I haven't seen it yet, but the Q and A suggested it would be out in June. No doubt it is a great revenue stream for the club ahead of having to likely forgo gate receipts until the start of 2021 (or the majority of gate receipts at least).
I just had some thoughts on it. I don't want to be negative ahead of time, they might knock it out of the park, but Errea just don't tend to really come up with the goods. There is an opportunity to put a shirt out that would have wider appeal, so that not just Cheltenham fans want to buy it - the Errea templates just don't seem likely to have that wide reach.
I've been following the launch of Clapton CFC and their away kit that has been so widely popular that it has provided a huge amount of money for a club at their level, indeed the opportunity for them to take over the Old Spotted Dog ground, the spiritual home to which they wish to return, is likely to be on the way now thanks to those huge shirt sales.
I'm well aware that the Middlesex County Football League and League 2 of the professional Football League are different worlds (and there is a strongly political angle to the shirts that might put some off - but that also led to its popularity), but I hope the club considered trying something special for these unprecedented times. I'm not talking about a gimmick, but many clubs such as Crvena Zvezda/Red Star have launched shirts to 'honour the fans' in the past (and there's a fair few dicey fans among that lot that you might be careful about honouring)...
Leyton Orient have also (thanks to Harry Kane) arranged to have charity sponsorship and have launched a retro 3rd kit for this season (sorry for the East London imbalance, I'm exiled on the banks of the River Lea).
Just thought a nice classy nod with a really desirable design might have been a way to get some cash and coverage. I'll wait to see what we bring out. Anyhow, benefit of the doubt and all that... Fingers crossed rather than negativity!
Thoughts on the new home shirt 2020/21
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RegencyCheltenhamSpa
- Posts: 29813
- Joined: 21 Nov 2009, 03:27
Interesting thoughts. Ultimately it depends on the level of design and fashion sense of people making the decision at the club.
We wouldn’t want to end in a situation where the Club think they are doing something which will have wide appeal and ends up being a laughable gimmick (three grey stars) and a horrendous design (green zebra) which even the club’s own fans are reluctant to buy.
Personally I think that given the connections to the town, Superdry would be a good apparel partner. They sell plenty of clobber with random/made up clubs/brands/organisations on so it wouldn’t matter if people around the world didn’t even know that ‘Cheltenham Town FC’ was a real entity rather than a Superdry invention as long as we got some royalties from it. You might even find Superdry fans googling to see what on Earth Cheltenham Town FC is and starting to take an interest in the club as a result.
We wouldn’t want to end in a situation where the Club think they are doing something which will have wide appeal and ends up being a laughable gimmick (three grey stars) and a horrendous design (green zebra) which even the club’s own fans are reluctant to buy.
Personally I think that given the connections to the town, Superdry would be a good apparel partner. They sell plenty of clobber with random/made up clubs/brands/organisations on so it wouldn’t matter if people around the world didn’t even know that ‘Cheltenham Town FC’ was a real entity rather than a Superdry invention as long as we got some royalties from it. You might even find Superdry fans googling to see what on Earth Cheltenham Town FC is and starting to take an interest in the club as a result.
I may have this wrong, but don't a couple of Superdry directors have links to Gloucester City.
Our agreement with Luke last summer, and the clear branding of 2020 on last season's away kit, led me to think that we might be going down the route of a niche kit manufacturer this season (Luke did an outstanding job with Villa's kit for the 18/19 season), alas the fact we're only getting a home kit in June though makes me think it'll be Errea again.
In a way, I almost don't want us to leave Errea because of how long we've been with them now. Next season will be our 24th with them. That's quite impressive regardless of how you look at it.
Our agreement with Luke last summer, and the clear branding of 2020 on last season's away kit, led me to think that we might be going down the route of a niche kit manufacturer this season (Luke did an outstanding job with Villa's kit for the 18/19 season), alas the fact we're only getting a home kit in June though makes me think it'll be Errea again.
In a way, I almost don't want us to leave Errea because of how long we've been with them now. Next season will be our 24th with them. That's quite impressive regardless of how you look at it.
I too thought there might be something in the link with Luke, especially with them having the store in the brewery as well, however as said, the fact it's just the home shirt then it's clear that it won't be a change in manufacturer.
I think Errea get quite a bad rep with fans that demand Nike/Adidas/one of the big names, however if we end up with one of those we will literally get a stock kit with our badge attached to it. We would not get anything special - see the current home shirt, the Hollie Gazzard shirt, the blue shirt - we wouldn't get that with the big brands. We have a (I assume) a good rapport with Errea and being with them for so long I imagine gets us some good perks. I think the quality of Errea has improved a lot for the past couple of years, as they were pretty shocking for quite a while. My main issue is the badge being stitched into the shirt shrinking in the wash.
I think Errea get quite a bad rep with fans that demand Nike/Adidas/one of the big names, however if we end up with one of those we will literally get a stock kit with our badge attached to it. We would not get anything special - see the current home shirt, the Hollie Gazzard shirt, the blue shirt - we wouldn't get that with the big brands. We have a (I assume) a good rapport with Errea and being with them for so long I imagine gets us some good perks. I think the quality of Errea has improved a lot for the past couple of years, as they were pretty shocking for quite a while. My main issue is the badge being stitched into the shirt shrinking in the wash.
It would be good to be able to read the numbers on the back though ?everyman wrote:The board have been very prudent in running our club on a tight budget and Errea are probably the best value for money option,and the one off special shirts have been brilliant.
The names, you mean? That's surely not Errea's fault though: someone at the club has decided to use the blank space they've left for the player's name, for the shirt sponsors. Incredibly annoying - particularly at the start of the season when we might have new players we want to get to know. They can't all be called 'Marchants'.everyman wrote:It would be good to be able to read the numbers on the back though ?
And risk appetite. Taking a stock shirt from a less well-known kit supplier is low risk and comes with perks of one-off (from stock) shirts too.RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:Interesting thoughts. Ultimately it depends on the level of design and fashion sense of people making the decision at the club.
We wouldn’t want to end in a situation where the Club think they are doing something which will have wide appeal and ends up being a laughable gimmick (three grey stars) and a horrendous design (green zebra) which even the club’s own fans are reluctant to buy.
Personally I think that given the connections to the town, Superdry would be a good apparel partner. They sell plenty of clobber with random/made up clubs/brands/organisations on so it wouldn’t matter if people around the world didn’t even know that ‘Cheltenham Town FC’ was a real entity rather than a Superdry invention as long as we got some royalties from it. You might even find Superdry fans googling to see what on Earth Cheltenham Town FC is and starting to take an interest in the club as a result.
That said, a radically different supplier or away or third kit design along the lines of Clapton CFC with a pertinent message would do wonders for the club
I’m actually a fan of Errea’s efforts, there’s no way we would get unique designs with some of the bigger companies like Nike/Adidas/Puma etc. The two ruby designs were clearly fan favourites and the current design is bespoke to us as obviously it’s just a remake of the one from 20 years ago. I wouldn’t want to bin off Errea just to have the same Adidas kit as everyone else.
Also I’m not a Superdry expert but it doesn’t seem like they’ve ever been really interested in jumping into the sports market unfortunately.
Also I’m not a Superdry expert but it doesn’t seem like they’ve ever been really interested in jumping into the sports market unfortunately.
No ! I mean numbers,they don`t show up on stripes i do know the players squad no`s.asl wrote:The names, you mean? That's surely not Errea's fault though: someone at the club has decided to use the blank space they've left for the player's name, for the shirt sponsors. Incredibly annoying - particularly at the start of the season when we might have new players we want to get to know. They can't all be called 'Marchants'.everyman wrote:It would be good to be able to read the numbers on the back though ?
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hookyrobin
- Posts: 117
- Joined: 30 Jan 2014, 20:09
I guess there is a pay-off in flexibility if you sign a deal with one of the bigger kit manufacturers. Although, I assume most of our kits are based on template that Errea have. The Hollie Gazzard Trust shirts were a great move by the club and kit provider. I have a feeling that long ago someone said that one of the board members have a connection with Errea.
The quality of design is in the eye of the beholder, I guess; the retro kit for the past two seasons was the kit we wore when I started watching the club - I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. Just taste, isn't it? Both editions of the ruby shirt were good IMO.
I don't want to be negative before the event, we might have a brilliant kit - I was just musing on the fact that in these abnormal times doing something a bit different might be a way of bringing in more revenue than the usual kit sales.
The quality of design is in the eye of the beholder, I guess; the retro kit for the past two seasons was the kit we wore when I started watching the club - I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. Just taste, isn't it? Both editions of the ruby shirt were good IMO.
I don't want to be negative before the event, we might have a brilliant kit - I was just musing on the fact that in these abnormal times doing something a bit different might be a way of bringing in more revenue than the usual kit sales.