Leeds United: Why today’s kit is such a disappointment

@awinehouse1

Leeds is a city with historic ties to the industry of tailoring, with the Montague Burton factory in Leeds considered a city unto itself during its peak of the 1930s. The city’s sizeable Jewish population also had a hand in the tailoring industry, with the industry essentially sustaining the community at certain junctures, with 63% of the male working members of the community employed as tailors in 1901. For a city with such a great past for quality clothing, one of the representatives of the city, Leeds United, should be enrobed in a glorious manner. What has been revealed today is anything but that.

This coming season is the 54th anniversary of the first time we wore an all-white kit, the transition having been made at the hands of Don Revie. Since then, there’s been some spectacular interpretations of a kit and colour that should ooze class, the footballing equivalent of a classy white collared shirt. Below is a picture that symbolises how brilliant it can look:

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In the last few years Macron, an Italian sportswear manufacturer, have taken over the license for Leeds kits, and systematically ruined every design. 2010/11 is the only high point, where a team playing beautiful attacking football had a kit to match:

leeds-united-10-11-macron-home-kit

Today’s announcement is an abomination to the notion of the all-white kit. It would be fine as an AC Milan away kit in 1995, because that’s what it looks like. This is not Leeds United at all. As I said before, it is incredibly easy to design a good Leeds kit – it has to be white, and wearable. It is similarly incredibly easy to ruin one with superfluous additions. It should be basic and simple, and that is always enough.

Today’s kit is the equivalent of racing stripes on a white Mustang. It’s unnecessary, tacky and makes it look like crap. It also speaks for how out of touch whoever makes these decisions is at Leeds with the fanbase at large – how many people will have emailed repeatedly GFH Capital’s email address for suggestions about Leeds, and how massively must these have been ignored to get today’s result.

The response has been incredibly negative, and will likely lead to poorer sales than anticipated. With the club probably requiring funds for a promotion push, this is probably not the reception that was wanted. The sad thing is that clearly the fans could do a better job of telling Macron what is actually wanted than whoever selected this design at Elland Road – in 12 months, we’ll have to go again and hope they get it right next time.

Here are some other favourites:

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Spoughts
Editor

21 thoughts on “Leeds United: Why today’s kit is such a disappointment”

  1. Spot on, go faster stripes on Michael Brown aint foolin anyone. Luckily, as it’s shoddy Macron garbage, it’ll fall apart after the first wash, as do all their atrocious quality clothing

  2. Awful, Blackburn Rovers not Leeds United, I was looking forward to purchasing my new home shirt, my £40 will now be staying in my pocket, all white please the order of the day

  3. I couldn’t care less what the kit looks like, as long as we get promoted; and I’m sure neither would the majority of people who are moaning about it now. Just shows Leeds fans will complain about pretty much anything!

    1. It’s not rubbish about an iconic kit – Leeds are All White. Its symptomatic that other teams have begun to play play in kit that is whiter than Leeds. Its wrong. Leeds Utd are All White – a fooking great blue stripe down t’middle isn’t all white!!!

  4. @Chris & Bluesman. So you two would be happy to see us change our kit to r*d then, like the ‘Bluebirds’, if it meant getting Leeds promoted. You have no sense of history and are embarrassing

  5. If fans are so bothered about the kit representing history then why not go back to our original kit. Blue and white vertical stripes with white shorts. I’m not saying I like the original kit……I do prefer an all white kit with no fancy patterns, but the argument about history doesn’t hold up.

    1. The all-white kit has 50 years of history behind it, surely you know that? We became the club our fans still believe we can be while wearing that kit. Blue tyre tracks do not inspire me.

  6. If you get promoted wearing that kit then all will be forgiven mind. That sherbet lemon monstrosity Newcastle had is one of our favourite away kits in years because we were successful while wearing it. Same with our luminous orange from last season. As it is though, that’s a pretty poor kit

  7. Well said Malta White and for the record we have played in Red in the distant past ! You sad tossers on here all moaning no doubt attend matches in your 1970s Tony Currie replica shirts move on ffs its about time we added some style to the kit ! # MOT

    1. Well said, I’ve even said the same myself bout playing in Red! Oh the Agro pmsl apparently I was full of shyte, then even more so, when I explained as utd we started playing in Huddersfield’s old cast of blue/white stripes & that at one time were very very close to merging with the Dog Botherers! and do you think many would listen?? So its all about history is it? FFS Tell that to John Charles! Let’s worry bout having a decent squad next season first and hope Parkin gets his slice of the Pie with his Saudi backers and Byram and Rosco Stay put! Along with some of the Fantastic youngsters we’ve got! Being a Business man myself the kit WILL sell itself if we play good football! Sounds like the same Gobshyte as when Asics brought in the blue/yellow hoop kit! Seriously lads it’s just another Excuse for Alot of you to bloody Whine, bcos we’re used to doing so! Bates has effectively gone-got new owners a cracking new boss who’s very positive! If you WANT History? Then why not Start a Campaign to get Rid of Club Rapist Ridsdales Good Awful Shield Badge! It might as well be of a blue and yellow fekkin Goldfish! And bring in something along the lines of The Yorkshire Rose background with a reworking of the famous retro smiley foreground with LUFC Script above with YORKSHIRE underneath and under that 1919. And Wipe away the Last Stain of his Cancer on our beloved club! MOT

  8. Correct me if I’m wrong here but didn’t Leeds once play in Red. Back in the day when I was in Baghdad and you lot were still in your dads bag.

  9. I think it’s ok and as Malta said, if history is what you’re talking about then this kit is more akin to the original than all white. Also, like Chris and Bluesman, winning is what counts, not whining …..

  10. As a fan of 50 years standing, I think it’s time to say goodbye to the old days and make a brand new start. After all, Don Revie adopted all white in an, unheard of at the time, attempt to change the psychology of mediocrity around the club. Perhaps it’s time to stop harking back to the Revie & Wilko times and revert to a blue and yellow home kit. Yellow shirt, blue trim. white shorts and blue & yellow hooped socks – fab.Oh yes, and a proper new badge to replace that corporate Ridsdale-esq monstrosity we currently have.

  11. It’s just not good enough. Nothing to do with my pen-name here but the kit for Leeds United FC is ALL WHITE. Is that difficult? It’s All White. No f###’ing blue stripes – just all white with a bit of blue and yellow piping for historical connection. Come on, please! This doesn’t bode well for connecting with the fans….. Scrap it now and come up with an All White kit please?

  12. Leeds had a few stripes across their chest around 1996 and I don’t recall people getting so angry then and the following season we had a very all white kit. The new design looks damned good in my opinion and I will buy it as always and wear it with pride.

  13. Rex – you really have no idea what you’re talking about or the history of our club. Our very first kit was the Huddesfield kit who lent us theirs due to the connection of the then chairman. If you want to forget nearly 60 of the greatest years in our club history or do you want to see us play in Huddesfield colours? Uou are not a true LUAFC fan it is obvious.

    Our kit not only represents us when we are on the field it is also the connection the fan have to the team and more importantly what the opposition see in us, fear in us – How can you fail to understand HOW IMPORTANT OUR COLOURS ARE TO US and the team?

    It really makes me sick to see teams like Bolton and now Tottenham change their kits to better version of our very own colours. There is nothing better than seeing an away team running all over the pitch in all white, golden white God like white. It does not look the same when the kit is embellished with blue or other colours that make us look blue white like the clolour has run in the wash rather than golden white. Why do I have to wish that our colours were as proudly worn as Tottenham wear their colours.

    The last time we had a great kit was when we went back to the LUFC logo. The kit that Tony Yeboah made famous. Do you think he would have looked as good or as fearsome if he was wearing the current kit or some of the god awful kits that we have had to endure i the past. I always hated our kits of the 80’s!

    The next change we need is a change of badge. Personally I would like to see the Owls return as Owls possess huge mystical powers that would help up frighten teams before they even play us. I fear next season teams are ging to ridicule rather than fear our colours

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