of the time stated that the team that had been members the longest could retain their first choice colours in the event of a clash. (Photograph courtesy of Histoire Maillots.)

Wrexham (1894-95), Chester (1909-10), Blackpool (1903-04), Chesterfield Town (1903-04) added.

aston villa 1887There is some marvelous early footage on Football and the First World War including Bradford City v Gainsborough Trinity (1903), Bolton Wanderers v Burton United (1904) and Sunderland v Leicester Fosse (1907).

It is likely that the crest worn by six members of the Aston Villa team that won the FA Cup in 1887 (left) is that of the Birmingham FA rather than the club. Regular visitors will know that players selected to play for their county or national association often removed the crest from their representative shirt and had it sewn into their club jersey to show their status.

Sporting Life (23 January 1889) reported that Birmingham wore their new "black jerseys with amber cuffs and collars, and white knicks," in a hastily arranged burnley express july 1891match against Loughborough, nine months earlier than previously thought.

I'll end with a puzzling item. In April 2012 I published this wolves circa 1891cutting from the Burnley Express (11 July 1891), which mentions that Wolverhampton Wanderers were planning to switch from red and white to blue and orange for the coming season because of a new rule that required members of the Football League to register unique colours. On the basis of that I interpreted this undated photograph of the Wolves team to be in the new colours.

Now Brian Webb has discovered two further cuttings (Burnley Gazette 26 August 1891 and the preston herald 16 sept 1891Preston Herald 16 wolves 1892-93 diagonal halvesSeptember 1891 shown left) that state that Wolves' registered colours would be "old gold and black quartered, black knickers." Since these were published several months later we have to assume that the club's plans changed over the summer. At the time "quarters" usually referred to what we would call "halves" and the only images ever to have surfaced that this might be applied to are these unique diagonally divided jerseys.

19 October

Here are some detailing updates for Scottish clubs from 2007-08 courtesy of Ian McConnel: Rangers (1st, 2nd, 3rd), St Mirren, Heart of Midlothian, Hibernian, Motherwell, Dundee United, Aberdeen, Gretna, Partick Thistle (all 1st).

Scotland wore pink stockings for some reason against Slovakia (who were in all-white) last October.

AFC Bournemouth (1992-93, 1993-94 revised).

12 October

northwich victoria 1893 team groupOn the left is a rare photograph of Northwich Victoria taken in accrington fc 1892-931893 when they were members of the Second Division of the Football League. The trophy is the Cheshire Senior Cup.

The battered image on the right, equally rare, is of Accrington and was also taken in 1892-93, their last season as members of the Football League. It shows that for this campaign the team had reverted to white knickers. (Photograph courtesy of Football League Players.)

Macclesfield (1893-94 added).

11 October

I've updated the Chester City section to reflect the current state of my knowledge about the period 1901-1920, smarten up some modern graphics and update the crest history. We now have evidence that Wrexham wore yellow and blue tops in 1893-94, and I've revised the unconfirmed 1892-94 graphic accordingly.

athletic news may 1893This important cutting from The Athletic News 8 May 1893 (submitted by Kingsley from Wrexham AFC) indicates that Everton wore Cambridge blue jerseys in the 1892-93 season, three years earlier than previously thought. Click on the thumbnail to bring up a larger version. A second cutting from February 1893 confirms that the Toffees wore "blue jerseys" in their match with Sheffield Wednesday two months previously. (Cutting © The British Library Board).

The same document records that Darwen wore white shirts in 1892-93 rather than salmon pink.

10 October - 2017-18 Update

lithuania v england october 2017Here are a few odds and sods added for the current season.

I noticed that England wore white socks in their last World Cup qualfier in Lithuania on Sunday, a considerable improvement on the clashing red ones they normally wear. I wonder if this is a prelude to the new strips we can expect to be introduced for the World Cup next year?

(Photograph © Sky Sports.)

Heart of Midlothian (3rd), Rangers (3rd), Alloa Athletic (sponsorship updated), Everton (2x special kits added), Sunderland (charity strip added), Wolverhampton Wanderers (3rd updated).

5 October

maidstone utd 1946-47John Bunyard sent in this photograph from the FA Cup taken in September 1946. It is the first evidence we have that Maidstone United were still wearing their traditional striped shirts immediately after World War Two. There are still large gaps in the record for the Stones and any help is welcome.

Birmingham City replaced their Continental shirts with old long sleeved shirts with collars during the exceptionally hard winter of 1960-61.

2 October

Thanks to some more historical material submitted by the club's historian, I have been able to revise some more graphics for Wrexham's early years. Kingsley has malvern college football team 1900also provided cuttings that provide some new information on several clubs in the first 25 years of the last century. Chester (1906-12 added): Scarborough (1902-04 corrected): Ashington (1898-99, 1922-23 modified, 1902-03 added): Southport (1922-23 added).

Hibernian (1979-80 added).

I've made a couple of additions to the Eminent Victorians Section: Hallam FC and Malvern College (shown here - photograph courtesy of gottfriedfuchs.blogspot).

27 September

shaddongate united 1897-98Well I was wrong about the Carlisle team in striped shirts (see below). I've now had a read through of Jon Tait's "The 'Gate - A History of Shaddongate United FC" and discovered that this is indeed the Carlisle United team from 1905-06. The striped tops were most probably kept after the club adopted plain blue jerseys in 1902 and were presumably worn when colours clashed. The club was known as Shaddongate United until 1904 and this photograph (courtesy of The News & Star) shows the 1897-98 team wearing very smart navy and gold shirts and showing off the Carlisle Charity Shield, their first ever trophy.

The Carlisle United section has been updated.

22 September

mid-annandale fc 1926This grainy photograph is of Mid-Annandale and was taken in 1926. It was sent in by Duncan Darragh who received carlisle afcit from a descendant of William Stewart, one of the players in the picture. The team played in Lockerbie and were members of the ill-fated Scottish Third Division between 1923 and 1926.

On the other side of the border lies Carlisle and shown here is Carlisle AFC, the first association football team to be formed there in the late nineteenth century. I am now satisfied that there is no connection with Carlisle United and have removed the striped kit from the record. (See 27 September for update.)

13 September - More 2017-18 Updates

HSS Amphitrite 1918Premier League: The latest development in the trend to equip elite football teams in identical corporate kit has fallen to Nike who have launched their new Camo outfits to be worn by Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in Europe. The concept appears to be based on the dazzle camouflage adopted by the Royal Navy during the First World War to confuse U-Boat commanders. Presumably we can look forward to our bold boys sailing serenely past Johnny Foreigner who will be quite unable to locate his target.

League One: Southend United have changed their shirt sponsorship.

11 September - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: West Ham United (3rd), West bromwich Albion (3rd) plus more sleeve sponsors.

Championship: Derby County (3rd updated).

Scottish Premiership: Rangers have at last released their change strip.

7 September

moldova v wales 5 september 2017According to an item on the FA of Wales' website published before the World Cup qualifier in Chisinau, "Wales will play in yellow against Moldova after the Football Association of Wales raised a concern with UEFA about a potential kit clash. As a result, the FAW was granted dispensation to wear an alternative temporary strip." Moldova currently wear all-red so there should not really have been a problem with Wales' grey alternative strip although it could be argued that this would not have provided the degree of light/dark contrast currently required in international games. More likely, I think, is the fact that Wales have failed to win in any of the five games that they have worn their change strip and they were keen to ditch it. Wales won 2-0.

Photograph courtesy of FA of Wales Official Website.

International Update: Wales, Republic of Ireland.

30 August

bedale afc suasage kit 2017-18The mighty Bedale AFC, an amateur side from Yorkshire have inspired some terrible punning thanks to their sausage-themed change kit, sponsored by Heck. Leading contenders include "the wurst kit of the season" (The Sun), "Bedale AFC say detractors will be eating their words as they cook up a storm," (Northern Echo), "the Yorkshire (Porkshire?) team," (Who Ate All the Pies) and "Bedale AFC might score a few bangers this season," (Daily Mirror). More enigmatic is the comment on the Dispensable Soccer website that describes this as "a horrendous kit embezzled (sic) with a meaty looking motif. Thanks to Alisdair Gibbs-Barton who was the first of many to spot this.

romania poster 1930Regular visitors will recall that the colours of the Romanian national team during the 1930s has been a regular topic of controversy going back several years. I thought I had resolved the issue in August 2015 when I made a detailed analysis of the photographic record in the light of new knowledge about the effects of orthographic film stock. In January 2016 a contemporary press report of the Romania v Peru match in the 1930 World Cup proved conclusively that the Romanian team wore red shirts with yellow collars. So what are we to make of this poster that appeared on the interweb in June?

I think we need to consider the history first. The Romanian national team had only been playing internationals since 1922. Attendances at home games averaged 10-15,000 so the game was hardly at the forefront of the public imagination. On the 7 June 1930 King Carol seized the crown in a coup d'état engineered by the Prime Minister and as his first act, announced that the national football team would participate in the inaugural World Cup in Montevideo, due to start 35 days later. Arrangements were therefore made at breakneck speed and my guess is that the artist commissioned to design the poster did so in such haste that he failed to check the colours.

29 August - New Third Strips

Premier League: Crystal Palace.

Championship: Ipswich Town‡, Fulham‡, Millwall, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Burton Albion, Cardiff City‡, Derby County, Hull City. Most of these have been registered with the EFL and appear in the official handbook although they have yet to be officialy launched by the clubs.

League One: Rochdale.

Scottish Championship: Queen of the South.

Welsh Premier League: Aberystwyth Town.

‡ Change strip retained from last season.

24 August

danske bank premiership logoAs promised, the new Northern Ireland Premiership section is now open.

I'm going to have a little lie down now and enjoy the bank holiday weekend. Back next week when I'll start on the mass of historical material that's been building up in the mail silo here at HFK Towers.

22 August

welsh premier league logo

I've added the 2017-18 Welsh Premier League section to the site. The Northern Ireland Premiership will be added in a few days.

17 August - 2017-18 Update

Republic of Ireland new kits added.

Premier League: Manchester United (European kit), Everton (3rd, special), Liverpool (sleeve sponsor), Burnley (3rd*).

League One: Fleetwood Town (2nd*).

League Two: Barnet (1st socks corrected), Morecambe (3rd).

Scottish Premiership: St Johnstone (3rd).

Scottish League Two: Peterhead (2nd).

8 August - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Leicester City (3rd), AFC Bournemouth (3rd).

Championship: Sunderland (2nd), Wolverhampton Wanderers (3rd).

League One: Blackpool (1st*, 2nd, 3rd), Northampton Town (3rd), Walsall (3rd).

Scottish Premiership: Hamilton Academical (2nd), Ross County (2nd*), Kilmarnock (2nd), St Johnstone (3rd).

Scottish League One: Arbroath (2nd).

Scottish League Two: Berwick Rangers (sponsors added), Stenhousemuir (sponsors added), Cowdenbeath (2nd).

3 August - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Chelsea (sleeve sponsor added).

League One: Doncaster Rovers (1st socks confirmed).

Former Members: Wrexham, York City, East Stirlingshire.

2 August - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Burnley (2nd), Swansea City (3rd).

Championship: Barnsley (3rd), Hull City (2nd), Burton Albion (1st socks updated), Fulham (2nd).

League One: Southend United (1st, 2nd), Bury (2nd kit and sponsors added), Peterborough United (3rd).

Former Members: Aldershot Town*, Boston United*, Leyton Orient, Dagenham & Redbridge, Hartlepool United, Kidderminster Harriers, Macclesfield Town, Torquay United.

29 July - 2017-18 Update

Championship: Leeds United (2nd), Nottingham Forest (2nd), Millwall (2nd), Norwich City (3rd).

League One: Peterborough United (2nd), Shrewsbury Town (2nd), Gillingham (1st*, 2nd*, 3rd*).

League Two: Cheltenham Town (2nd), Lincoln City (2nd), Crawley Town (2nd).

Scottish Premiership: Celtic (3rd), Hamilton Academical (1st).

Scottish Championship: Brechin City (1st, 2nd), St Mirren (2nd).

Scottish League One: Airdrieonians (1st*, 2nd*), Albion Rovers (1st, 2nd*), East Fife (sponsorship confirmed), Forfar Athletic (1st*, 2nd).

Scottish League Two: Annan Athletic (1st*, 2nd*, 3rd*), Cowdenbeath (1st), Elgin City (2nd), Peterhead (1st*).

*Unchanged

27 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Arsenal (2nd), AFC Bournemouth (2nd), Southampton (1st socks confirmed), Brighton & Hove Albion (2nd).

Championship: Fulham (1st), Bolton Wanderers (socks confirmed), Burton Albion (1st).

League One: Oldham Athletic (socks confirmed).

League Two: Wycombe Wanderers (2nd), Cambridge United (2nd shorts/socks confirmed), Crawley Town (1st), Grimsby Town (3rd socks confirmed), Notts County (socks confirmed), Stevenage (1st socks confirmed).

25 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Manchester City (2nd), Leicester City (sleeve sponsor added).

Championship: Preston North End (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Sheffield United (2nd), Reading (1st, 2nd).

League One: Fleetwood Town (1st), Shrewsbury Town (1st), Charlton Athletic (1st), Wigan Athletic (2nd, 3rd), Northampton Town (1st).

League Two: Exeter City (3rd), Cambridge United (2nd, 3rd), Port Vale (2nd), Chesterfield (shorts corrected).

22 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Liverpool (3rd), Newcastle United (2nd), Huddersfield Town (3rd), Manchester United (3rd).

Championship: Derby County (2nd), Sheffield Wednesday (3rd).

League One: Charlton Athletic (2nd), Bristol Rovers (1st, 2nd).

League Two: Newport County (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

Scottish Premiership: Partick Thistle (1st).

20 July - 2017-18 Review

With more than half of the new season's kits released I thought this would be a good opportunity to have a little chat about trends.

plymouth argyle change kkit 2017-18One of the features to have emerged this season is an increase in the use of complicated patterns printed or woven into the fabric of shirts as well as a lot of extra detailing, reminding me of the excesses of the 1990s. Perhaps this represents a reaction against the trend for simpler designs we have seen over the past decade. The positive reaction of supporters to the change kits introduced by Plymouth Argyle and Huddersfield Town suggest there is an appetite for extravagant tops.

The global big three brands have a strong presence but are by no means dominant. Of the 75 Premier League/EFL teams whose new kits have been published on HFK, 33 are supplied by Nike, Adidas or Puma while 42 are from one of the nottingham forest 2017-18 shirtsmaller, independent brands.

Adidas' iconic three-strip trim makes their products instantly recognisable and has the virtue of being flexible enough to be placed almost anywhere. Last season this was down the sides of the body while the latest releases place the stripes across the burnley 2017-18 shirt-detailshoulders. The results are generally smart if uninspiring.

By way of contrast Puma's form stripe lacks the flexibility of their arch rival's trim so every year they try to come up with a new eye-catching gimmick. This time round it's the "ascension stripe" made up of spots of varying size that peterborough utd 2017-18 kitcreate a fade effect. Frankly I don't think this is one of Puma's better ideas and it's unlikely it be around for long.

Nike are offering additional trim options for their Vapor design including varous tape styles down the side of the body and shorts, additional collar trim and contrasting shorts. Nevertheless, this still remains the last word in corporate blandness.

Among the smaller players, JD Sports' stable of brands have left the stage (apart from Sondico which is now owned by Sports Direct) as has Dryworld, a victim of their inability to meet financial obligations and deliver replicas on time. everton shirt 2017-18This has allowed Umbro and Errea to add a few more clubs to their portfolio.

Umbro have reintroduced their iconic diamond trim but in tonal rather than contrasting colours. This subtle incorporation of branding into the overall design is in stark grimsby town third shirt 2017-18contrast to the more aggressive approach of the big three. Furthermore all of their designs are distinctive and original.

The Italian company Errea have always had a flair for design and this season their contributions range from the smartly conservative set worn by MK Dons to Grimsby's outrageous third strip.

celtic 2017-18 kitClubs and designers continue to look to the past for inspiration and the latest Celtic strip, produced by New Balance and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions' triumph is a masterpiece. Elsewhere Under Armour have drawn inspiration fsouthampton 2017-18 shirtrom the early Eighties for Southampton's new outfit.

Although Macron and Joma have lost ground in England they still have a significant presence in Scotland where they deliver some well-designed bespoke kits as well as their smart and workmanlike standard designs.

Overall then, there remains a welcome diversity of design as well as innovation, driven to a considerable extent by the smaller independents.

A less welcome trend, however, is the growth of shirt sponsorship by online casinos and commodity speculators. Half of the teams in the top two tiers of English football this season carry shirt sponsorship that promotes gambling and let's not forget that the Football League is sponsored by SkyBet. High profile gambling controversies led the Football Association to sever its links with Ladbrokes in June but in the laissez faire world of the Premier League and EFL revenue rules. The social cost of gambling is well-documented and it's unfettered promotion in elite sport is in my view as unhealthy as was the involvement of tobacco and alcohol promotion in the past.

Photographs courtesy of Football Shirt Culture, Footyheadlines, Burnley FC, Football Kit News, JD Sports,

2017-18 Update

Premier League: Huddersfield Town (2nd), Newcastle United (3rd).

Championship: Barnsley (2nd), Norwich City (2nd), Bolton Wanderers (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

League One: Blackburn Rovers (2nd), Wigan Athletic (1st).

Scottish Premiership: Kilmarnock (1st).

Scottish League One: Alloa Athletic (1st*, 2nd*), Arbroath (1st), Ayr United (1st, 2nd), East Fife (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

Scottish League Two: Clyde (1st*, 2nd), Stenhousemuir (1st, 2nd).

18 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Everton (2nd), Crystal Palace (2nd).

Championship: Brentford (3rd), Wolverhampton Wanderers (2nd).

League One: AFC Wimbledon (3rd), Peterborough United (1st), Portsmouth (1st).

League Two: Swindon Town (2nd), Morecambe (1st, 2nd), Colchester United (1st, 2nd, 3rd*), Yeovil Town (2nd), Barnet (sponsor updated).

Scottish League One: Queen's Park (2nd).

14 July - 2017-18 Update

Championship: Derby County (1st).

League One: Oxford United (2nd), Bury (1st).

League Two: Carlisle United (1st, 2nd).

Scottish Championship: Livingston (1st, 2nd), Dundee United (1st).

Scottish League Two: Berwick Rangers (1st, 2nd).

13 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Watford (2nd), Arsenal (3rd).

Championship: Hull City (1st), Leeds United (1st).

League One: Scunthorpe United (1st, 2nd).

Scottish Premiership: Heart of Midlothian (2nd).

Former Members: Stockport County (1st).

8 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur (Champions League kit).

Championship: Aston Villa (1st, 2nd).

League One: MK Dons (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Bradford City (2nd).

Scottish Premiership: Dundee (2nd).

Scottish Championship: Dumbarton (1st).

Scottish League One: Raith Rovers (1st, 2nd).

Scottish League Two: Elgin City (1st), Stirling Albion (1st*, 2nd), Montrose (1st, 2nd).

7 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: West Bromwich Albion (2nd).

Championship: Norwich City (1st), Burton Albion (2nd*), Bristol City (1st).

League Two: Mansfield Town (1st, 2nd*), Accrington Stanley (2nd), Coventry City (1st, 2nd), Barnet (1st, 2nd).

6 July - 2017-18 Update

League One: Plymouth Argyle (1st, 2nd), Rochdale (1st socks confirmed).

League Two: Notts County (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Wycombe Wanderers (1st*, 3rd*).

Scottish Premiership: Rangers (1st*).

wycombe wanderers 2017-18 goalkeepers' kitsScottish Championship: Queen of the South (1st, 2nd).

And in case you missed them, here are Wycombe Wanderers new goalkeepers' kits designed to dazzle opponents.

5 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Manchester United (1st), Huddersfield Town (1st).

League Two: Exeter City (1st*, 2nd*).

Scottish Premiership: Aberdeen (2nd), Partick Thistle (2nd).

Scottish Championship: St Mirren (1st).

4 July - 2017-18 Update

Championship: Queen's Park Rangers (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

League One: Oldham Athletic (1st, 2nd, 3rd*).

1 July - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: West Ham United (1st), AFC Bournemouth (1st), Chelsea (1st, 2nd), Crystal Palace (sponsor added), Tottenham Hotspur (1st, 2nd), Brighton & Hove Albion (1st, 3rd*).

Championship: Millwall (1st).

League Two: Lincoln City (1st).

30 June - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Southampton (2nd), Arsenal (1st), Swansea City (1st, 2nd).

Championship: Cardiff City (1st, 2nd), Brentford (1st, 2nd).

League Two: Stevenage (1st, 2nd).

Scottish League Two: Edinburgh City (1st, 2nd).

28 June - 2017-18 Update

Championship: Middlesbrough (2nd).

League One: Northampton Town (2nd).

League Two: Accrington Stanley (1st).

Scottish Premiership: Hibernian (1st, 2nd), Heart of Midlothian (1st).

Scottish Championship: Dunfermline Athletic (1st, 2nd), Dumbarton (2nd*).

*Unchanged.

27 June - 2017-18 Update

And we're back, newly spliced and ready to tackle the mountain of contributions in the bulging HFK mailbox.

Premier League: Manchester City (sleeve sponsor added), Burnley (1st), Watford (1st).

League One: Blackburn Rovers (1st).

League Two: Cheltenham Town (1st*), Grimsby Town (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

Scottish Premiership: Motherwell (1st, 2nd).

13 June - 2017-18 Update

Championship: Sunderland (1st), Sheffield United (1st), Barnsley (1st).

League One: Bradford City (1st), Walsall (1st, 2nd), Portsmouth (2nd, 3rd).

Scottish Premiership: Celtic (2nd).

Right - I'm off to Poland for a week so no updates for a while but do keep your contributions coming in.

7 June - Champions League Final

I've added details of the Champions League final played in Cardiff last Saturday.

2017-2018 Update

Premier League: Liverpool (limited edition).

Championship: Birmingham City (2nd).

League Two: Forest Green Rovers (1st*, 2nd*), Crewe Alexandra (1st, 2nd).

3 June - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Liverpool (2nd).

Championship: Middlesbrough (1st).

League Two: Luton Town (1st*, 2nd, 3rd), Yeovil Town (1st), Cambridge United (1st).

2 June - 2017-18 Update

forest green rovers play-off wiiners 2017Congratulations to Forest Green Rovers on their promotion to the English Football League - their kit history section is now available. I must confess I have been dreading working on this because there is almost no information on the something to shout about: history of forest green rovers AFCinterweb about the team's strips throughout its long history. While casting about, however, I stumbled across Tim Barnard's history of the club (Something to Shout About: The History of Forest Green Rovers AFC - Tempus Publishing Ltd 2005) and ordered a copy. The book is a genuine treasure trove, lavishly illustrated, deeply-researched, well written and full of personal reminiscences. Thanks to this and research into match programmes over the last 12 years, I have been able to piece together what I believe is a near-complete kit history stretching back to 1899.

There is, however, no excuse for wearing lime green.

(Celebration photograph courtesy of The Daisy Cutter.)

1 June - 2017-18 Update

Premier League: Southampton (1st), Manchester City (1st).

League One: AFC Wimbledon (1st*, 2nd*), Rotherham United (2nd).

Scottish Championship: Greenock Morton (1st*).

* Unchanged

31 May - 2017-18 Update

Ipswich Town (2nd) added.

30 May 2017-18 Season Galleries Now Open!

With the last of the promotion play-offs completed over the bank holiday week-end, the English and Scottish Season Galleries are now OPEN. All contributions welcome but please remember, I do not publish leaked images that cannot be confirmed from official sources.

Saturday's FA Cup final kits have now been added.

19 May 2017-18 Update

Leicester City added.

18 May - 2017-18 Update

Everton, Ross County, Falkirk, added.

2016-17 Update

The charity kits worn by Chelsea and Southampton this week have been added.

16 May - 2017-18 Update

stoke city 2017-18 sleeve sponsorIt has been confirmed that Premier League clubs will be allowed to sell advertising space on the left sleeve of players' shirts during the coming season, replacing one of the competition patches. At least two clubs have exclusivity clauses in their current sponsorship contracts and will be unable to take advantage of this opportunity. Stoke City are the first to release details of their sleeve sponsor. Eight clubs are reported to have negotiated an aggregated deal with Sporting Group International.

Added today: Manchester United (2nd), Rotherham United, Newcastle United, Aberdeen, Rochdale.

2016-17 Update

Tottenham Hotspur wore special commemorative shirts for their last game at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Oldham Athletic 3rd kit updated.

2 May - 2017-18 Update

The first of next season's strips are starting to appear and I will start posting the new first choice outfits as they appear. Change strips are logged and will be posted, as usual, on the new season galleries which will be launched once the promotion play-offs are completed. Added today Liverpool, Oxford United, Chesterfield, Queen of the South, Celtic.

Irish Cup

I've added the special 90th aniversary kit worn by Coleraine in the Irish Cup as well as the bespoke strip to be worn in the Irish Cup Final this weekend.

26 April

Over the last few months some visitors have reported that a few kit graphics have gone missing. The odd thing about this is that the problem is only apparent in some Windows-based browsers. As we are all children of the Mac here at HFK la galaxy v seattle april 2017Towers we have not been able to reproduce the problem. While I can't claim to have found the cause, I have found a work around that seems to resolve the issue. If you find any more missing graphics please let me know so I can restore bayern munich 2017 parley stripthe offending item.

On Sunday LA Galaxy met Seattle Sounders and both teams wore their new Parley third kits. This follows the launch of Parley limited edition shirts by Real Madrid and Bayern Munich (right) last November and marks the start of a collaboration between MLS, Adidas and Parley for the Oceans. The shirts are manufactured using fibres upcycled from marine plastic pollution and the partnership is intended to raise awareness and promote practical action to reduce the amount of plastic polluting the world's oceans.

21 April

netherlands football shirt 1930sFollowing on from the item on the Netherlands' kits in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, I thought you might like to see Frank Wels' shirt from a match against Belgium in the 1930s. (Photograph from oldfootballshirts.com and submitted by André Conceição e Silva.)

arsenal 1966-67 kit variantionsIn the mid 1960s Arsenal wore a bewildering number of variants on both their first choice and change kits. Recently Simon "Shakey" Shakeshaft commissioned Daniel Gellatley to illustrate these and I am grateful to both for permission to reproduce these on HFK.

 

Crest history updates

Bristol Rovers (1950), Brentford (2017), Tottenham Hotspur (1966).

18 April

Blackpool (1984-85, 1985-86 detailing amended): Grimsby Town (1980-81 amended slightly).

15 April

usa team v mexico 1934Jon Jones has provided an explanation for the blue United States shirt featured yesterday. This photograph shows the usa v italy 1934 world cupteam walking out for their qualifying match against Mexico on May 24, 1934. The match was played in Rome in front of a capacity crowd that included Mussolini and the American ambassador, Breckenridge Long. The US team won 4-2 and the Mexicans went home. If we compare the two images using the orthographic colour charts, it is clear that in the qualifier, the American team are wearing blue shirts.

(Footnote: @dax_6721 has since confirmed from a contemporary report in La Stampa that the Americans wore red shirts against Italy.)

14 April

usa shirt 1930sMy conclusion that the United States team wore red shirts against Italy in 1934, based on the photograph published on 4 April has been challenged by several contributors. David Kilpatrick submitted this image, for example. Unfortunately there is no evidence that this shirt comes from the same match. It would also have clashed with Italy's tops.

france v italy 1938 world cupIn similar vein, Adam Adamczyk sent me this colourised image from the Italy-France match in the 1938 World Cup and suggested that the French wore light blue. The artist has, however, been deceived by the tones of the original monochrome image when selecting his inks. This is due to a phenomenon that we discovered in 2012 about the effects of orthographic film stock and I orthographic film colour chartthought this would be a good moment to revisit the issue.

Orthographic film stock was widely used before modern panchromatic emulsions became available. Orthographic film was sensitive to reds and yellows, which appeared very dark. Blues, on the other hand, appear pale because the film was less sensitive to these frequencies. This can be seen on the colour comparison chart on the left. netherlands v switzerland 1934 world cupPanchromatic film, on the other hand, produces images that are more logical to the human eye.

This brings me to another anomaly that can now be resolved. The Netherlands have always been known as Het Oranje (The Orange) so I have been puzzled by the dark appearance of their shirts. Against Switzerland (1934 tournament) I had assumed that the team wore an all-navy strip but this image shows a clear contrast between shirts and shorts. If we refer to the colour chart we see that netherland 1938 world cuporange (second down in the first column) comes out as very dark grey. So what do we make of the pale socks? Checking on the colour chart we can see that pale grey corresponds to the blue end of the spectrum.

The second image shows the team lining up against Czechoslovakia in the 1938 competition. The Czechs have changed into white tops so we can be confident that the Dutch are in orange. This does rather beg the question of why neither the Swiss nor the Dutch changed in 1934 but four years later the Czechs switched from red tops to white. Perhaps FIFA belatedly realised that orange and red do rather clash.

4 April - International Updates

usa v italy 1934 world cup1934 World Cup: This photograph shows the United States team taking the field for their match against Italy and includes a telling detail. Note that the (red) stripes on the flag are visibly darker than the (blue) rectangle where the stars appear. In fact the stripes are the same shade as the players' shirts, indicating that the picture was taken with orthographic film stock and the US team were in red.

1982 World Cup: Algeria switched into slightly different shirts in the second half of their match against Chile. A similar change occured in their opener against West Germany.

2006 World Cup: Australia 1st kit corrected.

scotland in yugoslavia may 1955This is the Scotland team lining up in Belgrade for a friendly with Yugoslavia wearing their new change strip with V necks and short sleeves in May 1955. I believe that the old collared shirts were worn until April of that year and then the latest "continental" style was adopted. (Submitted by Keir Husband, William Mackie & David Stuart). I've also added the strip worn by the Scottish team in a 1983 friendly against Canada in Edmonton.

Republic of Ireland: Eddie O'Mahony has provided proof that Ireland wore two versions of their change strip in 1985.

Northern Ireland: Two styles of Adidas socks have been worn with the current first choice kit; variant worn against Croatia added.

If you are interested in the history of the World Cup I commend Shahan Petrossian's comprehensive histories of the 1930 and 1934 competitions, which include full details of the qualifying competitions and a wealth of rare photographs.

31 March

spurs v preston november 1911Here are a couple of interesting Tottenham Hotspur strips submitted by Tony Sealey. the first shows a previously unrecorded change strip worn against Preston North End in November 1911 at White Hart Lane. The home team spurs v aston villa 1971 league cup finalchanged when there was a clash at the time.

On the right are Alan Mullery and Brian Godfrey (Aston Villa) shaking hands before the 1971 League Cup final. Spurs appear to be wearing shorts in a richer shade of dark blue than their crystal palace v wolves may 1967usual navy sets and have needlessly switched to their change socks.

This picture shows Crystal Palace playing Wolverhampton Wanderers at Selhurst Park on 13 May 1967. The problem is that Palace dropped their white strip the previous season in favour of light blue tops with claret candy stripes and there seems to be no reason for them to change against a team wearing all-gold. Explanations anyone?

Norwich City (1982-83 added).

30 March - Hereford United Mystery Shirt

shakeyThe mystery of the Hereford United kit featured two days ago has been solved thanks to some nifty detective work by Simon "Sherlock" Shakeshaft, also known as "Shakey" (left). The vital clue came in an email from Arthur Cowburn who recalls watching the Bulls play at Blackburn Rovers in shirts with a large "H" on the front in 1974-75.

hereford utd at brighton 1974-75A former physiotherapist at Hereford, Shakey has good links with many former players and officials so he called up Peter Isaac whose many roles at the club included physio to the 1972 giant-killing team, trainer and briefly in 1979, caretaker-manager. Now 82, Peter recalled the odd shirts which were made up in gold and black by Umbro specifically for the club as an alternative to be worn when their red change shirts clashed with those of the opposition. As shown here, they were worn with the regular "home" shorts.

The players apparently hated the novel tops, especially Harry Gregory, pictured on the right, so they rarely got an outing but Peter did confirm that they were indeed worn at Blackburn just as Arthur remembered.

You can now view these unique tops in glorious colour in HFK's Iconic Change Kits gallery.

28 March - Historical Updates

York City (2005-06 added): Millwall (1988-89 added): Dundee (1985-87 shorts trim corrected): Queen's Park Rangers (2012-13 shorts trim added): Rangers (1987-1992 graphics updated with more accurate sponsorship).

hereford utd at brighton 1974-75This oddity was discovered by Chris Worrall and forwarded to me by Simon "Shakey" Shakeshaft. It's from a match between Brighton and Hereford United in 1974-75, with the visitors wearing unfamiliar shirts (which put me in mind of Bavarian lederhosen). Shakey is sure these are not Hereford's change shirts (which were red). My guess is that the team turned up with their normal white tops expecting Brighton to be playing in their usual stripes and were taken by surprise when it turned out the home side had changed to all-white. I think it is probable that Hereford's embarrassed kit manager borrowed a set of yellow and black shirts from a local team and we would love to know if anyone can identify where they came from.

23 March

Profound apologies for the lack of activity over the past month. This was due to important alterations needed to HFK Towers that interrupted the work. Now we're back so let's start with...

2016-17 Updates

england 2017 change kit...the latest England change kit. A considerable improvement on the last effort but still in the bland Vapor template that has aroused so much hostility. Predominantly in two shades of blue (midnight blue and navy), the trim is silver and light blue, which is fair enough. Inexplicably the tape down the side of the body and shorts is black, which is one colour too many for my taste.

Another problem is that England's record wearing blue is hardly inspiring.

Middlesbrough (3rd added), Queen's Park Rangers (special kit added).

23 February

MLS logoThe 2017 Major League Soccer section is now open.

8 February - Current Season Update

Wycombe Wanderers' special FA Cup strip has been updated: Milton Keynes Dons special kit added.

Replica Kit Special

McGahey family exter city kit 1920sWe're loving this here at HFK Towers. Submitted by Paul Farley, a Director of Exeter City FC and taken from the Grecian Archive - University of Exeter, it shows the Chairman of the club in the 1920s, Michael McGahey with his family. Three of the boys are proudly wearing club tops, almost certainly the earliest example of replica kit that we're likely to find.

7 February - Early Wales' Kits

fa of wales crest 1880I was very pleased to spend several hours on the phone with Simon "Shakey" Shakeshaft yesterday. Shakey is a leading authority on match-worn shirts, curator of the National Football Shirt Collection and the owner of an extensive collection of match-worn Welsh international shirts. Shakey has spent many hours searching the National Archive of fa of wales crest 1886Wales in Aberystwyth for press reports as well as minute books held by the FA of Wales researching the history of the Welsh national team's kits in the nineteenth century. Reporters at the time rarely thought it worthwhile mentioning team colours but even so, Shakey has wales 1895 v englandconfirmed details of Wales' colours for almost 50% of their games from 1876 to 1902, a considerable achievement.

The results are astonishing and reveal no fewer than 19 changes of kit or variations during the period as well several different crests. Here, for example, is the Welsh team that played England on 18 March 1895. The image has been colourised to match a contemporary newspaper report. Five days later Wales played Scotland in Wrexham wearing red and blue shirts.

In the course of our conversation, I learned that when Wales met England for the first time in January 1879, the visitors were able to wear their usual white shirts because the England players wore their club tops. This attracted unfavourable comment in the press, prompting the FA to buy a set of white flannel shirts. There was confusion when both sides emerged in white for the return match which was only resolved after the Welsh players found some red material in their dressing room and fashioned this into belts to be worn round the waist.

27 January - Scottish Clubs

hibs v hearts 1972Paul Clare found this curious item. It shows Heart of Midlothian wearing their short-lived Ajax-style shirts (adopted after they spent part of the close season in the Netherlands). The match is the derby at Easter Road and Hibernian are in the unfamilar all-green tops (home teams changed in Scotland at the time). While there was no obvious colour clash, the TV cameras would have been there and in the days when most people still watched in black and white, Hibs' traditional tops were too similar to those of the visitors. In the return fixture, Hibs wore their green and white shirts while Hearts were in more familiar maroon tops with white collars.

I have finally got round to another set of tweaks submitted by Ian McConnel some time ago. These are all from the 2006-07 season. Rangers (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Motherwell, Dunfermline Athletic, Kilmarnock, Dundee United, Heart of Midlothian, Aberdeen, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, St Mirren.

26 January - International Update

north korea v USSR 1966 world cupWales: 1882 added, 1883 corrected.

World Cup 1966: Here is photographic evidence that North Korea wore socks in a darker shade of red than their shirts.

World Cup 1982: Algeria's collars corrected.

Historical Material

Accrington Stanley (1998-99 revised, 1998-99 crest added and 1986-89 crest corrected): Everton (1947-48 change kit added).

25 January - Current Season Update

Wycombe Wanderers (FA Cup 4th Round kit), Sheffield United (3rd), Crewe Alexandra (3rd), Aberdeen (3rd), Alloa Athletic (2nd corrected), St Mirren (3rd).

Branding Updates

Hereford United (1972-74, 1984-85, 1994-96), Blackpool (1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1995-97, 1997-99).

Historical Material

hereford united 1937-38 team groupIt has long been thought that Hereford United wore all-white until the outbreak of the Second World War but this photograph, submitted by old friend Simon "Shakey" Shakeshaft, suggests this was not the case.

Shakey has also established that Wolverhampton Wanderer's switched from blue and white to red and white in 1883 rather than 1886. The change therefore coincides wolves 1891-92 teamwith the introduction of mass-produced vertically striped shirts and resolves a long-standing mystery.

When Wolves travelled to Sunderland in September 1890 both teams took the pitch in identical shirts. The following season the Football League required all members to wear distinctive colours to avoid similar confusion in the future and Wolves switched to the orange and navy blue tops shown here.

12 January - Current Season Update

Long-term contributor David King has been in touch with some amendments to the detailing of several kits. Morecambe (1st), Colchester United (2nd), Cardiff City (2nd), Rochdale (3rd), Plymouth Argyle (3rd added), Portsmouth (1st), Cheltenham Town (1st), Carlisle United (1st), Grimsby Town (1st), Doncaster Rovers (2nd).

I've updated the Third Lanark section with some information about the successor club which was formed in 2008, 51 years after the original was wound up.

10 January - International Update

unkown republic of ireland shirtA Polish contributor, Rafal, has sent in several photos of this unrecorded Republic of Ireland shirt. O'Neills supplied the FA of Ireland between 1976 and 1985 and it was not unusual for them to provide non-standard shirts. Rafal tells me he received this from a former Polish international player (now deceased) and that it is match-worn. If you can identify the match it comes from please let me know.

 

Euro 76: Yugoslavia kits corrected.

World Cup 1982: Algeria changed into different shirts for the second half of their match with West Germany. Pinstripes added to Hungary graphics.

World Cup 1986: Texture stripes removed from Uruguay shorts.

Northern Ireland: 1983 kit added.

Scotland: Alternate kit worn in West Germany added.

Silly Kits Dept

tokyngton town v Here is Tokyngton Manor, wearing diagonal stripes, shaking hands before their match with Kentish Town in the Spartan kevin hectorSouth Midlands League Division One in 2012. This is certainly the worst kit clash I've ever seen.

Bradford (Park Avenue) had a long history of unconventional strips before they went out of business in 1974. Pictured on the right is Kevin Hector, their greatest ever player making an appearance for the reformed club sometime after its formation in 1987 in a fund-raiser against Leeds United. It's good to see that the reincarnated club kept tradition alive with this bizarre combination of vertical and diagonal stripes.

9 January - Last of the Crest Updates

Dundee (1996), Rangers (1997), Dunfermline Athletic (1990), Greenock Morton (1993, 2004), Queen of the South (2004).

Historical Material

Ipswich Town (2006-08 3rd kit corrected): Tottenham Hotspur (1926-34 change kit added, 1936-37 change socks corrected, 1951-55 warm weather kit and two one-off strips from 1954-55 added).

7 January - More Crests

burnley fc 1914 fa cup final shirtReading (1996), Portsmouth (1995), Peterborough United (2003), Swindon Town (1991), Wolverhampton Wanderers (2000), Hull City (2004), Burnley (1914 FA Cup Final [left], 1969, 1983, 1996, 2006), Arsenal (2005), Tottenham Hotspur (1997), West Bromwich Albion (1994, 1995), Partick Thistle (1990).

6 January - Happy New Year!

After an extended break over Christmas and New Year we're back and it's time to make an impression on HFK's bulging mail bag I'm going to try dealing with material that has been waiting the longest so if you have submitted something recently please be patient: I will get round to it in due course.

Crest History Updates

Oleg Baranov specialises in tracking down material to enhance our crest history and back in September he sent me a wealth of material so let's start with that. Darlington (1998), Nottingham Forest (1970), Middlesbrough (1976, 1979), Wycombe Wanderers (1973, 1990, 1999), Huddersfield Town (1966, 2002, 2005).

I have updated the Wycombe Wanderers graphics 1990-2009 with what I hope are more accurate shades of blue.