There was a good response to last week’s poll to find the best home kit among the top four tiers of English football – see here for the 92 options.
Seventy-three clubs received at least one vote but there was a clear winner and a fairly-well-defined top seven. So, in reverse order:
Joint-sixth – Carlisle United and Southampton
A pair of kits that harked back to fondly-remembered offerings, early-to-mid-1990s Matchwinner for Carlisle and late 1980s Hummel for Southampton.
Umbro, Carlisle’s current kit-makers, have managed to nod to the older style while at the same time coming up with a brand-new design. While Hummel have largely retreaded their steps, the fine pinstripes do include miniature Hampshire roses.
Fifth – Arsenal
As an Arsenal fan, I’m a bit surprised to see this one rank so highly – it is the highest-ranked Premier League kit.
It’s not bad per se but it doesn’t do much to excite me and the socks feel a bit unbalanced in terms of their gold and red quantities. Perhaps the tie-in with the 2003-04 Invincibles’ strip gives it extra support.
Fourth – Port Vale
Edging out the Gunners were the only other club in English league football not named after a specific place.
The highest-ranked white shirt has pleasing horizontal bars in amber and black, ensuring that it’s easily identifiably as a Valiants top rather than, say, Derby County or Fulham.
Third – Wimbledon
The second Umbro kit in the top seven, with the Dons having moved from Hummel last summer.
Wimbledon club legend Marc Jones is in the lucky position of being able to work the club’s kit manufacturers – the new edition of Mundial features an interview with him – and this offering forms part of a very strong trio this season.
Second – Bradford City
The Bantams are in the fortunate position that their colour-scheme is unique to them in English professional football and they have taken advantage of that fact by wearing a number of different combinations of claret and amber.
Perhaps surprisingly, while hoops were briefly used at the very outset in 1903, their only other appearance came in 2012-13, when the club reached the Capital One Cup final.
Such a strong showing here is down to more than the novelty of the hoops, though – the collar is smart and the white shorts and socks offer good balance with the claret and amber trim.
First – Plymouth Argyle
Solid dark green is always a strong look – look at the enduring popularity of the 1980s Palmeiras shirts made by adidas. So that could be a factor.
Then there’s the fact that this is, we think, the first season where the Plymouth kit has been adorned with gold trim. Such a novelty could also be a factor.
Another possibility is a concerted push for votes by a Plymouth fanzine on social media, leading to a huge surge – an Argyle pattern, if you will.
Whatever the reason, they were resounding winners. And, it should be noted, if there was a vote for the best change kit, they’d surely fare well in that, too. Congratulations to the Pilgrims.
Overall, there was an encouraging response to the poll and more may follow – let us know if there are any you’d particularly like to see.
i’d love to see a poll on classic kits from the World Cup Finals – all those pinstripes on show in 1982 (the first tournament i can remember vividly) and the Algerian ones from that tournament and in 86, the first time i probably ever saw Arabic written anywhere, let alone on a shirt. And of course the Austrian home and away from 78 onwards. Simple and effective!
Cracking poll this one, probably the best yet.