120: David Speedie, Liverpool, Merlin Shooting Stars 1991/92

Today marks the second anniversary of this particular corner of the internet. What started as a response to lockdown and boxes of unpacked stuff through the medium of Peter Fear quickly turned into a good way of keeping four mates in touch and then grew into something terrifyingly all consuming. We really couldn’t have done this without the support of our long suffering wives, girlfriends and children and all the great people we’ve interacted with along the way. Thank you all so much.

This is probably our most democratic post to date. First of all we had a chat in our WhatsApp group about potential collaborative ideas and picked three options to put to the good people of Twitter: favourite kits, first games and players we wanted to be growing up. With a whopping 54% of the vote favourite kits romped home which is probably a good thing as I don’t actually remember much about Palace’s pre-season friendlies in 1995 and none of us have actually grown up. With this decided we narrowed it down to four personal favourites from the past thirty-odd years with the only caveat being they couldn’t be from any of our own clubs. Apologies to anyone tuning in for Emlyn’s overview of Reading’s orange away kit and Liam Rosenior. Once again we turned to Twitter and, by a clear margin, the winner can be seen below modelled by David Speedie and his exceptional quads (thanks to Rob at ShootingStars for the image). To the victor go the spoils and so here’s Rich to kick us off.

My first kit was a “Liverpool goalkeeper shirt”. I use inverted commas because until my Dad had gone to the local market and bought a sew on Liverpool badge, the plain green shirt, white shorts and red socks had served as a “Mexico kit” for my older brother. This will always be my favourite kit, but not in the sense of the word that this post is aiming for. 

When thinking about which my favourite kit of all time is, a few sprung to mind: Holland 1988, Holland 1990, Manchester United goalkeeper and away 1990-92, Liverpool home, away and goalkeeper 1987-88 and Liverpool home, away and goalkeeper 1989-91. The eagle eyed/those with an obsession of a four-year period in history will have noted one thing: these are all Adidas kits. You may also note that they all carried the traditional Adidas trefoil emblem (the one that looked a bit like a flower with some sticky up bits). In my opinion, when they moved to that diagonal three-stripe thing, both Adidas kits, and society in general, got significantly worse. In fact, I haven’t really liked any of their kits since, with the exception of this season’s (2021/22) Man United strips, which are basically just the 1990 efforts anyway. 

The reason I love all of the aforementioned kits is that the designs were timeless. Admittedly, it is also probably because they existed when I was 6-10 years old and as such have huge nostalgic value. The Holland ‘88 shirt is the most aesthetically pleasing, it is truly a perfect design in my eyes, but it isn’t my favourite. Similarly, the Holland Italia ‘90 kit is glorious in its simplicity. The fact I picked one up for a fiver off a car boot in Sheffield when I was a kid helps my view of it too. Then we come to the Man United ‘90-92 kits. Much like the Holland ‘88 shirt, the design of the away shirt is innovative and excellent. The fact it has been rehashed for this season says it all. The goalkeeper kit (the one that looked like a TV set that needed a good whack on the top) was my eighth birthday present. Even to this day, I remember wearing the full kit (with shorts, socks and shin pads) to school and half-way through Mrs Hobson’s class hearing the words “Richard, put your trousers back on” as I had dropped trou to show my classmates my new shorts. Mrs Hobson, if you’re reading, I see the point you were trying to make. However, I stand by my decision, because it is a great kit. 

Then we come on to the final two in my kit competition, and I’ll start with the older one. Despite not supporting Liverpool my brother had the silver/grey Crown Paints sponsored away kit, which I got as a hand me down. We both wore it with pride, along with a Liverpool FC sweatbands on each wrist. What I love about the kit is its plain simplicity. It should be boring, but to me it is incredible. The fact the home, away and goalkeeper shirts adhere to the same template appeals to me too. This raises a quick side note, goalkeeper shirts should be plain green or yellow, long sleeved, and be worn with the outfield shorts and socks. This short sleeved, all one-colour chicanery can do one. 

However, of all of the kits mentioned above, my favourite one of all time is the white flecked, Candy sponsored Liverpool kits from ‘89-91. Or the “bird poo kit” as it became known in my household. It took the simplistic genius of its predecessor and stepped it up a notch by adding the extra design. I have never supported Liverpool, but I have almost bought the retro remake on numerous occasions such is my affection and appreciation for it. It may well be the players that wore it too: Barnes, Rush, Beardsley and (bizarrely my outfield childhood idol) Steve McMahon. It was an era defining team, in an era defining kit, and I truly love it. Over to Manny.

Number 88: Fiesta Bianconera, Juventus, Upper Deck Juventus F.C. – Campioni d’Italia 94/95

I could say that my first footballing love was South London’s finest club but that would be lying. Due to a combination of a lack of Sky Sports and Match of the Day being a fair while after my bedtime my first real interaction with the beautiful game came through the 1994 World Cup in the USA and the subsequent awareness of Gazzetta Football Italia being on Channel 4 on a Saturday morning. And my word what a beautiful game was being played in Serie A at that time.

As mentioned in the early days of this blog my footballing idol was Roberto Baggio and once my family and I had decided that 10am every Saturday could only be spent one way there was only one team I was following. Across the pitch Juventus were brimming with talent and character and we all had our favourite players. My Dad loved Moreno Torricelli for his marauding runs from defence and Gianluca Vialli for his acrobatics up front. My Mum was a fellow Baggio fanatic with a soft spot for Angelo Peruzzi in goal and the industrious Angelo Di Livio in midfield. My sister took a shine to the up and coming young forward Alessandro Del Piero who acquitted himself impressively as Baggio struggled with injuries throughout the 1994/95 campaign.

Buoyed on by my family’s vocal support of VHS recordings of late night midweek games the Old Lady won their first Scudetto since 1986 and picked up the Coppa Italia for good measure. They were denied an historic treble when they lost out to domestic rivals Parma in the UEFA Cup final but had established themselves as a force to be reckoned with having ended AC Milan’s early nineties’ domestic dominance. Despite the sale of Baggio they went on the win the Champions League the following season and reached the final of Europe’s premier club competition in three successive campaigns.

As well as playing exciting attacking football La Bianconeri looked fantastic in their iconic striped Kappa shirts. After receiving the full junior home kit for Christmas I rarely wore anything else when not at school and distinctly remember having to be consoled about the washability of polyester when I fell in the mud on a day trip to sunny Leysdown. As much as I loved the home strip I was quietly jealous of my Mum who received the beautiful blue away shirt on the same Christmas with its bright yellow stars on either shoulder. Thankfully she wasn’t as dedicated to wearing it for all family occasions and day trips as I was and so, thanks to my Dad buying it on the roomy side, it was passed down to me later on. Thanks to the era’s obsession with bagginess it still fits but I’ll make sure it’s in good enough nick to pass on to my son who really likes the word “star”.

I picked this shirt for a number of reasons. It is undeniable that is a design classic and various rehashes have never quite matched up to its simplistic beauty. It also reminds me of when I first fell in love with football and how the brilliance of Serie A in the nineties changed the game forever. More importantly, however, it reminds me of a family obsession which shaped so much more than just a ball being kicked about a pitch. After the last two years such things are worth clinging on to. Over to Mat.

Number 470: Francesco Totti, Italia, Panini 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan

“Go with your gut.” That’s typically what I say when trying to make a decision, especially one that you’re not sure about. If your first instinct that the shirt you’re looking at will spend its life hung up in the wardrobe and never worn, then leave it. But, if you think, yeah, that’s pretty good, then go for it. With that logic, I’m diving into my favourite (not my own team) shirt, as requested by you.

While custard creams, dairy, and bird poo weere all mentioned, as they all are in daily, typical normal conversations (no? just us?), I had something special that came to mind instantly. I could have gone other routes; the Cameroon vest for one, early noughties Valencia away shirts for another just to name two but I am sticking with my gut reaction for a few reasons.

First, and crucial to any great kit, is the team the players it adorns. To give you some clues, and give the game away completely, here are some of the huge names: Maldini; Inzaghi; Gattuso; Vieri; Nesta; and of course, Francesco Totti.

You’ve guessed it, the 2002 Italian World Cup shirt. That ridiculously tight, lighter than usual, number. As commentator stereotypes go, a stylish number. It’s a shame their World Cup didn’t quite go to plan with all that talent, going out in the round of sixteen to South Korea, but they failed in style. Or at least the players did. (And probably a lot of the fans)

Let me once again ride on the stereotype train here. Italy is a beautiful country. Beautiful cities, countryside landscapes, amazing food, a musical language, and beautiful people - beautiful people on whom the second skin of light blue occasionally looked good. But, more often than not, it would take even the slimmest, most stylish of fan and turn them into a lumpy Michelin man looking person who’d gone through the wash with some dark jeans that had run. However, it could be worse. I’m looking at you circa 2002 Wales with the likes of Paul Trollope, John Hartson and Robbie Savage. I’m sure there were some sights that will linger in the memories, unable to be erased or blocked out.

Back to that Italy shirt and that Italy team. The shirt came at a time when the style from many manufacturers was big and baggy. I’ve still got a 2002 United shirt of the Umbro ilk that is too big for me. That may be as much because my mum bought an XL for some reason, with the rationale that I’d “grow into it” but the point still stands. Kappa at that time were doing things their own way. Anti-baggy. No need for their logo on the front, when shoulder logos were much cooler. The fact that peak playmaker Totti was in the team, making things happen for Vieri (I’d forgotten what a beast of a striker he was at the time, always one for my Pro Evo Master League Team) and Inzaghi when he wasn’t offside.

So, best shirt. I’ve followed my gut. Italy 2002 shirt. One that would highlight any gut of players or fans brave enough to wear it. Just imagine what a 2002 Kappa England shirt would have looked like on Sol Campbell, Danny Mills, and Emile Heskey. Over to Emlyn.

Number 178: Newcastle United Away Kit, Panini Coca-Cola Championship Official Sticker Collection 2010

Whilst most football team shirts, like most televised sport, currently display the logos of car leasing companies or online gambling firms, there are a number of examples over the years of sides being sponsored by takeaway and food enterprises. Colman's Mustard sponsoring Norwich City was a match made in heaven. I remember the Doritos shirt worn by Wolverhampton Wanderers in the early 2000s more vividly than their brief foray into the Premier League at the time. Getafe encouraged Ravanelli style celebrations by popping the Burger King King on the inside of their shirt for a season. By adorning their strip with the Chupa Chups logo in the year 2000, Sheffield Wednesday unexpectedly became the only team in history to play while featuring an artwork of Salvador Dali on their shirts. And lastly, while not food as such, the Newcastle Brown Ale logo on the Newcastle United kits of the nineties is about as iconic as a football kit can get.

Bringing this up in the blog WhatsApp group led to a few comments on missed opportunities; such as Leicester City failing to mark their sponsorship deal with crisp magnates Walkers by releasing a Prawn Cocktail Pink away strip, or replacing the washing instruction labels with little blue packets of salt. To labour the point further, Aston Villa's mid-90s strips being sponsored by Müller unfortunately never saw an off-white kit with a raspberry coulis motif on the bottom, or one sleeve being filled with small chocolate coated crispy balls. And I for one would have loved to see Fulham honouring their sponsorship deal with Pizza Hut with a stuffed crust collar.

Alongside food sponsors, there have also been a variety of inadvertent food resemblances. Manchester United debuted a particularly striking black and white diagonal check ensemble ahead of the 2020/21 season, which immediately brought to mind BlackJack penny sweets (or possibly a bizarre attempt at zebra themed camouflage). Arsenal's away kit for their double winning 1997/98 campaign featured a horizontal band to display their sponsor, JVC, with the unfortunate effect of looking like a big box of Weetabix. The example that immediately jumped to my mind, though, was Newcastle's 2009/10 away kit.

Combining a vanilla cream colour with a striking yellow, the shirt was immediately dubbed The Custard Cream Kit by fans. It did look bloody awful, and won't have done much to improve the mood of the long-suffering Newcastle fans. Having been relegated from the Premier League the season prior, things also started poorly in the new kit, with a pre-season game against Leyton Orient resulting in a 6-1 loss while wearing the Crème Anglaise Calamity. The season itself also had a few moments of difficulty, with an exodus of players and a rumoured training ground scrap between Andy Carroll and Steven Taylor that saw the latter miss the remainder of the season with a suspected broken jaw. However, eventually, fired by goals from Kevin Nolan, Shola Ameobi and the aforementioned Carroll, the side went on to win the Championship and return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Mercifully, the custard kit was left behind, not because of fan backlash, but owing to manufacturers Adidas terminating the kit-making partnership due to their displeasure over Newcastle owner Mike Ashley. Fortunately for the fans, there hasn't been a repeat of the biscuit related designs since, with 2018/19's maroon and navy hooped effort emulating the 1995/96 away shirt and being one of the finest away kits I've seen in recent years. Unpopular with the fans, Mike Ashley's ownership would go on to cause a number of further ructions over the years until he finally completed the sale of the club in October 2021, having first put the club up for sale in 2008. At least there's nothing potentially dodgy about the new owners. Back to Manny to round things up.

There you have it then. Four iconic kits, four cards and stickers and at least four times as many words as the dodgy pun I came up with two years ago suggests. Going forward, as life slowly but surely gets back to normal, we will be moving to one post a week but the same amount of nonsense chat across all the socials. Thanks again for all your support whether you’ve read, liked, shared, commented or just tolerated our presence for the last two years. There’s plenty more to come.