Now I have to say I quite like the design and colour scheme for the new Saints 3rd kit, however I am a little confused by the accompanying PR blurb that suggests it harks back to our connections with aviation & the RAF.
The new 3rd kit should be an essential buy for anyone who is concerned about the escalating conflicts around the world, its dark green pattern could almost be described as camouflage in it's design and certainly would be a lot better to wear when hiding in a hedge from enemy troops than either the home kit or the 2nd kit, although perhaps the latter would be useful if being chased down the Solent by an enemy submarine.
The dark green and black shirt features a subtle detail design, taking reference from propeller blades, launched again under the campaign, Bold is Brave.
The shirt also features four stripes on either side of the shirt, in yellow, white, red and blue, apparently taking inspiration from the RAF Roundel.
The kit is matched with dark green shorts and green and black socks, while the socks also feature the four stripes inspired by the RAF Roundel.
I have to say I find the colour scheme quite fetching and although I am a traditionalist with the home kit in that the most iconic clubs are the ones that see the value of their traditions and that includes shirt design, I do accept that with the 2nd and 3rd team kits you have to let the shirt designers have a bit of fun.
The club's Director of Marketing & Partnerships Sarah Batters had this to say:
"We’re delighted to launch our third kit, with this shirt, we wanted to give a nod to our city’s connections to the RAF. Working with hummel has allowed us to be creative and celebrate that in the design of the shirt”
Now I like most people in this City know the history of the Spitfire from World War 2, that is was designed and tested locally by RJ Mitchell and was also in mass production at Supermarine's factory in Woolston, just across the River Itchen barely half a mile away from St Mary's Stadium itself. But the factory and much of it's surrounding area then called Itchen Ferry was flattened by German Bombing raids and from then on most of the production was dispersed to other sites so that it was not in one place.
But although we have connections to the Spitfire, that plane was designed and built by Supermarine a private company independent of the RAF, we have little connection to the RAF as a city, the nearest operational RAF base in World War 2 would have been at Stoney Cross in the New Forest around 12 miles from Southampton itself and from this respect.
So like the waves on the 2nd team shirt representing the Solent a body of water likewise 12 miles away, it is not really a local connection.
I am all for our football club engaging with the City it stands in and recognising it's culture and history, but let's do so using what we have such as our rich shipping connections, or vibrant ethnic communities and our medieval city walls to name but a few, or even celebrating the Father of Brazilian football Charles William Miller who was schooled in Southampton by perhaps having a 2nd kit based on the Brazillian national side, something we can genuinely be proud of, rather than using tenuous links that don't really have any relevance.
Sadly the launch of all three kits this season have been accompanied by pr campaigns that seem to indicate that either hummel or our own marketing department, indeed perhaps both have done little research before launching these kits, they have tried to build a story around the design, rather than the other way round.