Something I touched on recently in The Second Best Titled Blog Article Ever™ (I'm, naturally, also responsible for the best) that deserves expanding on is the yin to the rise of the baselayer's glorious yang - the demise of long-sleeved football shirts.

As wrapped up as I've been in celebrating the - as yet not entirely tapped - possibilities of undergarments, I've perhaps negected to pay true tribute to the mainstay of football through the ages, which is now seriously under threat.

The long-sleeved shirt was, in what we'll call 'my day', the standard form of football shirt in every level below professional.  Coupled with a size label with at least one X, it meant cuffs to grip onto on a wet Sunday morning and, due to its roomy shielding of puny forearms, one less complex to deal with on the pitch.  As well as the only option in early nineties l'Olympique de Marseille shirts, it also provided the most sought after replica for Liverpool and Celtic - a thirst that was rarely quenched.

Things have changed.  Continental (please forgive the retro phraseology) long-sleeved shirts are as tricky to locate as their UK cousins and teamwear is now regularly available and acquired in short-sleeved variations.  In the Premier League, where once players would be the envy of the fan by having options when it came to sleeve length, it now appears that less is more (it's what one does with it that counts) and relative dinosaurs such as the finally declining David Beckham represent the luddites wearing their hearts below the elbow.

This seems more calculated than simple organic progress.  I asserted that fans do wear baselayers but perhaps I'm playing directly into the hands of the club(shop)s and manufacturers by feeling this way.  If the club-specific baselayers being alluded to by Everton and Hull City are the way forward then the sums are quite simple; if a short-sleeved shirt retails at £50 and a baselayer at £25 then this combined purchase - markup allowing - trumps a long-sleeved shirt's potential £60 - especially if the club shop consistently 'runs out' of the last item.

But what cannot be replaced is the satisfying - often, literally, seamless - continuity of a full length sleeve.  Which may be why that appears to be consigned to the dustbin of history.  adidas stripes have long been broken on the sleeve (elaborating on the reasons for that decision may be an article for the future) and this season's Manchester City away shirt, in long-sleeved form, is little more than the short-sleeved version with black extensions tacked on beneath the hem.  Yes, the upper part actually flaps over the lower section.  Remind anyone of anything?

The new France away kit was unveiled almost inferring a necessity for it to be worn with a baselayer, despite the exaggerated cuffs which once signaled the break between fabric and skin.  Its Gaultier-inspired predecessor was so seldom obtainable in long-sleeved that it provided a cruel false dawn for Gallic onion, baguette and bicycle sellers heralding a seemingly inevitable boost in revenue; perhaps its use of hoops sitting uneasily with a plain undershirt signed its death warrant.  Equally it seems improbable that the next Arsenal shirt, if leaked images are to be believed, will relocate its substantial cuffs between the versions.  The future seems to be a world of long-sleeved shirts, should they survive, being almost indistinguishable from a short-sleeve/baselayer combination.

I'm still to be challenged on the theory that Manchester United do not have long-sleeved Home and Away shirts this season - certainly in player issue form - and what the big boys do the rest generally follow.  I have no problem with myths about long-sleeved shirts keeping us warm being exploded and the cliché of scoffing at a footballer combining gloves with short sleeves is ignorant in the extreme, but, as much as I love the baselayer and relish its future, the long-sleeved football shirt and the timeless design it encompasses will undoubtedly be missed, should it indeed prove to be doomed.

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At last, Team GB has its kit for the 2012 Olympic Games.  And, sure enough, it's controversial.

To many the launch of the football kit - which I'll focus on for the sake of brevity - comes as a surprise.  Not to me, not to Football Shirt Culture regulars and I'd guess not to many of the modest number that read this blog, but plenty assumed that the kit released last year, when the storm over the other 'Home' nations reluctance to release players for the tournament was at its peak, was the playing wear for the Games.  It was, in fact, absolutely shameless opportunism from various marketing entities - particularly demonstrated by the prococative use of Welshman Gareth Bale in publicity shots - but sadly plenty fell for it and didn't realise that its labelling of "Supporters Kit" meant that it would never feature on the pitch.  Part of me died inside every time I overheard someone in the street exclaim something along the lines of "I'm gonna get that Team GB kit!  It's well nice!"

It wasn't the Team GB kit, and it wasn't well nice.

It was cheap, tacky and dated.  Three things that could never be levelled at Stella McCartney's wonderful creation for adidas.  I speak as someone who has designed a relatively well-received Team GB shirt which featured on the talkSPORT website, but I bow down to Ms McCartney's disregard of templates, conformity and any clamour for a more literal representation of the Union Jack.

Because, as you may have heard, despite the main graphic on the shirt being a stylised version of the British flag, there is a lot of blue - various shades - and not as much red.  This means the crosses of St George and St Patrick are portrayed using alternate sections of the spectrum or, for some, entirely misrepresented.

And it works.  It works brilliantly and the elephant in the room is that the Union Jack - or Union Flag, to give it its proper name - could never have been used in its traditional form.  This is the first Olympics for decades that will feature a British football team and replica football shirt sales - for every nation - will dwarf anything that has gone before.  To join the dots for you, the right-wing morons that abandoned their devotion to England shirts when Umbro released the Hoxton-friendly "pink crosses" design after the South African World Cup fiasco have been after something to fill the void ever since.  They may not have plumped for a TECHFIT PowerWEB version but a Climacool red white and blue Great Britain shirt would have been just the ticket for an English Defence League march.

The Union Jack is crude.  Whatever debates people have over imperialist pasts the fact remains that in 2012 the Union Jack evokes images of the worst examples of nationalism veering into racism.  We may not have the public opinion to remove it as the national flag - certainly not when so many continue to bellow an equally offensive anthem - but in the hands of the fashion world's glitterati it was never going to be anything other than toned down, especially once McCartney's mind was made up that the angular structure would be the focal point of the shirt.  Therein lies the secret to its success.  Even if anyone still needs to satisfy their ereuthophilia, and can't wait for the likely all-red away kit, then combining the shirt with a Tyrone Gaagle baselayer from GAA specialists O'Neills would work a treat.  That'll stick it to 'em.

The alternative approach would have been to follow Umbro's lead in using the colour scheme but not the geometry, as featured in the quite open nod to the ikurrin displayed on everyone's latest favourite shirt, the Athletic Bilbao away.  Schitzophrenic Umbro are somewhat more coy about admitting any similarities between the Rangers away shirt and the Union Jack, which is surprising after they seemingly had no issue with putting their double diamond on an orange Linfield shirt,  

For me, McCartney rightly ignored the Umbro twist and instead used the tradition of the flag in such a brilliantly measured way - taking the right risks - that the shirt will be lauded in due course.  If the Daily Mail has a problem with it, compounded with its issues concerning naturalised and dual-nationality athletes taking prominent positions for Britain at the Games, then it merely acts as an endorsement of the delight which has met the launch.

Apologies to anyone who is offended by my timekeeping.  The navy England away shirt has been out for nearly a year and only now am I going to review it.  I do have excuses but they're wafer-thin so I'll get on with the business in hand.

As late as it is, it may actually be an ideal time to read about the pros and cons of the current England away shirt.  There's a tournament coming - generally the point at which there is a spike in shirt sales - and England, despite my claims that they would wear Nike and/or a red away at Euro 2012, will be packing this model for their journey to Eastern Europe.  So as I have a review example, probably the last one I'll receive, let's make the most of it.

First a little background.  The shirt was launched by way of British boxer David Haye carrying it on his back prior to being completely outclassed by Wladimir Klitschko in his world title unification bout.  Not an auspicious start from the marketing perspective and it got worse still when Haye blamed his defeat on a broken toe.  After the lauded Tom Meighan-assisted unveiling of the previous away shirt there was method in the madness, but it backfired spectacularly.

The Kasabian stunt was also more accurately reprised with the assistance of dance music act Chase & Status (me neither) but the damage was done.  The England shirt would have to do its talking on the pitch.

The tragedy is it needn't have been this way.  The latest concoction from the Tailored By conveyor belt actually had a back story, and probably the best yet.  Instead of relying on erring boxers and disc spinning hat wearers (is there no end to C&S's talents?), Umbro could possibly have made more of the fact that the colour scheme which, as would pass, so many baulked at, had origins in the traditional appearance cap given to every player turning out for the national side.  When I was later educated with this further information, David Haye and the apparent musical geniuses disappeared in a puff of smoke, to be replaced with comforting nostalgia.

And if we view the shirt from this perspective it fares well.  It's not red, but red has been done to death and, whilst I maintain that the brand new goalkeeper shirt may well have originally been designed as an away - and I'm not ruling out it being promoted to that (Chase-less) status by way of public opinion and Derren Brown-esque mind control from Umbro - it's actually a relief to not have to compare an England change shirt to one worn 46 years ago.  This shirt is unashamedly navy and it should be commended for its arrogance.

It's also unspectacular.  Like the first Tailored By home shirt in '09, it's simple and for all the history and fanfare surrounding its release the most positive attribute is its understatedness.  As a design piece it is measured and restrained.

From a tailoring perspective it may be the best yet.  The shape and cut stick to the principles of the '09 home but now the chest/shoulder stitching details are more flattering and pronounced.  As Umbro are always very keen to emphasise, this isn't a skin-tight shirt but more than ever before, sorry Kitbag, it is a shirt that must be tried on.  Get it in the right size and it will flatter most of us, get it in the wrong size and it will be unforgiving or, if worn oversized, will defeat the purpose and descend into pointless polo shirtery.

That last comparison is, like its 2009-2010 home equivalent, the shirt's biggest failing.  As a replica shirt it's not quite enough.  Wayne Rooney looks fantastic kicking opponents in it because he accessorises with UEFA patches, his number on his chest and match-specific scroll below the crest.  For the average fan these details will be missing and, even allowing for the now noticeably high profile Umbro logo, it needs something a little extra. Three years ago I suggested a pink t-shirt under the home shirt, now my fondness is with baselayers and I urge the sartorially discerning to use one in the collar's paler blue as a complement.  It wouldn't be allowed on the pitch but, for once, the fan has an advantage over the player.

So nice cut, nice collar - though why it has no top button in this age of Micky Flanagan's w*nker/a*sehole is beyond me - and it is the last, to date, England shirt with what we will call a proper crest.

Yes, another advantage of reviewing the away shirt so late on is that I can compare it to the more recent release(s).  For me it is an absolute tragedy that Umbro have elected to eschew the greatest thing that their Tailored By range brought to the table, an England crest perfectly coloured and embroidered in all its three-lioned and crown and 'England' legend-less glory.

As a quick contrast, the England away shirt is based on a bastion of tradition and features the definitive crest, whilst the new England home kit is white with three-tone red details, save for the crest which is in just the one shade, and a collar that pops to reveal more three-tone red details.  The new home kit also features white shorts and, due to its simplified crest, the shirt cannot even be paired with the enduring navy change away shorts, which may have been a popular concession to the wallet and history.  Instead we look forward to a change pair in red #3.  Oh joy.

All in all the England away shirt is a masterpiece for the inventive.  You may have to work to see it in its full glory but as a creation it avoids being run through by the double-edged sword of design for design's sake.

Being all things to all men is a tricky balancing act for Umbro - a recent request for ideas on the direction of future shirts on a popular kit design forum was met with comment #1 "...stop making the shirts too simple." swiftly followed by comment #2 "A simple plain white shirt." - but taking pride in inspiring the quite brilliant new Nike ranges such as the risky France designs is not adequate if your own latest offering implies your most pressing current concern is determining which episode of Nathan Barley you inhabit.

Congratulations, Umbro.  The Tailored By range has been a wonderful breath of fresh air which has revolutionised kit design and, although it doesn't shout it from the rooftops, the current away/third-shirt-in-waiting is one of its finest purveyors.  Let's just hope time doesn't reveal it to be the zenith before the shark was jumped.

England have a new kit. For the fifth time in three years the Three Lions are mounted on a brand, spanking new outfield design.

And this time they're red.

The totally unauthorised leak/bizarre left-field Umbro-managed launch of the home and "goalkeeper" kit (more of which later) by supposed twitter legend Joey Barton (and subsequent drip-feeding on the manufacturer's facebook page) shows the crest, as intricate as the last two incarnations, now dispenses with the spectrum of tradition and instead goes with a single coloured tonal approach. We've seen the limited edition tonal range of previous releases but this is a first - in the modern era at least - for the playing wear.

Over the last few days we've become aware of what the FC Barcelona shirts for 2012-13 will look like.  Despite the Spanish media having form in getting this oh so wrong it seems this time they've nailed it.

The designs for the new Barça kits will again prove controversial, with a home shirt looking like a PSG number minus that nauseating white and through short-sighted eyes, and an orange away (they never go without that for more than a year) gradually lightening lower down.  But, let's face it, they're called the Blaugrana but that doesn't mean they have to wear stripes. Halves and diagonal halves (ish) have been seen over recent years - nodding to early kits - and coupled with their random rotating of blue and red shorts they're almost Bayern Munich-like in their approach to home colours.

A greater controversy is surely the adoption of not one but two sponsors as of this season.  From a side which never wanted to distract attention from their famous colours whatsoever, they became the first side in the Champions League to carry an extra name on the lower back of their shirts - swiftly followed by the opportunistic Chelsea.  Yes, Unicef is a charitable organisation - as is, we're told, The Qatar Foundation, which now holds pride of place on the front - but both made it onto the shirt by way of commercial decision by the club, and a decision that has brought in both millions of euros and oodles of positive PR.

So yes, the club now puts sponsors on the shirt.  This is partly to finally bite the bullet and realise if they want to purchase Europe's best talent they will need to start offering real money, but generally speaking it'a just Barça catching up with a trend they should really be at the forefront of.  Still the question is begged, if the club is now so commercially savvy, why they make errors such as accompanying the section of their website that sells last season's away kit with images of Gerard Pique and Leo Messi wearing the mint green shirt in its 2011-12 third kit form with Qatar Foundation sponsor (not on sale) along with the player issue green change shorts (again, not on sale).

No, Barça are still relatively new to this money-making lark, which is why Nike are allowed so much freedom of expression in their kit designs.  Yes, the old cliché of it being difficult to do much with stripes (and hoops - though next season's 125th anniversary Celtic shirt should blow that theory out of the water) will be oft-quoted and given as an excuse to dispense with them altogether, albeit temporarily, but strip a club of its traditions and it becomes less marketable immediately and the directors at the Camp Nou should be mindful of this.

Granted, the most important thing is on-field success, which Barça have consistently, but even then the shirt design has had the potential to hinder this through manufacturing oversights.  If the shirt's literally weighing heavy perhaps it's worth considering this to be an unsubtle message that a little too much is going on and, regarding sponsors, has been added on to one of the most iconic football kits of all time.