Republik Of Mancunia

TOP 5: Manchester United shirts
Ryan Giggs: Number 11 shirt won’t be retired
Adidas Kit Deal Confirmed

Posted: 14 Jul 2014 10:03 AM PDT

5. 1892, Newton Heath home shirt – a green and gold classic

Not so much "Green and Gold till the club is sold", more "Green and Gold and really old", United’s kit before we were United was a thing of beauty. Two panels, one yellow, one green, with the yellow intruding onto the green around the neckline. Long sleeves of green and yellow. And the coup de grace of this achievement in fashion, fantastic laces which were honoured by the laces kit of the 90s.

Of course it’s got some problems. There’s a slight court jester quality to it. The cuffs on the sleeves are a little "cotton traders" and presumably trying to get people to run in whatever that shirt was made of would be a big ask, but it’s a remarkably modern looking kit for something that’s over 100 years old.

Everything old is new again, and the Newton Heath kit is both historic and beautiful.

4. 1993-1995 Manchester United Away Shirt – The "Sharp Viewcam" shirt

Man, I wanted a Sharp Viewcam. For those of you under a certain age, it might be hard to conceive of the sheer technological marvel that a hand-held video camera with a flip out screen appeared to be. Nowadays the kids with their fancy phones can all take videos at the drop of a hat but in my day the Sharp Viewcam was something else.

The kit itself is fantastic. Gone are the laces, but that big collar remains. The badge is surrounded by a shield stitched in gold thread. It is a kit that instantly calls to mind Eric, who looked terrific in black.

The gold trim and lettering offsets the black perfectly, and felt like an appropriate colour choice as we began the era of dominance that would follow. United winning the league felt as unexpected and modern as those amazing cameras.

3. 1986-1988 Manchester United Home Shirt – Bryan Robson looking "Sharp"

It’s never felt quite the same since Sharp stopped sponsoring us. With the monstrosity that is the Chevrolet logo adorning the 2014/15 kit (thanks for all that money, but did it really have to be that big?), I’ve been thinking about why.

Ultimately I think it’s that "sharp" is an adjective, and a positive one at that. "Looking sharp today". And from 1986 to 1988 we really did look sharp.

The kit is red with black, red and white Adidas stripe trim. The badge is where it should be, by the heart for maximum sentimentality. The sponsor is unobtrusive, and there’s an excellent 80s sheen to the pattern of the print.

Worn with shorts that seemed a totally normal length to people that grew up with them but now look essentially obscene, it was nonetheless a great shirt, worn in those early Fergie years as we tried to find our feet. Honourable mention to the dark blue third kit of the same era.

2. 1964-1971 Manchester United Home Shirt – A Shirt Fit For A Holy Trinity

Red. Long sleeves. White hoop collar. White cuffs. And, erm, that’s it.

But, of course that’s not it at all. It is a completely iconic kit, representing a completely iconic era. I’m sure if I was 20 years older this would be my number one. If the kit that is number one is "Cantona" then this kit is George Best. This kit is Bobby Charlton. This kit is Denis Law. This kit is Sir Matt Busby finding reserves of courage that are almost unimaginable to build a team out of the ashes of tragedy.

This kit is Manchester United.

1. 1992-93 and 1993-94 Manchester United home shirts – Eric.

I can’t chose between them and it felt ridiculous to have them both on the list as separate entries since they are from the exact same era and have so much in common.

The 92/93 kit would probably very, very slightly edge it if I had a gun to my head, as those laces are so stylish, but the smart black collar of the following season also looked terrific. There is a slightly garish quality to the pattern of the earlier shirt—the background printing of Old Trafford in the 93/94 model is is a lovely rendition of Old Trafford.

Other truly great players played in these kits, all time greats of the club like Denis Irwin and Roy Keane, but the player they represent above all others is Eric Cantona. He made them look like they had been tailored to his exact specifications. You can imagine him talking to an Umbro rep."If I am to be at my best, I need a collar I can turn up. Trust me on this."

The other thing that is associated with these kits is success, as United won the league in both 1992/3 and 1993/4.

And they looked really, really good doing it.

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Ryan Giggs: Number 11 shirt won’t be retired

Posted: 14 Jul 2014 04:33 AM PDT

With Ryan Giggs retiring from playing and becoming Manchester United’s assistant manager, our legend has insisted he wouldn’t want his famous number 11 shirt to be retired.

“No,” he replied. “There are obviously special cases but it just depends on the club really. I don’t think it’s [right] for United where they constantly churn over great players. I haven’t thought about who will take over the number 11 shirt – that’s a good question. They’re under pressure, aren’t they?!” he joked, before adding: “I look forward to seeing who takes it and wish them all the best.”

The number 11 shirt isn’t the only one Giggs has worn though.

“I wore number seven for a few games, when the shirts were just numbered one to 11. But 11 was usually worn by the left winger so it really just happened [that I kept it when squad numbers were introduced].”

Adidas Kit Deal Confirmed

Posted: 14 Jul 2014 02:26 AM PDT

It has been confirmed today that Adidas have agreed a deal to produce Manchester United shirts from 2015-2016 onwards.

The deal is reportedly worth around £70million-a-year, which dwarfs the figure that Nike were previously paying us. The deal with Nike, which was agreed in 2002, was worth around £23.5m-a-year to United.

Warrior were also keen to replace Nike as the makers of our kit but could not compete with what Adidas were prepared to offer.

Reports last week in the press had been giving the impression that Nike had “dropped” United. There had been talk of United’s poor season under David Moyes and no Champions League football next season.

The reality is, no club in the world sells more shirts than United, so the club knew the deal would be worth more money than what Nike were prepared to offer.

The biggest kit deals for football after United’s £70m with Adidas are as followers: Real Madrid £31m (Adidas), Chelsea £30m (Adidas), Arsenal £30m (Puma), Barcelona £27m (Nike) and Liverpool £25m (Warrior).

Whilst you’re waiting a year for our new Adidas kit to be released, we’ve got an exclusive agreement with CampoRetro which allows you to buy the old shirts at a discount. Enter ROM15 at the checkout for 15% off. Worldwide shipping.

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

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