Everton's fans have this week led the way in a power shift which could have huge repercussions across the whole of football, certainly in England. When presented with a new club crest, supposedly created via consultation with a fan sample focus group, the immediate backlash from Evertonians morphed into a quickly populated petition against the move. Accordingly, the new crest will be reevaluated before the 2014-15 season, perhaps being scrapped altogether after just one year.
The complaints concerned the new crest's drastic transformation of the depiction of Prince Rupert's Tower, the removal of the laurel wreaths, the general simplification - or "dumbing down" - of the crest as a whole and, most controversial, the removal of the Latin motto "Nil Satis Nisi Optimum" (nothing but the best is good enough). The truth is, Prince Rupert's Tower is the most accurate rendering of the famous Everton Brow-located building - if a little cartoony - simplification of the crest is widely accepted as a requirement for consistent and cohesive branding and marketing across various media and the Latin motto, well, we're not really sure why the graphic designers got rid of that.
And it's irrelevant. The point isn't about whether or not Everton FC have a lovely new crest, or whether or not it will deliver the best merchandising sales figures the club has ever seen. The point is that the fans were not considered adequately. If they had then the crest would not look how it looks. They may be wrong about the Tower's appearance, on a factual level and from a commercial standpoint, but it's how they feel, and to dress up the change as "evolution" is an insult to intelligence. The motto may be outdated, jarring in a 21st century which has delivered no silverware for Everton, but the fans love it, and for that reason it should not have been removed.
So the fans rebelled and the club has fawningly apologised, promising a rethink if, pertinently, feelings are so strong in a year's time.
This isn't the only example of supporters standing up for their position as club stakeholders. They have a vested interest, a love and connection which goes beyond the pragmatism of the commercial executives infiltrating a once working class sport. Middlesbrough's fans were unhappy that their club sponsor, Ramsdens, was able to display its logo on their shirt in its coloured form so, after making their club aware of their feelings, on next season's shirt it will be presented in understated white.
And this, for the cynics, is a PR masterstroke. My favourite piece of writing from recent months on this subject comes from Celtic Quick News, which seems to support the notion that a sponsor's logo can actually become virtually invisible after one season in its brash and obtrusive form. Shrink, lighten, camouflage or entirely remove, as a public gesture towards the club, fans or the sartorial, and suddenly you're the good guys and being talked about more than ever before.
A more difficult argument is that of Bolton Wanderers' fans, desperate to block the adoption of a payday loan company's logo on their kit. Instead of a particular issue with the logo - which, it must be said, would ruin most shirts - the problem is of a moral regard. The association is sickening to the supporters and the threat is of shirt sales being adversely affected, not to mention Bolton's good name.
Even Cardiff City's fans have forced a U-turn over a bizarre choice of clashing shorts to go with their new shirt. Unable - or unwilling - to block the switch from blue to red shirts a year ago they have now won this far more minor battle and have voted on what should be carried instead. A true victory or consolatory crumbs being dropped? Perhaps somewhere in between.
It almost doesn't matter if the fans win or if the club skillfully turns a negative into a positive. In effect, and in this context, the two are synonymous, regardless of who takes the lead. The crux is that fans, for as long as they pay for tickets, for shirts, for alarm clocks and club pyjamas, and for as long as anger can be typed onto a forum or trend on Twitter, will always have the fortunes of their club in their hands and are at its heart. This should never be forgotten and the extent of the fanbase's power never underestimated - by the supporters themselves.
The Everton fan responsible for the petition eventually conceded that it was too late to block the use of the crest in 2013-14, but should he have relented? We watch the Bolton case unfolding with a keen eye, and hope that a patronising disregard of a supporter base's take on their club's visual identity becomes a thing of the past.
Update - 2/6/13: This article was written as a response to and expansion on the issues discussed in The Football Attic's podcast on team badges - definitely worth a listen!
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