upperV03

Typical :censored:tle fan.

I suppose monochrome would be best in terms of dark vs. light. When the Timbers and Sounders have done the all-green matchups it’s been necessary for the Timbers to wear white shorts so both teams weren’t in dark shorts, but I guess that really wouldn’t be the case here since Austin’s kit has mint shorts.

Another note on the Thorns; all of this year’s training gear and Nike retail gear uses the partial crest designs. I fully expect them to use these designs more and more and it wouldn’t even shock me to see them do what the Timbers did and promote the partial crest (without the team name) to primary status. At the very least, I’d actually love to see them use the thorns around the rose as the jersey emblem.

I love this more than I care to admit. Here’s a slightly better look at the jersey: And a look at the away kit in this leaked image from the set. It’s Nike’s Trophy IV teamwear design in orange. Also worth pointing out that they’re using the real PL names and numbers after not doing so in Season 1 (for the Richmond kits, at least. They’ve used them for the real teams). They didn’t use the official Championship names/numbers for Richmond last season, either. That’s really bugged the kit-nerd in me, so I’m glad to see them rectify it for S3. I will absolutely buy the blue jersey if/when (let’s face it, it’s when) they release it.

Yeah, they ditched the green in the crest in 2019. The “official” crest is now the red and white monochrome version, but the black and red version is used just as much and what’s primarily used on Nike training gear and apparel (and obviously the last black jerseys and the new ones). I wish they kept the original, full-color crest. I’m encouraged by the new green training gear, though, and hope they find ways to use some green again. I would really love a green kit eventually, or even just some green accents on an official kit. Wouldn’t be surprised to see it worked into the next kits (either in 2023 or ‘24).

I’d keep the badge colors the same as on the real thing, but otherwise that looks great with the red and black swapped. Red/black/black is my ideal kit combo for the Thorns’ primaries and also what they entered the league with (I’d also consider their 2019 primary kit red/black/black bc the shirt looked mainly red in action). In any case, here are a couple more looks at the black shirt: Happy to see the thorns carried over to the back, even with the gap for the numbers. I’m hoping they go with red names/numbers this time, but I’m expecting white again. As for the secondary, here are prediction mock-ups of the full kit (with both white and red shorts options). I definitely prefer the red shorts:

Speaking of Austin, I’m gonna be really curious to see the kit matchup between them and the Timbers this Saturday in Portland. We could get a dark green vs. mint green kit matchup, which wouldn’t be ideal but would at least contrast a little better than the green vs. green Portland/Seattle matchups from the last couple of years. We could also get the Timbers in pink vs. Austin in their black/green primaries. As much as I love the Timbers’ pink kits, I’d rather not see them get into the habit of frequently wearing them at home. They would be the best choice for maximizing contrast, but part of me wants to see the green vs. green (especially if the Timbers go with their white shorts).

The authentic versions of the Thorns’ new shirts have been put up for sale by our local soccer shop (not the team store, though): Both look better with the engineered knit fabric, but still not the best. I actually like the black shirt for the most part, but I was expecting more. Don’t much care for the white shirt, but red shorts would save it for me. I’m hoping the black kit has socks with the same stripes as the shirt. From what I know, these kits were actually supposed to be for last year but they decided to carry over the 2020 kits instead since they were hardly used in ‘20.

I mean their name is the Thorns so if there’s one element that should stand out on the crest, it probably should be the thorns instead of the rose. That said, I’m not a big fan of how the crest is recolored on the white shirt, either. I actually think it would’ve been cool to just have the thorns around the rose on the white shirt instead of the full badge. In that case I probably would’ve gone ahead and made the rose red to match the thorns, but just having the thorns bigger would’ve made a big difference in it of itself. As for the wordmark, I like it. I think it could be called over designed, but I think the “thorns” are pretty well integrated into the type. It certainly has more character than the Agency derivative that’s used in the badge. Not necessarily something I’d want to see used all over the place, but a nice complement to the badge and I like it being used in the side panels on the shirts. Here’s a better look at it:

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised to see the Thorns in the green tops last night. A bunch of fans were freaking out that they were actual jerseys, but they are just the new training tops for this season. They’ll have green shorts to match for training as well. They’re actually only the second club in the world to receive the new 2022/23 Dri-Fit ADV training gear from Nike behind Barcelona, and it’s the technology we’ll see on the rest of Nike’s top teams around the world next season. I’ve been wanting the Thorns to wear green in some form since their inception, so I’ll take it even though it is just for training. I do wish the green was more of a forest green than olive, but again I’ll take it. Their actual jerseys (replica versions) have leaked, too: I like the black shirt well enough, though I still think it’s a downgrade from the rose print shirt and I still wish they’d go back to red-heavy primaries. I like the cuff striping on the white, but the rest is pretty underwhelming and I don’t like the light gray/blue color or the crest treatment. I’m sure the full kits will look better, and they should be revealed soon. I’d like to see red shorts for the secondaries, that’d improve them immensely IMO.

The Sounders are wearing the correct shorts today after wearing the 2020/21 versions last week and in CCL. Almost looks like a slightly different, richer shade of blue, too (compare the shorts color to the training tops):

That is the new keeper kit template for this season. Columbus and SKC are the only other clubs to post pictures of their keepers in the new kits, and I’ve suspected it’s because the other teams are still waiting to receive them. Last week all of the clubs used last year’s keeper kits, and the kit assignment graphics suggest that the same will be true this week. You can see all of the colorways here: https://amp.footyheadlines.com/4579521874738553323/

Week 2 kit matchups: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/kit-matchups-what-your-club-is-wearing-for-mls-week-2-x4456 Some notables: - If graphics are accurate, last year’s keeper kits will be used across the league again this week. - Colorado/Atlanta is the only matchup where both teams are debuting their new kits. It’ll be burgundy/blue/burgundy vs. mint/white/mint. - SKC, RSL, Minnesota, Orlando, and Austin are the other clubs debuting a new kit this weekend. SKC and Austin are the only ones debuting their new secondaries at home this week, while Cincy is wearing their new secondaries at home this week but not debuting them since they wore them last week. - Columbus is wearing their white/grey shirts with the new white shorts and socks at San Jose. - The Timbers are wearing their secondaries at LAFC, but this time debuting the inferior white alternate shorts.

You sure they aren’t just last year’s shorts? The ones they wore last night (and in CCL) have the exact same tapered cut and slit on the side that the 2020/21 shorts had, whereas the shorts for the rest of this year’s new kits have a straight hem and no slit (and with adidas stripes).

Can’t say I agree on the Timbers’ kit. For me what makes it successful is the bold color contrast with the roses as well as the scale of them. In a league full of tonal and/or embossed kit designs, I think there’s something to be said about the Timbers going all-out with the rose print and having it be such a stark contrast from the base color. As for the size, I’ve said it before on here that I don’t think making the roses smaller really would’ve worked since they already had to create a gap for the sponsor logo. I think making the roses smaller would’ve just made that gap more noticeable, whereas now it’s at least somewhat natural with how the roses are placed and spaced apart. As for the Revs, yeah, navy/white/navy would be so much better (ignore the sleeve patch & sponsor here, made this graphic before the kit was unveiled).

Like @Digby said, there was absolutely zero reason for Nashville to wear their yellow kits when their away kits would’ve provided better contrast with Seattle’s green. If it were up to me, Nashville would’ve gone with an indigo/yellow/indigo combo. This was just one of many recent examples of less-than-ideal kit matchups, but this time there was an easy solution that apparently the league didn’t care enough to push. I do agree with your larger point about third kits, though, @MJWalker45.

The Sounders are using the blue shorts from their 2020/21 primaries tonight. They did the same in both of their CCL games against Motagua. Can only assume it’s because of supply chain issues and/or delivery delays. They should have new blue shorts with green Adidas stripes:

Yeah, I think I’m leaning that way myself. I think navy shorts would go a long way towards changing my opinion on that, but swapping the navy and orange maybe would’ve been a better solution overall. I would’ve liked to have seen a navy/navy/orange kit combo, actually.

NYCFC’s new kit looks pretty good in action, but I feel like it really needs navy shorts to balance out how much navy is on the front of the shirt. It also just looks weird to me that the shorts don’t have any navy at all (aside from the badge) whereas the shirt and socks both do.

Hopefully, as IMO the black shorts are easily the best option for both kits. I scrolled through Columbus’ schedule and I think they could safely wear yellow in every single game this season if they wanted to. They play Nashville at home, so they could/should wear yellow in that game even. They’ll definitely wear the white kits a handful of times this year to drum up sales (especially since they have the crappy new badge on it now), but kind of funny that the yellow kits could be worn in every single matchup.

This appears to be the standard across the league this year, as every team that had a sponsor on the left sleeve last year (whether it was a duplicate of the right sleeve or a different sponsor) have added back the MLS badge to the left sleeve this year. This was the original plan for sleeve sponsors, but the league opened up both sleeves in 2020 and 2021 as a way for teams to recoup lost revenue. I’m glad to see the league badges return this year, as it’s now essentially the same system as the Premier League (except the PL allows sponsors on the left sleeve w/ the badge on the right). By my count, there are 14 clubs that are starting this season without a sleeve sponsor, which a surprisingly high amount.

Actually think that’s an improvement. Doesn’t make it good, but the yellow shorts and socks (which were actually from the 2019/20 primaries) really didn’t look right with that grey/white jersey last year. Also makes sense to make that kit all-white if it’s technically the “light” kit with the new yellow kit being the “dark” option. Shouldn’t be worn all that often this year, anyways.

I think that’s a fair criticism. Personally, I love that they went bold with the stark contrast of the roses and the scale of them. The Thorns did the subtle/tonal roses with their last primary kits and Man United did the same thing with their 3rd kits a few years ago, so I’m glad the Timbers went with a bolder approach. The placement of the roses is a little odd, I’d say, but necessary given the placement of the Adidas logo, team crest, and sponsor logo. It’s polarizing, for sure, but I think they executed it in the best way possible.

You just be taking the same hallucinogens that your Sounders based their current secondary kits on?

Just Adidas not having enough to supply all 28 teams yet or having delays getting them out to the teams. Same reason a lot of teams are still using last year’s training gear. The kits are obviously given priority for both on-field and retail purposes, and have also likely been in production for longer than the generic keeper kits and training gear.