Celtic have been wearing hoops on their home shirts since as far back as 1904. While the shade of green might shift slightly from time to time, or there may be a faint pattern woven into the hoops, the core design remains instantly recognisable around the world.
Newcastle have stuck with black and white stripes since 1894. The width of the stripes has varied, and the trim has seen changes over the years, but the overall look has stayed the same.
Now compare that to us.
Is the message here that our home kit doesn’t really have an identity of its own beyond the colour palette? From a branding perspective, the approach we take is baffling. We’ve got a distinctive colour combination, yet we’ve never settled on a consistent design to anchor it.
There’s nothing wrong with tweaking the details (a different collar, a shift in trim, even the size or placement of a central band), but let’s not kid ourselves. Clubs like Celtic and Newcastle have a look that’s unmistakably theirs.
We don’t.