An in-depth look: England 1980-83 Home Kit

An in-depth look: England 1980-83 Home Kit #englishfootball #admiralretro #kitdesign

Widely regarded as the greatest England kit ever, Admiral's second home strip design for the team was certainly memorable.

Released to some degree of derision (I seem to remember a commentator mentioning that it looked like a 'clown's outfit') it is now regarded as a classic, despite it featuring a colour scheme and basic design more akin to the Union Flag rather than a traditional England palette.

The shirt was dominated by a large blue and red 'yoke' that stretched across the chest, accompanied by a plunging v-neck, trimmed with blue and red restraint.

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The shirt was also worn on occasion with the white away shorts from the first set of Admiral kits and also on one occasion with the equivalent kit's red away socks. Speaking of socks...in typical Admiral style a new design of socks was introduced midway through the kit's tenure although the simpler original designs did also reappear from time to time.

The kit was worn in two major tournaments, Euro 80 (where the Admiral logos were removed due to over zealous UEFA rules) and the disappointing 1982 World Cup when a set of lightweight Aertex fabric jerseys designed to combat the Spanish heat, where introduced late on in the tournament, meaning a frantic last minute (and rather wonky!) sewing on of Admiral logos and England crests.

The kits marked the end of the FA's relationship with Admiral who had hit major financial troubles at the time this outfit was launched. It also marked the end of international careers for the likes of Kevin Keegan, Trevor Brooking and Emlyn Hughes. Other players associated with the strip include Mick Mills, Dave Watson, Phil Thompson, Paul Mariner, Trevor Francis and Tony Woodcock.

So despite being arguably the least 'English' of all modern England strips, this mighty Admiral design has gained a reputation against which all other English strips seem to be judged.

For a detailed history of England's kits check out TRUE COLOURS: INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL KITS - book available now featuring the kit histories of 20 international sides

Visit truecoloursfootballkits.comKeep up to date with True Colours by following @TrueColoursKits on Twitter

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An in-depth look: England 1980-83 Home Kit

 

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  • This commment is unpublished.
    alan · 4 years ago
    miles better design than these boring nike kits we have now ,why do nike waste so much money paying these very poor designers,admiral were top kits then.
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Nazza · 4 years ago
    Pure Class
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Richard_Atwell · 4 years ago
    [quote] I really liked![/quote]
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Adi Adidas F · 4 years ago
    Nothing too this iconic kit. Bring back Admiral and this design. :)