You don't mess with classic design. Or so found Puma when they attempted to stamp their mark on the Feyenoord halves. Revealed this week, the 09/10 shirts featured two stripes, forming a V shape on the shoulder area and a collarless neck design. These features appear to not have been greeted by the Feyenoord supporters.
As things stand Puma have stated they will listen to the criticism (mainly in the form of emails and forum posts. So they'll probably read it rather than listen to it) and then come up with something better. Seeing as the kits were revealed six months before there's any chance of anyone wearing them they've got plenty of time. It does make you wonder why they did unveil them so early. Possibly because they knew there would be a backlash and wanted to see if it would be grave enough to require them to re-design, possibly to build interest and anticipation of the release date or maybe, just maybe, the shirt was never going to be used and was always intended to act as a comparison to prove the actual shirt is worth the €60-70 it'll no doubt retail for.
But let's not be so cynical. Instead let's enjoy the victory of the fans over the might of a major sportswear manufacturer. Money generally calls the shots in football and just recently the example of Arsenal losing their white sleeves shows that once a company has paid for the privilege of producing a shirt, that usually means they do what they like. But not always.
The protracted tale of what West Ham United should wear on their shirts recently came to something of a conclusion with pressure from the supporters leading to children's shirts bearing the logo of The Bobby Moore Fund. Being cynical comes naturally to me but that affair can also be seen as an achievement for the ticket (and shirt)-buying public. At the very least, something was done to appease the fans. It wasn't sufficient but it was something.
Supporters venting anger when their club messes with tradition is not a recent phenomenon. In 1992 Wolverhampton Wanderers released a shirt covered in coloured flecks which took emphasis away from the usual black and gold and the fan reaction was so vocal - in a time before web forums and email - that the shirt did not last long. No Wolves kit manufacturer has tried anything similar since. It would be interesting to see if the likes of Nike would dare.
So perhaps the power is shifting. Several teams, most notably Middlesbrough, have recently arranged for several designs by their manufacturer to be chosen from by the fans, the winner becoming the kit for the players to wear and for the supporters to buy. It's not a huge leap for this to become the policy of a Big Four side and it makes commercial sense too. If the kit has been voted for by the fans then, on the whole, it'd be something they're more likely to identify with and wear.
But why stop there? Why not open up everything that goes into the release of a football shirt to the people who actually care. You can research markets all you like, get all the qualifications in fashion and sports design out there but can you really put into a shirt what someone who lives for the team can? Expertise is vital in creating a shirt that achieves both performance and aesthetic success but we have to wonder how major an ingredient are the feelings of the fans. An Anfield flag on the inside of the Liverpool shirt and, to Nike's credit, this seasons's Arsenal away shirt certainly show a finger on the pulse, but could the brands do better?
So we now have a competition to design a Nike kit for Poland. The winning entry won't be the style worn by the players or supporters (as far as we know) but it'll give Nike something to think about when they finalise their own offering. And this is only the beginning. Eventually we may find the kits that our favourite teams are wearing started life, not as a standard template on a drawing board in plush headquarters, but possibly in the head of a fan.
