Kit Review 2009-2010

Preseason football is always difficult to judge with an entire season ahead. It's an arduous task to predict how a squad will fair in the season because so many things change. However, one thing that the team's are stuck with, whether they like it or not, is their kits. I've watched a lot of preseason football over the past couple weeks and have noticed, some good looking, interesting, and some shocking uniform design selections. What kit will sell and what kit will not? There are certain ones that make players look sharp. There is also a select few, that if put on a scarecrow, would be be mighty affective. Lets take a look.

Manchester United's Nike kits have caught eye with black a "V" like design on the center of their traditionally red jerseys accompanied by contradicting white shorts with a red stripe on the outside of the outfit. Most people I've spoken to said they think it's ugly. However, most people I speak too are anti-United people. Up until today, I thought United we're wearing their same away strip as last year. That would be kind of boring. However today online, I discovered the away shirt is the same pattern as the home strip only it is all black with an interesting blue "V" instead. I believe it looks a far cry better than the home jersey. Interestingly enough, about a week after the Owen transfer was completed the Manchester United Official store stated that they had 0 requests for his shirt. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had not been issued a number yet. Or maybe, just maybe, the fans don't accept the former Liverpool star.

Chelsea's home jersey's have been the criticism of many people. The Adidas template used for a lot of their 09/10 kits seems to be paneled on the chest with a tight collar with a line running down from the neck. A lot of people say they look like vests. The sleeves are shorter and smaller to give the shirt a snug look. It certainly is an interesting and caviller aproach. The Chelsea jersey that has people buying is the away kit. It seems to be a hit. The team was seen equipped with it in the World Football Challenge, which they won, in the United States. It has navy blue and black horizontal stripes with a light yellow trim, sponser, and numbers. It gives them an interesting look. It might top their highlighter away kit from two seasons ago.

Liverpool have gone expectingly classic with their home kit, the traditional red, nothing outragous. It suits the club very well. Their away kits have had people buzzing this summer. The black away kit seems to be very interesting. It's solid black with gold and red detail. Surely many people will be interested in it. Liverpool have sported it on their Asian tour already this summer. The other Liverpool away kit is solid white from head to toe. The only part that isn't white is the infamous "3 stripes" that Adidas lines their jerseys with and the black "L.F.C." on the socks. Surely on away strip will be used domestically and the other for Europe.

Arsenal too, have released their three Nike kits. The classic home jersey has taken hardly any dramatic changes from last year, but I for one am happy to see them rid their away jersey of the yucky yellow we all saw last season. The away strip is navy blue with pinstripes. It's an interesting look that seems to have paid off. It looks sharp. Their third jersey is white with pinstripes as well. I'm not sure which away kit will be used domestically or in Europe but a good look for the Gunners this season.

The new Everton home kit grabbed my attention. I haven't seen them play this preseason but I have seen pictures of their traditional blue with a long and narrow, white "V" from the neck down the front of the jersey. I don't know whether to like it or not at this point. Odd.

The Aston Villa home kit is their traditional colors but as in most cases, the away kit is what all the attention is migrating towards. Its simple really. All white with navy blue collar and sleeve cuffs. It looks like the stole Spurs' home jersey. The "acorns" sponsor remains. The body of the uniform has light pin stripes but the sleeves are blank. It seems to be growing on me though.

I just had to throw this in here. Newcastle's away kit? Give me a break! Like they aren't embarrassed enough that they are in the Championship, but to be fooling around away matches with a yellow and white striped jersey as well? It's pretty far out of the way to humiliate themselves when that's not a typical team color either. Just awful.

Spurs certainly have gone an interesting route this year, also implementing yellow into the equation. The yellow trim under the arm sure is bright, however I can see it working. When I watched them draw with Barcelona 1-1 in the Wembly Cup, the kit didn't look as rancid as it may sound. I did see the rest of the bench wearing all yellow tracksuits. That blurred my screen a little bit but the jersey might work for them. I'm no fashion expert, but for some reason I didn't hate it.

That's enough of the EPL let's jump over to Scotland real quick so I can let u know what the new Celtic away kit looks like. I'm not surprised because the home looks as it always does but talk about bumble bee for the away strip. All black with neon yellow/green hoops or horizontal lines on it with matching socks. It's a badass approach. It will be kind of embarrassing if they don't win wearing those jerseys. I wish them the best of luck and I might buy one cause my bug zapper broke.

Over in Italy, the Juventus home jersey seems to be as classic as always on the top. The zebra stripes with the yellow numbers. Nothing too crazy but they've got an interesting little short detail. Along the seams, there looks to be a thin black and white candy cane pattern that lines the outside of the short. It looks kind of cool. However, I'm not a fan of their away strip. It doesn't get any more boring than solid light grey. Has a diagonal black and white striped through the center but I'm not impressed. Nike did a dull job there.

I was really impressed with Inter Milan away kit. I saw them wear it in the World Football Challenge over the last couple weeks. It's solid white with a thick black and blue stripe that goes horizontally under the chest that the Pirelli sponsor goes on top of. The Italian crest sits in the middle of the jersey with the Nike and Internazionale logo on either sides of it. It has a small foldible collar and blue cuffs on the sleeves, but what made it really stick out to me was the big blue size of the number and names on the back. It really makes the jersey stand out. If your going to get one, get one with a name on the back. For the home jersey, you could probably create a picture in your head and be pretty close to what it actually looks like, classic Nerazurri. Well done Nike.

AC Milan kind of have a pop to their home jersey. The red and white stripes as always but the collar is what really makes it stand out. The collar is white. They too were in the Football World Challenge but are not having the greatest of preseasons considering they failed to make a difference here in the US and also fell to a Ribery-less Bayern Munchen. No trend is being broken with their away kits. One is solid white and the other is solid black. From what I understand the black one is the third jersey and will be used if there is no other alternative.

Despite, knocking Madrid out of the Champions League two seasons ago, I have always been a fan of Roma's colors. That trade mark cardinal red and the yellow orange just go together so well. It's rarely duplicated by any team. If you're a Roma fan who loves the tight sleeve look, than you won't be disappointed. Kappa created practically the same jerseys as last year except for the white which I really do like. It has their team colors in two bold stripes across the upper chest with an interesting red collar on it. Roma will once again be looking sharp next season.

Real Madrid. Being such a big fan and all I had to put off doing them toward the end so it didn't look like I was putting favorites first. However, I am very impressed with the new work. It's often hard to fail on the solid white home jersey. I watched a video on how they designed it this year and it has a little something extra. They've added a gold stripe that is seen on the sleeves and runs down the back. The collar is tight an old school. The team that designed the shirt also wanted to add a little history too it. It seems that on the opposite side of the Real Madrid crest there always is some other emblem of some sort. This year it is a Santiago Bernabeu stadium crest that looks like the stadium from above with E, S, and B (Estadio Santiago Bernabeu) artistically designed in it. The stadium logo appears on both the home and the away jersey. The away jersey is a deep dark navy blue with sky blue details. I've yet to see them wear it. The third jersey remains a mystery to me but I'm sure there will be one. There always is.

Over the past few seasons the Barcelona classic Blaugrana has decreased and decreased in stripes until last year where it was just half red and half blue. They couldn't decrease anymore this year so it's time to start over. The new kit is lined with plenty of stripes and has the Unicef on the front once again. The numbers look good in yellow as usual but its the away jersey that worries me. It's pink. Enough said. If the team has a repeat performance of last year it will be a kit for the ages, but if they fail to win trophies, its a little bold, and might be a kit to be forgotten. The image of Zlatan Ibrahimovic wearing pink just makes me laugh in a mental image but who knows. They say that only real men wear pink. Let's see if Barcelona are real men this year.

Valencia have dropped Nike as a shirt designer this season and have picked up Kappa, who sponsors AS Roma. The tight sleeves are noticeable for the side. The jersey is white with black sleeves. Certainly a different look for the Eastern Spanish side but it's about time something changed at the club. These are the jerseys that I've selected to review.

It would take me to about this time next year to do every jersey. If you have comments on jerseys I didn't look at or shouldn't look at, feel free to leave your comment. It's all in my opinion and I almost hope you disagree, so I can get some feed back here. Whatever the case may be, these teams have these jerseys for the next year, and we all need to get used to them.

Viva el futbol y Hala Madrid

Bobby