New Change Kit Unveiled

[DannyInvincible]

Hadn't realised we were getting a new away kit, having thought the two kits we have already would do us grand. But a new change kit we have being unveiled by Umbro nevertheless. It goes on sale on Wednesday.

http://greenscene.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/irelandchangekit.jpg

More info here: http://greenscene.me/2011/04/umbro-unveil-ireland-change-kit/

I'm assuming it's an alternative away kit to the already-existing white kit.

For what it's worth, I'm not really a fan. I'd leave black to the referee's jersey.

Had been having a look on YBIG as well and one of the posters there - 'Kelvin' - came up with a mock home jersey using a similar design, or the new Athletic Bilbao jersey as a template.

http://www.footballkitsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/athletic-bilbao-umbro-home-shirt-2011-12-288x300.jpg

Thought his effort was worth sharing anyway as it drew a generally positive reaction and I notice there's a chap from Umbro Ireland on there so maybe it would influence their thinking for the next design.

http://i54.tinypic.com/11wblnt.jpg

[BonnieShels]

Oh look a sponsor on the shirt. I don't think Its too bad as a third strip. But not as a full blown away.

[Lionel Ritchie]

NNNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooo! Louder than bombs.
Ivory Coast might think it's nice subtle, understated number mind.

As for the black away one -the green hoop device makes it look like a jockeys jersey. If there must be a flash of colour I'd have gone for orange as well.

[DannyInvincible]

Oh look a sponsor on the shirt. I don't think Its too bad as a third strip. But not as a full blown away.

I take it to be a third strip, yeah. As for the sponsor blurb, I don't see the FAI getting rid of it from the replica jerseys any time soon, unfortunately.

[DannyInvincible]

NNNNNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooo! Louder than bombs.

In that case...

http://www.classicfootballshirts.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/0dc2d03fe217f8c83829496872af24a0/i/m/image_22353.jpg

The atomic bomb of football jerseys?

[Lionel Ritchie]

It might just be Danny -what I thought was hilarious at the time of it's release was the FAI/umbro being so straight up in their rationale which basically went "our research tells us chavs tend to like this sort of thing".

Though I think the language used was more colourful -stuff like "strong approval indicators from the burgeoning clubwear market"

[Kingdom]

That is a terrible jersey. It would make a fine polo shirt, but it's a gash jersey. Over on ybig, the umbro fella is the head guy of Toplion sports (John Courtenay) and has helped fellas incl myself get kits minus the sponsor.

He has explicitly said it's not a third kit, but an away kit, so that must mean the white one is defunct. The Bilbao Ireland mock up above is beautiful, but the reverse, white body with green/orange sash would be top class as an away jersey. Umbro dropped the ball there.

[SkStu]

no to both designs here.

The actual one is hideous as Lionel Ritchie said is more like a jockeys jersey.

The other one that was mocked up is a bit horrible. Would be nicer if the white and orange were more pinstriped or piped. Would look better as a white away with green and orange piping.


Ivory Coast might think it's nice subtle, understated number mind.

brilliant!! :D :D

[BonnieShels]

Would an orange sash be advisable as a design motif?

[co. down green]

Another new away kit, absolute joke by Umbro.

[boovidge]

I quite like it but didn't we get a new away kit last year or the year before?

[jbyrne]

I quite like it but didn't we get a new away kit last year or the year before?

last oct / november.
i doubt this is the new away shirt. just a money making 3rd kit that will never be worn

[SwanVsDalton]

Looks like a training top. Pretty uninspiring.

[Yard of Pace]

Do people still care about teams releasing new jerseys "too often". I remember it was an issue when I was a lad because parents were being nagged by their kids to buy the latest ones. But that was club teams mainly, I thought. Does anyone really care if we change our away kit too much?? Surely there's not kids going mad to get the latest Ireland away kits??


For what it's worth, I love that mocked up jersey.

[Fixer82]

In that case...

http://www.classicfootballshirts.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/0dc2d03fe217f8c83829496872af24a0/i/m/image_22353.jpg

The atomic bomb of football jerseys?

Agent Orange

[DannyInvincible]

Over on ybig, the umbro fella is the head guy of Toplion sports (John Courtenay) and has helped fellas incl myself get kits minus the sponsor.

Out of interest, is this a fairly straightforward process for him or does it cause him hassle? Would maybe be interested myself some time. (Although not for this particular jersey, mind.)


He has explicitly said it's not a third kit, but an away kit, so that must mean the white one is defunct.

Difficult to comprehend that given we've only had the white one, which is much nicer anyway, for a matter of months. Not even half a year? Unless by saying it wasn't a "third kit", he meant that it was to be seen as having the same status as the already-existing white one; thus being another "change kit"? That would be pedantic enough, but any time we've had a black or navy away jersey, it's been what fans would consider a third-choice kit.


The Bilbao Ireland mock up above is beautiful, but the reverse, white body with green/orange sash would be top class as an away jersey. Umbro dropped the ball there.

I think it's a lovely design myself. Interesting description you accord to the cross-chest stripe there, mind. ;)

[Kingdom]

Out of interest, is this a fairly straightforward process for him or does it cause him hassle? Would maybe be interested myself some time. (Although not for this particular jersey, mind.)

It's been a case of right time, right place, for anyone who has gone about getting them. It was straightforward enough for me anyway. He's the head man so I suppose what he says goes.


Difficult to comprehend that given we've only had the white one, which is much nicer anyway, for a matter of months. Not even half a year? Unless by saying it wasn't a "third kit", he meant that it was to be seen as having the same status as the already-existing white one; thus being another "change kit"? That would be pedantic enough, but any time we've had a black or navy away jersey, it's been what fans would consider a third-choice kit.

I don't want to link to YBIG, but he has said that it will alternate with the white jersey when the situation fits. Our next game is the North, who Umbro also make jerseys for, wonder is there any chance we'll both be in changed kits. He's taken a bit of flak and rightly so imo. To justify releasing the jersey they're going to have to use it sometime soon, so wonder will they be playing Mexico in June Stateside - that would lead to a changed kit. Either that or they've a friendly lined up with Hungary in August.
The funny thing for me is that the past two "3rds" we've had have been gorgeous - the Navy jersey with white panels circa 2002 was a gorgeous jersey, and the grey we wore against Wales in the Millenium was cracking too.



I think it's a lovely design myself. Interesting description you accord to the cross-chest stripe there, mind. ;)

Well the Umbro blurb says the jersey incorporates our heritage yadda yadda.

[DannyInvincible]

Well the Umbro blurb says the jersey incorporates our heritage yadda yadda.

They missed a beat with the current Dundalk/Canada template.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_fi3NgcLGLh8/TT4tAX0lPaI/AAAAAAAAAhk/mmJDVz3MGaM/s1600/CSA%2BHome%2BKitsmall.jpg

[Yard of Pace]

To justify releasing the jersey they're going to have to use it sometime soon,

.

I don't understand this. Why do they have to justify releasing a jersey?? Why would it matter if they released 10 different away jerseys?

[Lionel Ritchie]

I would imagine YoP that the design and pre-production of these alone has considerable overheads. (Even more so probably when your chosen designer has apparently been blinded by acid and has no arms or right foot.) Hence you don't bring one, much less ten, new ones to market unless there's a reasonable prospect you can flog a few of them.

If as has been alluded by another poster we're about to be playing a slew of teams who commonly wear green -this might even constitute a degree of forethought and planning with which I'd not have normally associated the FAI.

[Crosby87]

I hope they are not planning on wearing Black in Macedonia when it is that hot.

[Fixer82]

I don't want to link to YBIG, but he has said that it will alternate with the white jersey when the situation fits. Our next game is the North, who Umbro also make jerseys for, wonder is there any chance we'll both be in changed kits. He's taken a bit of flak and rightly so imo. To justify releasing the jersey they're going to have to use it sometime soon, so wonder will they be playing Mexico in June Stateside - that would lead to a changed kit. Either that or they've a friendly lined up with Hungary in August.
The funny thing for me is that the past two "3rds" we've had have been gorgeous - the Navy jersey with white panels circa 2002 was a gorgeous jersey, and the grey we wore against Wales in the Millenium was cracking too.




Well the Umbro blurb says the jersey incorporates our heritage yadda yadda.

Don't remember that navy one. Any links?
Didn't like that grey one.

I remember there was a black 3rd jersey about 7 years ago and it was never worn in a game. was really nice. i think it was around Kerr's era

[BonnieShels]

I have the navy one. It was the same template as our wc02 shirt but with white panels under the arms. Very nice shirt. Though I think it was a "training" shirt. I'll get a pic up if I can later if no one can find one online.

If I'm not mistaken the black shirt you speak of is a lot earlier than that. Similar in design to the agent orange shirt from what I remember and sponsored by Opel.

[Yard of Pace]

I would imagine YoP that the design and pre-production of these alone has considerable overheads. (Even more so probably when your chosen designer has apparently been blinded by acid and has no arms or right foot.) Hence you don't bring one, much less ten, new ones to market unless there's a reasonable prospect you can flog a few of them.

If as has been alluded by another poster we're about to be playing a slew of teams who commonly wear green -this might even constitute a degree of forethought and planning with which I'd not have normally associated the FAI.

Does this cost the FAI anything or do Umbro foot the bill? I presumed Umbro do as it's a sponsorship deal. So why does anyone care how much money Umbro spend? It's no different to Umbro bringing out a new Ireland polo-shirt or training top.

[Closed Account 2]

Who plays in green apart from us? If we limit it to teams we might potentially play (i.e. ignoring the Niger, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh national teams) I can only think of Northern Ireland, Mexico, Bolivia, Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon, Saudi, Mali,

Slovenia and Lithuania have bits of (sort of) green, also Senegal and Togo do have green on their away kit. As do Iraq, but it's very hard to envisage us having to use this black kit, maybe if we played Ferecvaros, Hibs or Celtic in a testimonial friendly...

[Lionel Ritchie]

Hmmm -I'm not party to the agreement between Umbro and the FAI but I'd be surprised if the deal allowed the kit manufacturer chuck out what they wanted whenever they wanted. That risks oversupply and brand dilution.

As for pre-production costs -doesn't essentially matter who ultimately foots the bill -just that there IS a bill for each new product and that has to borne in mind before deciding to release such a product to what is a relatively small consumer base ...and that's just pre-production -then you've got to spend more bucks to advertise it...

[Closed Account 2]

I have the navy one. It was the same template as our wc02 shirt but with white panels under the arms. Very nice shirt. Though I think it was a "training" shirt. I'll get a pic up if I can later if no one can find one online.

If I'm not mistaken the black shirt you speak of is a lot earlier than that. Similar in design to the agent orange shirt from what I remember and sponsored by Opel.

There is a black one that was made by umbro in the "Opel" years, must have been circa 1998-2000. It had a proper collar (as in posh shirt collar) and there was a green diamond thing on the v of the collar. The sleeves and rim of the collar had a tiny orange, white and gold trim (like a flag) and the sleeves had a strip of material going down them with umbro logos (like where you would see an adidas three stripes), there was also orange and green trim on this strip down the sleeves. A decent kit, I've still got it but as an XXL is a bit big on me now.

[Junior]

Yeah, I had that one in Malta '99

http://www.classicfootballshirts.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/0dc2d03fe217f8c83829496872af24a0/i/m/image_9687.jpg

[DannyInvincible]

Was this ever worn or was it a training top? It's not the one that was worn against Wales, was it?

http://the-football-shirt.com/images/stories/ireland-09-10-third-umbro-kit.jpg

[Charlie Darwin]

Who plays in green apart from us? If we limit it to teams we might potentially play (i.e. ignoring the Niger, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh national teams) I can only think of Northern Ireland, Mexico, Bolivia, Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon, Saudi, Mali,

Slovenia and Lithuania have bits of (sort of) green, also Senegal and Togo do have green on their away kit. As do Iraq, but it's very hard to envisage us having to use this black kit, maybe if we played Ferecvaros, Hibs or Celtic in a testimonial friendly...
We sometimes wear white against teams that wear blue as well. It's possible one of our players is colour blind, or a player on opposing teams. I don't think it's a question of having to wear the kit - just having the variety.

[DannyInvincible]

This design looks like it would have been part of the batch of kits we had around the 2002 World Cup:

http://www.oldfootballshirts.com/img/shirts/252/thumbs/football_shirt_4755_1_500x400x0.jpg

And this was probably the one that followed it:

http://www.oldfootballshirts.com/img/shirts/252/thumbs/football_shirt_1948_1_500x400x0.jpg

[Closed Account 2]

that top one looks a bit like a spoof (maybe bangkok special) the bottom one was legit and as others have said was more like a training shirt.

[DannyInvincible]

We sometimes wear white against teams that wear blue as well. It's possible one of our players is colour blind

I think two or three of our midfield players are colour blind. At least, I can't come up with any other reason as to why they let the opposition run past them with the ball so often. Har har ha... *wheeze*

[BonnieShels]

that top one looks a bit like a spoof (maybe bangkok special) the bottom one was legit and as others have said was more like a training shirt.

I can confirm as an owner of the top one as well, it is legit.

[tetsujin1979]

I hope they are not planning on wearing Black in Macedonia when it is that hot.
isn't the game at night?

[Crosby87]

Good point.

[Kingdom]

that top one looks a bit like a spoof (maybe bangkok special) the bottom one was legit and as others have said was more like a training shirt.

Top one was legit. It was used in a game too -> actually it could have been one of the friendlies prior to 2002. I can remember a pic of Steven Reid in it.

I had it, a lovely jersey.

[BonnieShels]

Just had a gander in the umbro shop on westmoreland st and I have to say its not as nice in the flesh as in the pictures. There's also another white training shirt in a similar template. We also have a new yellow keepers jersey with black collar a la Ingerland.
And there's another navy training shirt similar to the above-mentioned navy top.

[DannyInvincible]

Just had a gander in the umbro shop on westmoreland st and I have to say its not as nice in the flesh as in the pictures.

Not great to hear, considering the general reaction to the picture has been one of disappointment.

[Kingdom]

Lol, I've just logged on to say the same. Saw it in Heatons, tried it on and can confirm it's gash. It's worse than that, it's so bad.

[BonnieShels]

Lol, I've just logged on to say the same. Saw it in Heatons, tried it on and can confirm it's gash. It's worse than that, it's so bad.

Is say gash is a pretty accurate description.

[Crosby87]

Why do you guys think it is so bad? I dont think it's That bad considering. Solid color on solid color...pretty safe.

[BonnieShels]

You day that now. It's gash in the flesh. God I love Hiberno-English.

[BonnieShels]

And I present to you the new away shirt of the representative team for the Irish Football Association...

http://www.football-shirts.co.uk/fans/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/NorthernIrelandAway.jpg

It's conveniently launching on May 27th... looks like it'll be a White v Black game for the Nations Cup.

[AlaskaFox]

That Northern Irish one is much nicer than our new black yoke.

[Kingdom]

Why the hell could that not be our change kit? That's far superior to ours. Then again, we have a new white jersey 6 months old so no doubt they couldn't have used those colours.

[boovidge]

The IFA home shirt is amazing too. I'm not one of those clamouring for an All Ireland team but in the event of one emerging I'd want to use the IFA logo and kit compared to the current FAI ones.