Please don't look like the England kit! *Pictures*

Following the confirmation of our new kit deal with Umbro, I had worried about the design of the kits particularly what fabric they would use.

It was confirmed that City will be the only club to have our kits made from the same fabric as the current England shirt, the England shirt is terrible up close and the fabric is not what a football shirt should be made from.

Having just seen these pictures (below) of parts of our new shirts up close I am not ecstatic to say the least, I really do not like the fabric. I suppose the saving grace is that our kit will have a sponsor on it filling up the middle and will divert the eye, obviously England's is blank in the middle.

Don't get me wrong it's not a fashion parade and I am a big believer in that, but you do still want your kits to look half decent, especially considering the amount of ugly ones that are knocking about.

Have a look at these and tell me what you think.

Click to enlarge.......................

Umbro deal finally announced! *Pictures of new kits*

We all knew it was coming but today City have finally confirmed that Umbro will be our new kit makers.

From MCFC.CO.UK.................

Umbro and Manchester City Football Club today announce a unique ten-year brand partnership.

July 18Th will mark the on-sale date of City’s home kit for the 2009/10 season. Inspired by the club’s heritage, the new kit will benefit from Umbro’s football tailoring process, delivering performance and style on and off the pitch.

The home kit combines design elements from the past with new technology, refined detailing and a tailored aesthetic. Each seam on the crew-neck shirt has been carefully considered and selected for a specific function and the crest has been extensively re-mastered to bring a new level of detail to the club’s identity.

The away kit is a nod to Manchester’s symbol of industry and coat of arms – the Apis Millifera – more commonly known as ‘the bee’. The shirt is black with yellow and gold inserts on the shoulders used to define and accentuate the upper torso.

The third kit draws its inspiration on a classic kit of the past, whilst embracing craft and attention to detail to create a very modern twist. The shirt has a black and red sash across a white base with the team sponsor located under the crest to ensure that the visual identity of the sash is not compromised. Umbro worked closely with MCFC and Etihad to ensure the design authenticity stays true.

Every part of the design process has been considered to create three new kits that flawlessly marry performance and style.

Martin Prothero, Umbro’s Senior Vice President of Football said, “This is an exciting opportunity for both Umbro and Manchester City FC to build on their collective heritage and create truly iconic modern football brands. MCFC were the first beneficiaries of our tailoring heritage in 1934, the same year they won The FA Cup wearing Umbro kits. MCFC will be the first club side to benefit from our tailoring process for the 2009/10 season which means the best sportswear products for players and fans alike.”

Garry Cook, Chief Executive Officer of Manchester City commented, “We are thrilled to announce this key partnership. We are building a successful and sustainable football club for the future and our partners are integral to that. Umbro share our commitment to innovation, the city of Manchester and creating world-class experiences for its customers and our fans.”

David Pullan, Brand and Marketing Officer from Manchester City said, “This partnership will help both MCFC and Umbro to cement their places at the very heart of the city of Manchester and to continue to grow in prominence across the globe. The Club is delighted to work with such a progressive and innovative brand and looks forward to further developing our partnership over the coming decade.”

Umbro also announced today that working in partnership with Manchester City FC and other local organisations, the company is committed to investing over £100,000 in Manchester culture over the next three years to support and inspire creativity across the city.

The Manchester City FC home kit will be on general sale from July 18Th. Pre orders available from July 1st at www.mcfc.co.uk.

The away kit will be available from August, while the third strip will be available from October.

If you read the description of the kits from the article then it seems that these are the new shirts, or very close at least. There is a slight question mark on which way the sash will go on the white shirt, it used to come from the left shoulder not from the right.

New City shirt or total fake?

This photo of our supposed new shirt is doing the rounds on the Internet at the moment. I am not sure if it is real or not, but it is in the same design as the England shirt that was leaked this week and as we know Umbro do knock out kits that all look the same. I know that the current kit was leaked on the Internet last year and it ended up being the real kit, so maybe this is real as well.

Make your own mind up.........

New kit maker?

There has been talk of City bringing in a new kit maker for months now, even though we signed a 4 year deal with Le Coq Sportif.

I don't understand why we seem to be chasing new kit makers considering we have a deal with Le Coq Sportif, but it looks like we are going to have a new kit maker for next season.

The main name I have heard over the last few months has been Puma, but it looks like a deal with Umbro is the front runner.

Now why Umbro, well Umbro just happens to be a subsidiary of Nike, so I would think that Garry Cook has had something to do with it and maybe the idea is to change to Nike in the future. It will also be very intresting to see how much Umbro are willing to pay us if they are our new kit makers, because Puma were apparently willing to pay a huge amount.

A little fact to go with this, Umbro's first football kit was produced in 1934 and the team it was made for was City, a year in which we won the FA Cup.