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It’s just a bad design feature, nothing more. When people complain about it, they’re not expressing national pride, they’re just complaining. We live in a diverse, regionalised nation, we don’t have unifying national symbols. That is a fact. We may have occasions when we come together, like a football tournament but we’re not united behind one flag.
As I’ve said before, the England flag does not have positive connotations. You may disagree with that, but it’s not a classy symbol. I think the point you’re missing is that this flag waving jingoism is not a positive or unifying expression of national pride.
Out of interest, how do you feel about players not wanting to sing the national anthem, and do you get as annoyed when the EDL march with England flags or are they showing an appropriate amount of national pride? 🤔
I think it’s fine to change the flag. It doesn’t mean much and those who feel strongly about it either can’t articulate why or should really think about why it makes them feel so insecure.
The England flag is a design nightmare for or a number of reasons. It’s ugly/boring, is associated with the far-right (EDL), it’s not a symbol that unites the nation, and the type of people who are complaining about aren’t people you want wearing the shirt.
US nationalism is nothing to admire and now Germany have signed a kit deal with Nike maybe they will have some funky designs?
The Royal Blue is a great idea and I would accept it because I think it has far more potential for an interesting kit. Links to the Royal Family would not put me off.
On your point about a GB football team, it's worth noting that players don't represent their country, they represent their national football association. So we're at the mercy of the FA!
You might well be right that other nations wouldn't do it, but does that mean we shouldn't?
It's underwhelming because from a design perspective I don't think it lends itself well to football kits. Italy have chosen the Azzurri blue for their sports colour and France and Ireland draw upon a single colour from their flags which IMO are better for designing a nice kit.
The issue isn't the authenticity/tradition of such an underwhelming flag, but what motivates such strong feelings. I think the strength of feeling some people have is a reflection of a deep rooted sense of insecurity.
Also, in the context of football there hasn't been such a strong association with the flag.
The difference between us and other nations is that other nations seem to have a bit more fun with it whereas England and England fans are utterly joyless.
I don't think that just because some people will get upset is a good enough reason to not try something different. It's a design element and the colours aren't completely random either. It's fair to argue the quality of the design and IMO I don't think it's very good. Unfortunately it's not a process built on consensus.
I don't like the England flag, it's ugly and isn't a traditional symbol of our heritage.
But it is up to Nike and the FA to re design the England kit as they see fit. Whether it should be is another question.
The majority of England shirts are terrible. It's the exception that we produce a good design. Also, historically the flag has not featured or been an integral part of the kit design.
During GA's tenure it was depressing. The football and results were horrible. Once Marti came in renewed optimism with the a renewed and intense desire to stay in the league. Under Ainsworth I felt we deserved to go down. The past month has been exciting as we've climbed our way out of the relegation zone. We're now in the fight and could just about get away with an awful season. There's also some optimism/hope about next season should we stay in the Championship.