The new away is growing on me! Actually quite like it in those shots!
On a side note, did anybody see ashley young's interview in the tunnel post the New England Revolution match?! There was some weird red detail on the shoulders of his shirt that isn't on the replica one?!
The players shirts are usually a bit different from the replica ones but this year and last it has been much more noticable. The 2006/07 replica shirts differed from the players ones only really because the wash labels were printed onto the fabric of the inside of the players shirts, other than that they were almost identical.
Last year Nike produced an "authentic" version of the home shirt that cost £90 and had the venting panels under the arms and the left sleeve stripe did not have the red devil at the bottom. The seams were heat bonded rather than stitched. It was the same as the players kits, except (again) for the wash labels which were the same as normal replicas. Basically you paid double to get a shirt that they could have made as the standard replica and indedd would have done in previous years. They made it so the differences between the standard replica and the players shirts were noticable to many people, unlike in the past where you'd have to be an expert to spot the difference.
In short they've done the same this year. Looking at photos from the match, the shoulder seams are different - like on the France and Inter players shirts - and the club crest appears to be printed directly onto the shirt. The retail version is stitched on. I expect the imminent release of another double-priced "authentic" shirt.
Here's the same kind of shoulder thing on the
new Inter players shirt:
It seems to be completely unnecessary.
