It cannot be denied that the new kit design for next season looks nice, however it is not the traditional stripes that define us as a football club.

It was the worst secret in the World that Saints would be wearing a kit next season based on the design worn between 1980 and 1985 and I can see why those responsible for kit designs at the club would feel that a kit that harks back to arguably one of the clubs golden ages would have the feel good factor.

I have to admit that it looks good, but the problem for me is that it is not a Saints kit, it wasn't back in 1980 when it was not that popular and it isn't in 2017.

What the kit designers have missed the point on is that when you are trying to create a global brand as Saints clearly are these days, it is about that brand being instantly recognisable, think about it the likes of McDonalds are recognisable wherever you go, it is not because of their corporate colours, it is because of their branding, the look, you can tell a McDonalds from a mile away and that is the same with football shirts.

The top clubs in the World have built their "brand" on their shirts, not their colours, after all there are hundreds of clubs who play in red/white, blue/white etc.

Can you imagine a Celtic shirt that was green and white stripes and not hoops, can you imagine Liverpool playing in red and white stripes or Manchester United in the kit we are going to use this season, I could go on and name dozens of other clubs, yes they would be the same colour designs these clubs have traditionally used but they would not be instantly recognisable.

If you want to create a football club that is seen as one of the top clubs you create a brand, that starts with the kit and takes in history, tradition etc, if you want to create a football club that is seen as a johnny come lately or the new kid on the block then you change the kit design on a regular basis.

Of course red & white stripes is not the sole right of Saints, but when a football fan walks down any street and sees red & white stripes he thinks Saints, Sunderland or Stoke, as I say take a look at the truly big clubs, they have one thing in common, they do not change the design of their kit, look at last season's top seven and there is your proof.

That being the case why are we doing so, Saints have worked hard to make us a global name/brand in recent years, this is not helping that it is hindering it.

Ironically the original kit back in 1980 was not popular, yes it was different, but those were different times with clubs bringing all sorts of weird and wonderful designs out, although as i said take a look at the big clubs kits back then, they did not change much.

Saints fans general view of it was that it did not have stripes in it, the previous kit was not great but it did have stripes, this one was seen as an Ajax kit in reverse, yes it was worn by some of the greatest players the club has ever had in some of the best seasons, but no one liked it.

Given that it was then followed by two kits in four years that again were just not Saints, by 1989 and the emergence of the fanzine movement saw The Ugly Inside launch it's Save Our Stripes campaign, the club listened and for 1989 we had our iconic look back.

But for those that were not there over a decade of appalling kits meant that whilst other clubs were selling replica shirts by the bucketload we were not, even the early 90's did not see an upsurge whereas other clubs were selling them like hot cakes, a trip to most grounds would see replica shirts a plenty with barely a splash here and there at the Dell.

Indeed it took the design of 1995 to change that and guess what it was back to a traditional stripes design.

37 years on and times have changed, I get that, as I say I have to admit it looks good as a football kit, I even like the away kit, however on all levels it is not a Saints shirt just a very nice looking football kit.

If we want our football club to be seen as yet another gimmicky club trying to muscle in on the top ten then it is fine, but if we want Saints to truly be seen as a club with style, tradition, history and class, then we have to act like it and not dress up our players like they are playing for a park team.

Remember the kit five years ago, the all red number with white pin stripes ? well if you do you are in a minority no one else around the country does and that tells us something about poor branding, in two years time this kit will be gone too, forgotten just as the original version was for 32 years, I just hope that whoever is responsible in 2019 remembers that they are custodians of Southampton Football Club, they are here to keep its traditions going and move it forward, not to try and make a brief snazzy point.

Of course I'm sure that it will sell well and that people will say I am wrong because of that, if it's popular then it must be good will be their mantra, well in football form is temporary class is permanent.

On August 16th 1980 when the original kit was used for the first time in a competitive match, against Manchester City at the Dell, a look at the top thirty singles shows that Sheena Easton sold more records than David Bowie, that The Gibson Brothers sold more than Kate Bush, Bob Marley or The Electric Light Orchestra, if that doesn't illustrate the point then perhaps the single sitting at number 30 should do, "You gotta be a hustler if you want to get on" by the long forgotten (possibly by October of that year) Sue Wilkinson ironically on Cheapskate records, the top clubs don't hustle they build their brand and don't keep trying to reinvent it.

Photo: Action Images

wibbersda added 10:55 - Jun 19 Cannot agree. I love it.
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geezershoong1 added 10:57 - Jun 19 Everyone disagrees with you.
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arthurfane added 10:58 - Jun 19 I agree with you on branding - we want to become globally recognisable. Our brand is red and white stripes, so this kit won't enhance the Saints brand. I do however think that it looks great. I will probably buy one, and think Saints will look very smart in it next season. I don't mind the occasional break from stripes every now and then. Want to return to stripes next season though..

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SaintBen added 11:03 - Jun 19 I love them!! I have to disagree, I couldn't think of anything worse that a 'slightly' altered striped kit every year... This is the reason you want to buy the new shirts, because they are so very different to the season before... and you can say to your kids/grand-kids 'Remember that season we won the cup?' 'Oh, was that the year we had the 80's throw-back kit?' YES!! ;-)

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CanavanOfLove added 11:08 - Jun 19 Given your success in the 80's with this kit and the plethora of teams across the world that wear red and white stripes and are bigger brands than the Saints (Atletico Madrid for one) would it not make sense for this design to become your brand? Saints would then be instantly recognisable. It's only really Ajax who use this template and they have their colours the other way round. Strikes me if you are building a brand then this is where you start. A classic kit, synonymous with success and some of the best players you've ever had and something nobody else has.

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SaintNick added 11:36 - Jun 19 Just because a kit is good does not mean it is right for the club, just because someone "Loves it" is not in the equation, I love a black polo top I have, I wear it all the time, but I wouldnt want Saints to play in that colour. The reason people buy shirts isnt because they are different, after all look at the biggest selling shirts in the Premier League Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal & Chelsea, they have all been just variations on the same colour every year, in fact with stripes we do have more opportunity for variation. Yes it would be nice to say about winning the cup in the 80's throwback kit, but realistically we only have about 3 we could recycle, this one, the sash,perhaps the 1976-80 wallpaper stripes then after that all the other kits that arent stripes are either all red ie 1985-87 & 2012/13 or probably copyright of the manufacturer ie the Hummel kit of 87-89 and Pony tick kit of 93-95. I would say a good compromise would be to play in stripes for three years and then every fourth year bring out a retro themed kit

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markey1965 added 11:38 - Jun 19 When we started we weren't red and white stripes. Also the red and white stripe kit the club produced between the adidas saga was very poor in Quality and sizing. If you produce red and white stripes all the time with just a hint of a change with collar or a bit of black trim you will not get the same shirt sales. Sunderland and Stoke there is very little difference Year in year out and if I was a supporter I wouldn't be buying one. So as it's a different design be it a throw back from the 80's I will be purchasing as will my two sons

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redandwhitedee added 11:41 - Jun 19 100% disagree with every paragraph you write about the kit. A shirt, is just a shirt. Its the club behind it that matters. Great decision by whoever it was to come out with this kit. However, the away shirt is indeed a gimmik. I simply cannot understand why Yellow is not favoured by the club. Looks good when away stand filled with banks of yellow-clad supporters/balloons/etc. was the colour worn in 1976, and I always believe yellow makes it easier for wing-backs to pick out their man in the box with a cross. Plus I could wear it out cycling and less likely to get hit by a bus.

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BiscuitSaint added 11:44 - Jun 19 I can't say I'm that bothered by the kit we play in.... as long as the football improves.
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Santos added 11:49 - Jun 19 Agree with you Nick about branding but equally CanavanOfLove totaly agree. This kit and future versions of it would be far more iconic as a brand than the regular stipe worn by many many clubs. I have not bought a home kit for years the last being the sash. Will get this one and whilst were at it can we get rid of the awful badge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Still love the saints though and can't change that!!

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Jesus_02 added 11:49 - Jun 19 The all red kit was an awful cheap unimaginative affair. This is a great kit, on bran, instantly recognisable as Saints and will set us apart from Exeter unlike the Flybe one. The big difference is that no one in the league will have one like it. Hope we can get a manager to match. Oh and regarding branding, if you see a McDonalds that’s not red and yellow you STILL know its and McDonalds… and give it a swerve, because it’s globally recognised for poor quality unhealthy food. PPS - you don't have any stripes on your site

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BigSaintAl added 12:08 - Jun 19 Hi Nick Watched your site for years but only just signed up. I am a Saint up here in Merseyside, with historical links to the club back in the 80's!! I really like the new shirt and is a good throwback to the golden years of the early 80's. The problem with the stripes is that we end up looking like Sunderland and Stoke, which is a bad thing. At least this new shirt is something different and this is one of the benefits the new deal with UA brings the club. Funny how the design lasted for 5 years in the 80's with only the sponsor changing. As for the poor Replica Shirt Sales in the 90's & 00's this was due to a deal being struck with a 3rd party to look after this side of things and we only got a small cut. At least this has changed now and even spotted that Sports Direct are selling our kits. Keep up the good work!

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Supasaint9 added 12:09 - Jun 19 Love It :)
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steve73 added 12:18 - Jun 19 I went to my first game in 83 so in many ways, to me this actually feels like the real Saints kit. Of course I realised fairly quickly that it wasn't the traditional look but it's special for me and I love it 👍
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Cjay80 added 12:21 - Jun 19 Already pre ordered 3. Love it COYS! We are red and white stripes, so there are less stripes this year, it's still stripey. At least it's not the red one with the gold badge that looked so much like Liverpool that loads of our players got confused and started playing for them instead!
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davej added 12:31 - Jun 19 We are red and white stripes full stop
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wibbersda added 12:41 - Jun 19 Saint Nick, The reason the biggest selling shirts in the Premier League are Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal & Chelsea, are because they have had years of success. Win things and Shirt sales follow.
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mgprobert added 12:47 - Jun 19 I liked it then, and like it now. Better than last year's effort. Only problem is the advertising logos all over it, but were not going to change that are we?!
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BoondockSaint added 13:54 - Jun 19 It's OK, but like stripes better----hate logos on the front of any shirt----but that's not going to change. Absolutely hate the away shirt!! What is it with teams wearing colors that have nothing to do with them?? Amazed that ManU wears blue, would Celtic wear blue? And as last year, the shirt suppliers are giving loads of teams green away shirts when it has nothing to do with the team identity. Teams should decide what colours, etc, not the supplier. I don't care what the deal is, there is plenty of competitors who will do what the team wants to get the contract. Teams just have to stand up for themselves and their history.

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arthurfane added 14:20 - Jun 19 Boondock - it's a negative of our red and white striped home shirt so it does have a little bit to do with Saints. I think it's rather clever actually..
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SaintBrock added 14:43 - Jun 19 Shirt sales are the be-all and end-all of the game now, gone are the glorious 60' s when we played in stripes every season and nobody would have had it differently. Never saw Terry in anything else and we didn't want to. Nobody bought shirts and if you were lucky enough to win one, all your dreams and wishes had come true. Players didn't chuck their shirts into the crowd in those days, the club couldn't afford it and one set of kit had to last the season. I didn't like the "Keegan" kit and I don't like this chinese copy of it either but we are stuck with it albeit thankfully for only one year. Not bothered with the away kit as I never travel to see it. Even less incentive for me to trundle up to SMS this season, no ST and an unrecognisable kit!

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ItchenNorth added 18:52 - Jun 19 This is about identity, its stepping away from the common old red and white stripes that are seen up and down the country at many a club. This kit or the Sash should be our kit from now on. Let's create an identity. Ok the Sash is not wholly unique, but as a home kit in England, it pretty much is. I suppose it depends when you first started watching Saints though. For me, in 1980 as a kid, I didn't even know or see us play in a striped kit for the first 9 years. When it arrived, I thought, Christ, why do we now look like a deck chairs​ !!!

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bstokesaint added 12:57 - Jun 20 Sorry Nick, I have to totally disagree with you. This home shirt will definitely sell more. It’ll be the first time in a few seasons that I buy one for me and my two lads. I love the way we recycle shirts (you can save the Pony one from that) and I can’t be getting too precious about a million different takes of red and white stripes. The only disappointment for me, as smart as it is, is that the away kit is not yellow. I love being “Yelllloowwwwws!” In saying that I’ll probably buy that one too..

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LoisDeem added 17:00 - Jun 20 Agree Nick Don't like it, won't be buying it. Did you know, you can't buy a striped shirt at all in the Saints shop these days -and that's wrong! The 'original' design was an accident from the tasteless era that happened to coincide with our successful period. Don't like all this 'continentale' simulation, even if it does remind me of the chip on shoulder krap nottarf coin throwing deliverance.

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