We salute... Great Kits

In our series saluting the overlooked elements that make up the game we love, the lads take time to pay tribute to some of the finest kits that grace football fields.

Turls:

Blackpool

The Tangerines are just that... Tangerine. Their glorious orange shirts beam out across the bleak northern wasteland like a lighthouse.

They guide fans to Bloomfield Road on dark, dreary nights. It stands out amongst all other Football League teams and I'm a big fan of originality.

As long as the Tangerines stay in the Football League, I will forever hold out hope for a better future.


Bristol Rovers

I like the quarters. It's simple yet groundbreaking and difficult to get right - look at Liverpool's away kits in the 1990s.

Blue and white are two basic football colours, yet they make them look so fresh by throwing them into quarters. Genius!





Crystal Palace

Let's get this clear - I don't like Crystal Palace, not one bit. However, their home shirt is a joy. Beautifully coloured and crafted it brings new meaning to a team in stripes.

Sure they could have gone for the conventional black/blue/red and white but they clearly wanted to be bold and pioneering.

Some say that they paved the way for anti-racists because they believed that you didn't have to be have white on the shirt.


Lakes:

Sheffield Wednesday

I don't generally go for the stripes, but I think Wednesday have got it spot-on with their blue and white effort. It's traditional and has a real 'football' feel to it.

You'd recognise it anywhere, and it's far classier than United's red and white duplicate in my opinion.







Plymouth Argyle

British racing green. It looks obscene on fat players, but get a svelte winger speeding down the touchline and for a moment you could imagine it was actually a racing car cuttiing through the wind resistance and demolishing a lap time.

Or I just like the colour.





Cambridge United

I'm not a big fan of the diagonal black they've got going this season, but the amber colour of the kit is different enough without being garish.

Nobes's probably furiously bashing something against his monitor in anger that I've not suggested Boston by the same logic, but I'm afraid I'm more interested in kits that belong to non-cheating clubs.



Nobes:

Carlisle United (2007-2009)

I always think Carlisle do smart shirts, as blue with white and red trim always looks good - think France.

However, their effort from last season was so snazzy and original that I have to include it. The wavy splash of red and white continuing from the shirt down onto the shorts is so different.

They're famous for their 'Deckchair' away strip but, for me, this was how to make a home kit of the same colours as ever really stand out from other efforts.


Shrewsbury Town (2005-2007)

Salop have one of the original colour schemes in the division - blue and amber - not yellow - but amber.

Sometimes that's been in the form of stripes, sometimes just a little bit of amber has been present. This particular Ajax-style kit of a big amber stripe in the middle was particularly stylish though.

They've started introducing a bit of white in their recent kits, but that looks dreadful. Stick to what you know, Shrewsbury!

Northampton Town

The Cobblers are another team who've tried to do something a bit different with their kit this season. It's the sort of thing that splits fans, but I like to see it tried.

Their kit this season is a great way to mix their traditional claret with black and white trimming. It's bold, it's out-there, it's stylish and modern. If only more clubs followed Northampton's lead.





Great kits... Soccer AM/MW salutes you!