Fantasy Kit Friday – Manchester City special

A Manchester City feast today as we combine a pair of requests.

First up chronologically is Conor, who wondered what City would have looked like in an alternative universe where they kept Kappa rather than switching to Le Coq Sportif in 1999 (see here for City’s real-life 1997-98 season).

As Conor points out, it’s hard to find a 1999-2000 Kappa kit that isn’t halved or striped, so the home is based on the Genoa style, with the 1989-influenced away using the Real Betis design.

We then skewed reality further by restoring the sky blue instead of laser blue for 2000-01, when Kappa introduced the Kombat 2000 template. Roma provide the basis here.

Prior to Conor getting in touch, Mike Peters had a big project in mind – what if City had never left Umbro for Nike in 2013 and still had the double-diamond today? We’ll let him elaborate:

“We start in 2013-14, just after Nike had acquired a large amount of Umbro teams. This made finding Umbro kits and templates very hard. Conveniently, we start with Stockport County for the home kit. County are part of Greater Manchester and have a long shared history with City. The lack of Umbro club teams also directed me to choose an international kit in the form of the Republic of Ireland, a smart collared number, while the Wales home worked for the City third.

“In the 2014-15 season Umbro signed a contract with Premier League Everton, one that is still running strong. The home kit is a simple and clean kit that Umbro do so well. The away kit I have chosen is in the form of Hull. I chose this template as it is remarkably similar to City’s away kit of 2010, a kit which was loved by many City fans. The third kit comes in the shape of a Derby template. The small pinstripes work well with the dark purple base colour and fluo yellow accents.

“The 2015-16 season sees the introduction of West Ham who wore a beautifully clean crew-neck shirt, not dissimilar to City’s 125-anniversary shirt released this year. The away kit is a template used by PSV, a disrupted hooped shirt with bright accents. The third kit is another Derby third shirt which uses a gradient in the design, just like the Nike third kit template of the same year.

“For 2016-17, we use another Everton home shirt, which isn’t that different from the West Ham shirt used previously. Slight tweaks to the collars, cuffs and colours help to keep it fresh, however. The away kit uses Blackburn’s away shirt, with a small sash under the crest, a graphic element City have used throughout their history. The third kit goes into the realm of experimental as a striped and loud Gremio third kit is the template for this year.

“The 2017-18 Home shirt sees the return of the classic Umbro cuff tape in the form of a subtle and clean monotone shirt that looks great, with Everton again the basis. The away kit is a Cape Town FC template which is very simple and very nice.  The third kit is based on Bournemouth’s third kit, a strip which amps up the brightness on the brilliant Umbro tape.

“For 2018-19, we’re off up north to Scotland, more specifically, Heart of Midlothian. This template helps to further highlight Umbro’s best design features, collars and tape. The away kit is a Derby shirt which uses nice fluorescent accents similar to the pinstripes used on City’s Nike kit of the same year. The third kit of West Ham is a lovely 1980s/1990s-inspired effort which is hard not to like.

“And finally, 2019-20 takes us up to Hearts again, where the 90s inspired pattern reflects the Man City Umbro kit of 1991, a real fans’ favourite. The away kit continues the theme of experimental 1990s with the Burnley away kit and it’s spiky and sharp pattern. The third kit makes a return to PSV and the incredible away kit. With its eye-catching sleeves, it really stands out – in a good way!”

Thanks to Mike and Conor for their input. Your feedback can be left in the comments below or @museumofjerseys on Twitter, with future FKF requests always welcome.