Question regarding FA Premier League Unis

[Rampart]

I'm making a concentrated effort to really watch and understand Barclays Premiership, but I have some questions about the home/away kits.

Why is there no standard of white for away, colour for home (or something similar) Portsmouth has red road uniforms which would be confusing when they play Manchester United, Charlton or Liverpool who wear red at home. Do the shorts colour provide that much contrast for difference?

[Discrim]

usually, both clubs wear their normal kits (e.g. Chelsea vs ManUre would be in the usual blue vs red). the "away kit" term is a misnomer, as it's more of a clash kit only worn when there's not enough difference between the two sides' regular sets (i.e. Arsenal vs Man U...one has to wear different colors)

the NFL could have gone this route way back in 1957, but went to color/white instead. heh, if the Rams had their way they'd still be wearing gold roads.

[cubbies06]

Man United rotates their away colors....Blue will be back for a second straight season , black was the color for 04-05 and white for 03-04...

[KeeperEUSC]

Blue will not be back, white will be the away color, blue will be the third.

[cubbies06]

Blue will not be back, white will be the away color, blue will be the third.

Verified,Keeper? Last I heard white was not the away shirt....

[Rampart]

Here's another question along the same lines. Why do teams sees to change colours so often and why are some home/away kits so radically different (Like Arsenal's maroon and yellow)?

It just seesm that some of the unis would match thier respective logos better.

[gordie_delini]

again - the reason the colors are so different is to CLASH with teams that wear similar colors at home. Arsenal's normal colors are Red and White (the maroon is a special jersey for this season only). When they play at home, they wear red and white, so other teams must clash with their colors. Playing a team like Newcastle is OK, because their home is black&white stripes - so Newcastle doesn't have to wear their change kit. When Man Utd plays Arsenal, both teams wear Red home kits, so Man Utd must wear a clash kit to differentiate the Man U players with the Arsenal players.

And the same goes when Arsenal visits Man U. Since Man U is the home club, Arsenal must clash with United's home kit, thus the yellow away is a nice contrast from the red, so it's easier to distinguish between the Arsenal players and the Man U players.

When team's home kits naturally clash, like Arsenal's red and Chelsea's blue, there is no need for the visiting team to wear a change/clash kit. Make sense?

Also, logos/crests are only a recent trend in football. Most teams wear those clash colors because it's what they've worn since who knows when. Arsenal adopted the yellow/blue clash scheme some years ago, in the '60s I believe, and won the FA Cup and League in 71/72 wearing yellow and blue - so the club has kept that color scheme. Many teams are very similar - it's in the club's history. Arsenal wears red and white simply because a couple of players on the team in 1895 used to play for Nottingham Forest, and brought old Forest jerseys to Arsenal (then called Dial Square FC). Read the history of each club and the history of its kits and crests - these things will make much more sense if you do.

[KeeperEUSC]

For Manchester United, it'll be

New Style Red Home

New Style White Change

Old Style Blue 3rd

The 3rd being this years jersey with the AIG logo in place of the vodefone logo.

[totc]

Football sides have seen the "second change" as a way to pip more kits.

(translation: Soccer teams use different away jerseys as a way to sell more jerseys).

The assumption is that any Manchester United supporter will buy just about anything with the Red Devil crest on it; it doesn't matter whether or not it is red.

Imagine, for instance, if the pro sports teams in North America wore all of those so-called "pop color" jerseys, like the yellow Chicago White Sox jersey, the red Yankees jersey, etc. But tradition is far too sacred in the United States.

[zjac7]

Football sides have seen the "second change" as a way to pip more kits.

(translation: Soccer teams use different away jerseys as a way to sell more jerseys).

The assumption is that any Manchester United supporter will buy just about anything with the Red Devil crest on it; it doesn't matter whether or not it is red.

Imagine, for instance, if the pro sports teams in North America wore all of those so-called "pop color" jerseys, like the yellow Chicago White Sox jersey, the red Yankees jersey, etc. But tradition is far too sacred in the United States.

Building on what totc said, teams often change their home kits every two years or so as a way of selling more kits, so long as certain "traditions" are upheld.

For example, Man U will change their uniform design every two years, but as long as the shirt is red, shorts are white and socks are black, nobody really cares.

Same with Arsenal, with their red/white shirts (although this year is a special case) or Newcastle's stripes...

The design changes often, but basic elements stay the same.

[bricknivy]

*spam removed*

[Discrim]

and another tidbit about the Gooners' shirts: the white sleeves came about in the 30s (at the time, Arse's shirts were the redcurrant shade they went back to for this season). the manager wanted his players to be more distinctly dressed, and was inspired by some guy he saw wearing a red vest over a white shirt. figuring that would suit his wishes, the manager soon outfitted Arsenal in red shirts with white sleeves, and the rest is history (aside from one season in the 60s where Arse wore all-red shirts for some reason before bringing the white sleeves back)

[zjac7]

Recent Arsenal shirts:

98-00

00-02

02-04

04-05

This season's Highbury kit:

[Gothamite]

And what the hell, while we're at it, here's the new Arsenal shirt for the next two years (leaked, not unveiled yet):

Red with white sleeves. The basics are the same, everything else is different.

[speedo]

And sometimes the clash change is minor. For instance, Man-U wears red shirts and white shorts at home. Everton wears blue shirts and white shorts. So depending on where the game is, one of the two will change just their shorts while keeping their traditional home shirt. At Old Trafford, Everton will wear blue shirts and (usually) blue shorts, looking for all the world like Chelsea. At Goodison Park, Man U will wear red shirts with black shorts...