Stoke City are the first club in the Championship to unveil their strip for the new season even if the design had already been leaked back in February
The contention for Stoke, then, has been the actual design. Supporters, it turns out, have been more prepared to push the envelope than when the experts are left to their own devices.
Everyone and anyone were invited to fan assemblies to give feedback about what main themes they demanded in a Stoke kit. Eventually 12 designs were put forward for consideration, three under each of four categories: retro, popular, fan-designed and Macron-designed.
The result – apparently the clear winner – is Stoke’s most radical departure from tradition since at least 2010/11, when Adidas gave the club an all red back – and reached the FA Cup final. Before that, there were red pinstripes within the white stripes in 1989/90 to give an almost pink effect.
The most controversial was from 1983 to 1985 when Umbro gave Stoke a pinstripe shirt and red shorts and socks that were worn on the way to a disastrous and embarrassing relegation and a 23-year exile from the top flight.
Yet Stoke have still been able to produce replica editions of that strip to sell in the modern era and the 2010/11 shirt has a positive place in the history books thanks to the team that wore it.
So too, the jazzy two-tone purple hooped away strip worn by Lou Macari’s champions in 1992/93. The internet might have exploded in the Potteries had it existed on the day that was unveiled but the subsequent exploits of Mark Stein and Co ensured its continued popularity.
The reaction to this one has been like Marmite and it will definitely stand out in a catalogue of mostly conventional and relatively conservative historical home tops. It will be a cult something or other, probably depending on how Robins’ team does on the pitch.
Stoke might have been helped a little by a soft launch that came via a leak in February. Not many will have been caught totally by surprise when they saw the official photographs this morning.
But it has been eye-opening to see that it has been available to buy on knock-off sites from around the world, to the extent that some fans were wearing unofficial versions to matches at the end of the season.
In a world where clubs are counting every commercial penny, particularly because of Financial Fair Play rules, and where everyone has already seen the major clampdown on venues that show dodgy streams of games, this will no doubt be another battleground.
The response has been particularly lively and it will be interesting to see how it sells and, ultimately, goes down in history – but it is for one season only.
The biggest takeaway has perhaps been that Stoke fans genuinely have a chance to shape the club’s major issues and there is one even more important that is currently up for discussion. A kit is around for a year but a badge will probably be here for the rest of your life.
About 5,000 supporters so far have been actively involved in the crest consultation and concepts will be put forward for further debate in the next few weeks before a final vote later in the summer. There will no doubt be some who will be disappointed by the final outcome but no one can say they weren’t given a chance to have their say and shape what happens.
