We Asked a Football Shirt Expert Their Opinion on Huddersfield Town’s 21/22 Kits
Brady Frost, Feature Writer
Twitter: @brady0894
Source for image above: HTAFC
With Huddersfield Town’s new kits for the season released to great fanfare among supporters, we asked Phil Delves, Head of Content at Football Shirt Collective and Presenter for Hummel, for his thoughts on The Terriers’ latest shirts.
We all love a football shirt, don’t we?
Players come and go and kits change every year but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an opinion on players and what they wear for every matchday. Football shirts represent your club just as much as the players on the pitch wearing them do, so if you think player X needs to work on his finishing, chances are you’ll have an opinion on the latest kit release from your team.
Huddersfield Town are no different and fans have been treated to three kits this season to feast their eyes on; the classic blue and white striped number, the new navy away and the third ‘beach glass’ kit.
Social media has brought more pressure to come up with a good announcement for their kit launches, with clubs across the world coming up with innovative ways to showcase their new shirts and The Terriers have focused on the local connection more with each strip this campaign.
The home pays tribute to Huddersfield Town’s 1922 FA Cup-winning side and for the launch, the families of Ernie Islip, Billy Smith, who scored the winning goal in the final, and Clem Stephenson were involved. The navy number was launched as a way of ‘celebrating the heroes of today’, thanking the NHS staff who have worked through the pandemic, with the club inviting a number of NHS staff who have a connection with the club modelling the shirt. Finally, the third kit was launched with a video of local pop band Flawes performing their latest single while modelling the mint green number.
Now that Huddersfield have announced their new shirts for the season, we want to hear what the neutral perspective is around the kit launches and the kits themselves, so we asked Phil Delves, Football Shirt Expert, Freelance Content Creator and Head of Content at Football Shirt Collective for his opinion.
Last season, we asked Phil to rank some of Huddersfield Town’s most famous shirts and give his opinion on last season’s shirts too and he was a big fan of the yellow and purple third shirt, ranking it in his top five. How does he feel about the latest launch?
This home kit pays tribute to Huddersfield Town’s 1922 FA Cup winning side and for the launch, the families of Ernie Islip, Billy Smith, who scored the winning goal in the final, and Clem Stephenson were all involved. Photo source: HTAFC
Q: Hi Phil, thanks for speaking to us again. So, first question. Why do fans get so obsessed with football kit launches?
A: Football shirts are one of those immediate connections we have as fans with our clubs. They act as symbols on the field, in the terraces and as we wear them in our towns and cities, so in that sense, there’s a lot riding on the look of a shirt.
Q: We’ve seen a rise in the interest for retro shirts for several years now, are there any retro Huddersfield Town shirts that are idolised in the collectors’ community?
A: A number of Town shirts are notorious amongst the collecting community! The 1991/92 black and red away is easily the most famous, although other designs like the 1993/94 away and third shirts are often talked about also.
It used to be that people would put these shirts in their “worst of all time” lists, but as tastes change some of these have crept into the “most wanted” category! Except perhaps the ‘93 third, that one is quite tough to stomach.
Q: Huddersfield have recently extended their relationship with Umbro. In your opinion, where do they rank currently compared to other shirt manufacturers?
A: Umbro looked to be challenging the very top of the pile a couple of seasons ago, but now I’d say they’ve settled into a very solid position. I recently ranked them as the 6th best shirt manufacturer, above the likes of Kappa and New Balance. That being said, they’ve done particularly well for Town since coming on board.
The shirt, which is navy with a blue and white trim was launched as a way of ‘celebrating the heroes of today’, thanking the NHS staff who have worked through the pandemic .Photo source: HTAFC
Q: What is your favourite kit of Huddersfield’s three for the season and why?
A: All three of Town’s kits are brilliant this year, but I’m going to go with the third as my pick of the bunch. Something about the colour scheme really stands out; it’s a bold combo but one which Town have pulled off. I liked the way the shirt was launched too.
Q: The home kit pays tribute to Huddersfield Town’s 1922 FA Cup-winning side and for the launch, the families of Ernie Islip, Billy Smith, who scored the winning goal in the final, and Clem Stephenson were all involved. Do you think it’s important to pay tribute to the past when producing new football shirts?
A: Heritage is hugely important, and often the home shirt is the best place to dip into a club’s history. With a team with as rich a history as Town, there’s always something to be nodded to, and Umbro have played to their strengths by touching on something from the past. The way all parties involved the families of the ex-players helped tell the story really well also.
Q: How do you feel they work as a set of shirts, do they complement each other?
A: I’d say this was a textbook set of shirts. There’s not too much of an overlap in terms of colours, and across the home/away/third there is something for everyone. This will be one of the best sets of kits in the Championship, for sure.
Alternative pop band Flawes took part in the kit launch to unveil the ‘Beach Glass’ colour kit but here’s Naby Sarr scoring the equaliser against Derby while wearing it. Photo source: HTAFC
Q: Do any of these shirts have the potential to be future classics in your opinion?
A: Like any shirt, success on the pitch would help solidify the legacy of these designs. If Town manage another magical promotion run, I could certainly see the mint third being looked on as favourably as the bumblebee shirt from 2016/17!
Q: Last year, you ranked Huddersfield Town shirts which included last season’s kits for the season, do you think overall this year’s output is an improvement?
A: Absolutely. I was quite high on the third shirt last year, but the home and away are definite improvements and as a collection, it’s one of the better ones Huddersfield have had in recent times.
Q: Last season, Huddersfield had several shirt sponsors which gave an opportunity to local businesses. This year, Huddersfield have a sponsor for the entire season. In your opinion, do you prefer multiple sponsors from a visual aesthetic or is consistency key?
A: I think consistency is generally a better approach, but there was something to be said for the way charities were involved last season alongside small, local businesses. Of course, the move was made out of necessity, but nonetheless I appreciated the charity inclusions.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
A: Only that I hope to get myself down for a game or two this season!
For more football shirt chat, you can find Phil on Twitter and YouTube.
Twitter: @phildelves
YouTube: Phil’s Corner
For more about football shirts in general and to buy some quality vintage shirts, visit: https://footballshirtcollective.com/
