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The kits are alright
The kits are alright
Thursday, 20th Jun 2013 19:25 by Ash Rose

For the first time since QPR signed a manufacturing deal with Italian sports brand Lotto five years ago, the kits for the new season have been met with universal approval. Ash Rose takes his annual look at the offering.

With Clive’s run down of last season’s disaster (better him then me on that one), it’s time to look forward to what new campaign will bring. For many, Wednesday’s release of the new fixture list is the best day of the summer but for me the most exciting part of pre-season happened even before that and that was of course the reveal of the 2013-14 Queens Park Rangers kits.

As anyone who has seen my articles on this site or followed me on Twitter (cheap plug @AshRoseUK) you’ll know that I am a bit of kit geek, and therefore the reveal of the new R’s strips is a very exciting time for me. There was even room in my book (second cheap plug) The QPR Miscellany –available from the QPR club shop and online here – for a rundown of R’s kits and so as you can imagine I spend/waste a good deal of time thinking and writing about them.

Here then is my review of the Lotto’s 2013/14 kits for Rangers forthcoming Championship campaign, and a few tidbits on the game’s other new numbers.

Then…

This marks Lotto’s sixth season as Rangers kit supplier, a deal that has somehow gone on longer then anyone expected or reported when they took over from Le Coq Sportif in 2008. It’s fair to say that thus far the Italian sportswear company have struggled to find the right formula for QPR kits and most of their efforts have been somewhat underwhelming. They kicked off in 2008 with the all too blue shirt, and matching blue shorts that were far too much like Reading for this writer’s liking. While away from home, the rushed templated ‘spiked’ kits where unusual to say the least. The following season saw Flavio Briatore’s favourite colour silver added to the pallet, with less hoops and the badge moved to the centre. The Dennis the Menace colours did return for the away shirt however, and the set was complemented with a very smart rare all navy third shirt.

A year later, and in QPR’s memorable Championship winning season, the silver had been replaced with the ‘classic’ red piping on the hoops and a more rounded collar, which up to this point was Lotto’s best shirt so far. Red and black halves were a nice change to the away shirt, and the green and white hoops were a good third choice, harking back to the 1992 Brooks shirt.

But it was it was once in the Premier League, Lotto pressed the self-destruct button, or in this case the ‘too many hoops’ button and never quite got it right on English football’s biggest stage. The 2011 shirt was left way late due to a sponsor issue, and when it was released the hoops had become too thin and the sponsor’s logo stuck on over the top so it didn’t blend well with the shirt. Mango was introduced as the away kit, which putting Blackpool aside, no shade or orange should ever be used on a football kit, and thankfully ditched before the end of the season in favour of the best of the lot – the 70s inspired red and white halves.

Given a second chance of showing the Premier League a proper hooped shirt, Lotto made the mistake of increasing the number of Hoops with a design that looked more like one those stereotypical cartoon images of a Frenchman – all you needed was onions round the players necks. While the all red away kit, and blue third were smart if unimaginable. At this point if I were to label Lotto’s time in charge of kit design I would have used the word mediocre.

Then came their unexpected and at the moment last attempt at a QPR kit, and well wouldn’t you know it, they saved the best for last…

Now

Having snuck in some QPR spies a week prior to the reveal, we already knew that Dennis the Menace was back for away kit, and that they’d finally reduced the number of hoops to a more classic QPR style. But once I’d seen them in all their glory across the three-page spread in Rangers InsideR mag, I was over the moon with the results.

Home:

I’ll get this out the way first of all, I’m actually not a fan of the red piping on QPR shirts. I know, I know it harks back to the classic Guinness kits of the 80s and the dream would only be complete if Adidas made the kit, I’m just not a fan myself. I much prefer the fluro-yellow trim we had in the early 90s, but that maybe down to my obsession with Roy Wegerle. However, the red really does work on the new home shirt, and that’s maybe to do with how well it matches the colour of the Air Asia logo and those awful Lotto sleeve patches. Away from the red, as mentioned it has a good number of hoops, a simple but smart collar with a button-up feature and a nice ‘QPR’ motif on the reverse of the neck. I especially like the way the top hoop blends nicely with the sleeves. Overall it’s the best home kit they’ve produced, and the most QPR-like shirt we’ve seen since the Car Giant kit of 2007.

Away:

The change strip (as it’s more now commonly being referred to) repeats most of the same aspects of the home kit, but in Rangers most famous away colours. We really feel like QPR when we have hoops for both our home and away kits, and even better when the ‘Dennis the Menace’ colours return – although we seemed to not gone as far as throwing out the Beano characters for the actual launch this time around. I like the addition of the white piping to each Hoop and the lines on the cuffs give it something extra. A welcome return that has been nicely designed to boot.

Third:

The best thing about third strips is the license to do whatever you want with them, and variety is key for me when it comes to kit design. Over the years we’ve seen Rangers appear in orange at the start of the 90s, all yellow at the beginning of the millennium and the sky blue design that saw the Binatone logo start to fall off after a few washes. Next season we have our first ever all-green number, as a nod to Tony Fernandes F1 team Caterham. I have no real problems with Fernandes using his colours for a third shirt, after all it’s his club and it’s the least important of the three shirts anyway. Also it gives the club a unique design that in years to come will probably become a collector’s item as much as the Influence orange and black kit is now. Again the shirt features hoops in yellow this time, but they are much thinner and lined with a white trim. Those horrible red Lotto patches (really can’t wait to see the back of them) remain and slightly unbalance the colours but it’s a stylish kit that could have been a whole lot worse given its origins.

Goalkeeping:

Perhaps the most surprising and my personnel favourite design of all the new kits – and I’m not someone who buys goalie kits. It seems like we’ve had pretty much the same design from Lotto between the sticks for the past few seasons, that spiked look that has only really varied in colours through Cerny, Kenny and Cesar/Green last season. Next year though Lotto have really mixed things up with an all navy number with white pinstripes across the shirt, and a collar to match the other three strips. It reminds be of the 1995-96 away kit, which is still my favourite ever Rangers second strip and it really finishes off the fresh look of all four designs from Lotto.

Future

Before these latest designs I was more than happy to see Lotto end their relationship with QPR, but they’ve thrown a shiny spanner in the works with their 2013-14 range. I still could do without the arm patches as I think they are overkill, but I’d give them a chance to pitch for another contract if they keep up the same level of design. Tony Fernandes has suggested that Lotto are in the running for 2014, along with Nike, Adidas and American firm Warrior. I wouldn’t be adverse to any of them, however a word of warning, with Nike and Adidas comes a lot more ‘templating’ then we are used to. You only have to look at Bolton/Hull/Sunderland/Stoke to see that the ‘bat wing’ style seems to be Adidas’ chosen design this season, while Nike have toned their shirts right down as you’ll see from the new England and Man City strips. As for Warrior, I’d be interested to see what they’d do with a QPR shirt, especially given the craziness of Liverpool’s kits, but given my choice would be Under Armour. I was mightily impressed with what they did with Spurs last season, and they are new enough in the industry to prevent templates across their portfolio. And if it’s good enough for the Dillon Panthers, it’s good enough for me.

Elsewhere

Looking around at the others that have been released so far, I think it could be a real vintage year for football kits, with some of the newer brands really starting to experiment with designs. The headline act is surely Warrior’s Liverpool away and third designs which have taken creativity to the extreme. Having just written a book about 90s football (cheap plug number three, out this August), Warrior’s creations seem to have come from this era, when designs were at their craziest. Which I have no problem with, I’d much rather that then stare at kits like Barnsley’s new dull Nike affair.

Man Utd’s is possibly Nike’s best so far, while Erra continue to do a sound job with Brighton’s kits. Down in the lower leagues, Wycombe’s dash of graded colours sees their shirt stand out in League Two, and Wolves Puma kits, which include a striking purple away kit lead the way in League One. My favourite thus far though, would Macron’s Aston Villa kits. Yet another smaller company experimenting nicely with their designs, and has seen them produce a retro inspired home kit for the Villains and a unusual quartered away kit that will no doubt spark as much discussion as their lime green shirt of last season. Watch out for West Ham’s too when they are officially released as Adidas seem to have steered them away from templates, and as for Cardiff the less said of ‘shortgate’ the better. Now that’s how you don’t launch a shirt.

View a wide selection of the other kits released this summer on our message board.

Tweet @AshRose83, @loftforwords

Pictures – Kit launch courtesy of QPR and Back Page Images, others from Action Images

Photo: Action Images



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HollowayRanger added 20:36 - Jun 20
universal approval!!!!

not in this house it aint!

i like my shirts to have collars!
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carrotcrunch_R added 21:35 - Jun 20
I disagree holloway the big hoops and I think the shirts look smart thumbs up from me
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Juzzie added 23:27 - Jun 20
Don't like collars. Tw@ts like Cantona turn them up, coz they're hard, innit.

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HordleHoop added 23:38 - Jun 20
They used to colour coordinate the badge on the old away kits and I think it would work better on these too
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ozranger added 01:51 - Jun 21
I really liked the green and white hoops and will hope they may come back. Trouble is that they are too close to the home colours and so not much use. But, one thing that is still there and I thought was going to alter was the badge. Love to go back to the previous one.
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SonofNorfolt added 02:14 - Jun 21
We'd have stayed up with this kit last season.
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izlingtonhoop added 07:33 - Jun 21
I too thought immediately of the mid-90s away kit with the goaly's kit. And (a bit shamefully - cos it should be Dennis) think it might be the best!

Odd that Man Utd copied it 99-00...

I too like the kits this season, but worry a little that the hoops might be getting too wide. Only four above the waist line? Looking at old pictures of Stan, five, too me seems optimum.

But also I think I'm alone in liking the lots of hoops of the last two seasons.

And, again, Stan looks ok in them:

http://www.midlandsmemorabilia.com/queens_park_rangers_signed_memorabilia.html

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Toast_R added 09:03 - Jun 21
I’m not that thrilled about it, the hoops are a cm too thick. It reminds me of the Playoff Final year home kit. That was a little ugly for the same reason. It needs another hoop in the mix.

As for the third kit, they should re-name it the turd kit. All it needs is a complimentary bandana for your eyes and you’d be mistaken for a Ninja Turtle.

Just saying like.

Not for me, I won’t be re-newing.
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toboboly added 11:25 - Jun 21
The 3rd kit is awful. The badges need to be colour matched (as said above) and the weird button/opening is terrible.

Also that badge, that fcking badge. Wont ever buy anything with that on it.
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R_in_Sweden added 11:40 - Jun 21
Agree with some of the above, an extra hoop is definitely needed. And the badge is shite, looks like Briatore found some generic clipart, stuck our name on it and then left us with it. It would be great if we could get The Beano to sponsor the second kit.

The third kit would suit my Dad as he's colour blind.
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MTG added 11:56 - Jun 21
Nice article, I guess we're all entitled to our own opinions. As the club change the kit every season now I think they're all fairly irrevelant & non memorable as they'll be changed in a year. I agree with others that the hoops are maybe too thick. Do you think the club should adopt a set in stone policy on kits regarding the number of hoops as it seems too many or too few seem a common complaint. Were there ever any complaints about the blueness of the 08/09 kit, I used to get regularly outraged and send complaint emails to the club when we used to unnecessarily wear blue shorts/socks away from home. Apparently the club wanted to introduce blue shorts for the home kit in 96/97 but the fans managed to stop that happening.

I also think Red & Black should always be our traditional away colours. I was quite upset during the promotion season when we abondoned the Red & Black for the 2nd half of the season & wore the Celtic kit even against teams like Blackburn & Reading. I also can't believe having won promotion to the Premier League we had to spend most of our pre season wearing the unnecessary Celtic kit with tape over the sponsor.

I'm surprised the fans tolerate the unnecessary 3rd kits & the club seem to wear them as often as the away/change kit.

The GK top looks just like an outfield kit & not a GK kit at all. Our best GK tops were the exciting designs made by Brooks & Rangers Clubhouse worn by Stejskal & Roberts. They've been pretty bland & boring since.

Below is a good source of all our home kits:
http://www.historicalkits.co.uk/Queens_Park_Rangers/Queens_Park_Rangers.htm
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izlingtonhoop added 12:47 - Jun 21
Those above are spot on complaining about unnecessary kit changes.

Teams like us, arsenal, Wolves with iconic colours or designs should only change if they have to - ie the ref insists on it due to a clash; if nothing else the home fans deserve to see these iconic kits!

I remember seeing Plymouth in orange a few years back at the Bush and was most indignant! A little research at the time and it became apparent that that season Plymouth had no need for a change kit in the league, not one team in that league had a splash of green on their kit. A Plymothian pal of mine explained that the reasoning behind this money spinner was their manager had connections with Dundee United. As I live and breathe.

In my middle aged world all keepers should wear a plain green* top with a badge, and shorts and socks the same as the out-field players - I'm sure that's what they looked like in my sticker books in the late 60s and early 70s.

*yellow against Plymouth
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probbo added 13:33 - Jun 21
I must admit i've always preferred the thicker hoop, guess i'm a bit old school in that regard! I'm sure we sported 'thins' when we went down from the Div 1 in the late 70's. And nothing against Lotto but it would be great to have adidas back as kit maker with the 3 stripes on the sleeves.

I've never liked the pub sign badge particularly - either go back to the old one or try something else.

As for the third kit, it might have been better for Team Caterham to change the livery on their F1 cars to blue and white hoops (instantly recognisable on the grid) than expect fans to shell out for that!
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kewgreen added 20:38 - Jun 21
I can't quite get my head round why two small Lotto patches should get our blogger's shorts in a twist, would he rather see the three horrific Adidas stripes down each sleeve, I sadly remember we were wearing them at the same time as the oiks who reside close to Fulham Broadway underground, please let's stay away from Adidas whose company logo cover ten% of our shirt, l can live with two small patches from Lotto.
Yes the hoops are oversized, making the shirts look dated, I thought thr shirts from the saeson before last were spot on, up to date and innovative, but we're now in the hands of the marketing gurus resulting in the terraces being littered with an asortment of shirts appearing to show a bad case of sciofrenia has broken out with the fans
0

Spiritof67 added 22:14 - Jun 21
Who gives a kit!

As MTG comments, “as the club change the kit every season now I think they're all fairly irrevelant & non memorable.” We are now in an age when Its all about sales and squeezing that extra cash out of those hard working fans - 1st kit, 2nd kit 3rd kit. = ££££.

Nothing to do with clashing kit colours! Good example last season when we played at home to Liverpool (who played in all black kit) and Norwich (who played in an all black kit).

Oh well, see you in the club shop!
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AgedR added 23:16 - Jun 21
We moaned that we looked too much like Reading and the hoops were too thin; the hoops are thicker.

We moaned about the away strip and yearned for a return of Dennis; Dennis has returned.

We love the fact that we are emblazoned across F1 cars, but, moan when any sort of link with this brand is made.

Fickle
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isawqpratwcity added 11:08 - Jun 24
Hoops are too wide, but still a huge improvement on last season.

The home shirt should have blue at the shoulders for better definition.

The collar is complete gash.

The badge is still gash, but dream on, they'll never bring back the previous one (best badge ever).

The third shirt is pretty bad, but would be improved if green and yellow quarters.

Still, wider hoops and return of D t M!

7.5/10
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TacticalR added 21:04 - Jun 24
Although the home kit looks more QPR than last season's kit, there's still something alien about it. I am not sure if it's the width of the hoops, or the thin red piping between the blue and the white hoops.

At least the Dennis the Menace away kit looks more recognisably ours.
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QPunkR added 12:14 - Jun 25
I actually agree that Lotto have outdone themselves this time, and if I were the type of person to spunk ludicrous amounts of money onkits (and didn't hate that Flabbio 'badge' with a passion) I'd be buying the home kit.
I don't even mind the Caterham kit, as said above, 3rd kit is there to be messed with.


The only, only thing that still p!sses me off is that God-awful crest. Can't wait for it to finally disappear after the end of the season! :D
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jo_qpr63 added 18:09 - Jun 26
Like it.Need a new one. Gonna buy one.For me,not my kids. Although i like our Guiness retro kit we sell,and they are similar! Hmmm..New school or old school?
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