O'Neills - New Kit Supplier (Confirmed)

[glynriley]

14 minutes ago, ChippenhamRed said:

You’re right, but I meant questionable in the most literal sense - I’m questioning it because I don’t know. Whereas with Hummel I already know it’s good stuff.

Fair point though, I am guilty of rushing to judgement, I just think it’s a shame because I really like Hummel - it’s a cult brand. Moving to a relatively unknown company - at least in terms of UK football - does feel like a step backwards.

What I would say, given the association with gaelic football and rugby, the kit must be fairly robust.

Not sure it should be seen as a backwards step either. A long standing sportswear manufacturer, looking to expand it's horizons in the football market, could be seen as a positive if we become the biggest client and the 'poster boy' for the brand.

Castore as a brand is less than 10 years old, yet is associated with some of the biggest clubs in the country and also the England Cricket team. All about seizing opportunities at the right time.

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by glynriley

[East End Old Boy]

2 hours ago, CyderInACan said:

O’Neills were confirmed as the new supplier at the Senior Reds lunch with SL last Thursday. SL also wants to see the return of a printed program rather than just a digital version. 

I’m surprised no one has mentioned this before as I guess a few of us were in attendance! Steve was quite open with his thoughts, an enjoyable Q&A!

[Leveller]

2 hours ago, SecretSam said:

They are 'us' to most people watching - they literally represent our identity. So it's really, really important.

Well, it’s more like they represent Arsenal’s identity really.

[Bristol Rob]

So to recap... And assuming I've followed this correctly.

The club have been moaned at for half the season owing to a lack of shirts available in the club shop, even though it appears to be out of their hands because the distributor went under, the club then decide that due to these factors and the inability Hummel to meet demand, they'll look elsewhere.

The club decides to go with a company with a 100 year history of providing sportswear, and without seeing a shirt, design or the quality of the product, some people are upset.

I quite like the fact the club have gone down a different route, should give us the chance to introduce some new products that will likely be unique to the Championship.

I'm sure the deal the club have struck gives allows them to make a few quid on sales, and if the supplier is eager to move in to the UK 'soccer' space, a deal with City might have been too tempting for them to turn down, even if it isn't the most lucrative deal they'd hope to get in the longer term. 

Also explains why the club are trying to give away anything they can via the rewards points! 

[ExiledAjax]

45 minutes ago, W-S-M Seagull said:

But was that an O'Neils kit that was signed off in October or a Hummel kit?

I don't know.

My point was that if it was a Hummel kit signed off then switching to O'Neills may, or may not entail a new design. If Hummel retained ownership of the designs then we would not be able to simply take them and give them to O'Neill's and say "make this" (unless we compensated Hummel). If we in fact own the designs then it would be easier. All subject to the terms of our contract with Hummel of course.

I therefore think it's more likely that we were in talks with O'Neills quite early on, and those designs were O'Neill designs.

I don't know an awful lot about lead times and design times etc, but the fact that the standard timeline is that designs get signed off in September/October of a season, I'd suggest that 4 weeks (being the time since Alexander took over) is a very short period in which to design from scratch, or even adapt existing designs, and then launch a kit.

[Leveller]

I have to say I’m astonished at how much other people know (and care) about various kit making firms. If I wasn’t on here it wouldn’t even occur to me to see who made them. As long as they’re red, reasonably attractive and don’t fall apart, they’re fine by me.

[BUTOR]

4 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

I don't know.

My point was that if it was a Hummel kit signed off then switching to O'Neills may, or may not entail a new design. If Hummel retained ownership of the designs then we would not be able to simply take them and give them to O'Neill's and say "make this" (unless we compensated Hummel). If we in fact own the designs then it would be easier. All subject to the terms of our contract with Hummel of course.

I therefore think it's more likely that we were in talks with O'Neills quite early on, and those designs were O'Neill designs.

I don't know an awful lot about lead times and design times etc, but the fact that the standard timeline is that designs get signed off in September/October of a season, I'd suggest that 4 weeks (being the time since Alexander took over) is a very short period in which to design from scratch, or even adapt existing designs, and then launch a kit.

It’s been chaos, Pearson himself only found out a few days ago, I know the Man City game is what sped the whole thing up but not sure how long talks have been ongoing. We’re wearing it tomorrow 

[ExiledAjax]

Just now, Bouncearoundtheground said:

It’s been chaos, Pearson himself only found out a few days ago, I know the Man City game is what sped the whole thing up but not sure how long talks have been ongoing. We’re wearing it tomorrow 

So it was Hummel kit signed off in the autumn, and O'Neills have now had to design and produce new kits in 4 weeks?

Or did we give them the Hummel designs and tell them to "make this", and then sorted Hummel's complaints out in the background?

Sorry, are you saying we're changing kit halfway through a season? Have we had EFL clearance for that? EFL reg 39.1 says that "No changes either in the kit or combination of colours of kits shall be permitted during the course of the Season." We are allowed one home game per season where we wear a different kit (see the 125th anniversary game v Fulham a few seasons ago), are you saying that tomorrow is that one game?

[Ronnie Sinclair]

I noticed O’Neills have a base in Somerton according to their website 

[MarcusX]

8 minutes ago, Leveller said:

I have to say I’m astonished at how much other people know (and care) about various kit making firms. If I wasn’t on here it wouldn’t even occur to me to see who made them. As long as they’re red, reasonably attractive and don’t fall apart, they’re fine by me.

I've had an interest in kits since a kid so it's always something I pay attention to, also still playing and purchasing kits for teams I also have an interest there - that said I've had no experience with an o'neills kit that I can remember

[Bristol Rob]

3 minutes ago, Leveller said:

I have to say I’m astonished at how much other people know (and care) about various kit making firms. If I wasn’t on here it wouldn’t even occur to me to see who made them. As long as they’re red, reasonably attractive and don’t fall apart, they’re fine by me.

Tsk! Leveller.

You must know by now that it's a LAW that on OTIB, you need to take a view that means everything is wrong, the club have no idea what they're doing and that everyone knows everything about stuff.

How on earth can we just be expected to guess the wage of a player if it wasn't for someone who is 'ITK'  can tell us that someone earns twenty grand a week because a steward told them, or that every sacked manager must be paid up in full because the club would never think of putting in break-clauses! 

Personally, I can't wait for these Irish overloards to come on board and dazzle us with some sort of shirt I'll never buy, never wear or care about! 

As long as Jon has been kept away from the design process and there isn't a Comic Sans font anywhere near it, whatever they produce won't be as interesting as some of the previous efforts. 

 

[MarcusX]

5 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

So it was Hummel kit signed off in the autumn, and O'Neills have now had to design and produce new kits in 4 weeks?

Or did we give them the Hummel designs and tell them to "make this", and then sorted Hummel's complaints out in the background?

Sorry, are you saying we're changing kit halfway through a season? Have we had EFL clearance for that? EFL reg 39.1 says that "No changes either in the kit or combination of colours of kits shall be permitted during the course of the Season." We are allowed one home game per season where we wear a different kit (see the 125th anniversary game v Fulham a few seasons ago), are you saying that tomorrow is that one game?

THere is potential for this to be true if Hummel haven't been able to provide the team a kit? Especially as the City one will likely be especially embroidered and with different sponsors (I don't know if this is done in house, 3rd party or by supplier - just throwing out ideas)

That said I can't imagine we'd have nothing to wear - and we wouldn't be the only team affected by this if it was a Hummel issue.

I'm sceptical but there seems to be 2/3 people suggesting this. Sounds like the change of supplier next year is probably solid info, but the change of shirt tomorrow / tuesday less solid

[RedRock]

3 hours ago, bobbyhutchscurlymullet said:

Think confirmation may soon  be in the offering. Source?........me!

I have 10 boxes with the HPTC address on it, emblazoned with o'neills tape, in my van to be delivered today.

Don’t suppose you’ve got a cup in the van with ‘our name on it’ too?

[Norn Iron]

I'm pleased if it is O'Neill

The shirts will most probably be made in Strabane, Norn Iron or in Dublin. I will be passing nearby to the Strabane factory next week. If I can, I will ask at the main desk if they are making it.

Their Megastore in Derry is fantastic. I have been wondering for years if they could make decent football shirts as their GAA and Rugby sportswear is of really good quality.

Finally, when was the last time we had a shirt made in the UK or even Europe?  I think it was Nibor made in Stoke -on-Trent. You'll be lmpressed if it is O'Neill who has the contract.

[ExiledAjax]

3 minutes ago, MarcusX said:

THere is potential for this to be true if Hummel haven't been able to provide the team a kit? Especially as the City one will likely be especially embroidered and with different sponsors (I don't know if this is done in house, 3rd party or by supplier - just throwing out ideas)

That said I can't imagine we'd have nothing to wear - and we wouldn't be the only team affected by this if it was a Hummel issue.

I'm sceptical but there seems to be 2/3 people suggesting this. Sounds like the change of supplier next year is probably solid info, but the change of shirt tomorrow / tuesday less solid

The other thing with wearing it tomorrow is that you have to submit your intended kit to the EFL at least a week prior to the game. Now, ultimately it is up to the match day official to sign kits off, but each club is supposed to work with the EFL and the opposing team (ie Hull) to ensure that you avoid kit blends and that kits are used properly. A last minute change in kit is not going to be popular with the EFL, with Hull, or with the match day officials. I really don't think we'd do it unless we had no other option.

A change in supplier next season is plausible though. If O'Neills are cheaper, or provide better supply of replica shirts, then I think Alexander and Jon Lansdown would not hesitate to pay Hummel off and switch.

[Bristol Rob]

3 hours ago, bobbyhutchscurlymullet said:

Think confirmation may soon  be in the offering. Source?........me!

I have 10 boxes with the HPTC address on it, emblazoned with o'neills tape, in my van to be delivered today.

Don't support you've got the Karahi I've been waiting for since last week have you? Knew I should have just gone to Rajanins.

[cityexile]

4 minutes ago, Bristol Rob said:

Tsk! Leveller.

You must know by now that it's a LAW that on OTIB, you need to take a view that means everything is wrong, the club have no idea what they're doing and that everyone knows everything about stuff.

How on earth can we just be expected to guess the wage of a player if it wasn't for someone who is 'ITK'  can tell us that someone earns twenty grand a week because a steward told them, or that every sacked manager must be paid up in full because the club would never think of putting in break-clauses! 

Personally, I can't wait for these Irish overloards to come on board and dazzle us with some sort of shirt I'll never buy, never wear or care about! 

As long as Jon has been kept away from the design process and there isn't a Comic Sans font anywhere near it, whatever they produce won't be as interesting as some of the previous efforts. 

 

Not bought a kit for years. I must confess my interest tends to be each year limited to 'its alright' or 'not sure about that' so not really the target market. Equally if we cannot get the kit however good it is, then that seems a wee bit of an issue.

Only thought I have looking at some of their stuff like Wycombe is that their branding seems to be the word 'o'neills' as a word on the right breast. Its a preference but I don't generally like words over logos as it tends to be the thing that dominates my eye.

Equally as long as the shirt is red (and for those who do care, the quality is decent) it will be relegated pretty quickly in importance in my mind to the results we get playing in them. Lets hope the craic is great.     

[Ronnie Sinclair]

I’m going to assume this news is true, as it’s a strange thing to invent and opens our source up to eternal forum ridicule if it’s a lie

 

Talking of ridicule, at least O’Neills have similar recent form as us in regards to garish goalkeeping attire

Edited February 24, 2023 by Ronnie Sinclair

[lenred]

58 minutes ago, Leveller said:

I have to say I’m astonished at how much other people know (and care) about various kit making firms. If I wasn’t on here it wouldn’t even occur to me to see who made them. As long as they’re red, reasonably attractive and don’t fall apart, they’re fine by me.

Football kits are a big big deal these days.   Retro shirts go for a hell of a lot of money. There are companies dedicated to finding them and selling them, there are TV programmes about them and, not that I’m bothered about this part - kits, old and new, are now genuine fashion statements.  Company’s like Classic Football Shirts and Retro Kits have hundreds of thousands of followers.   Whether people like it or not people are interested and genuinely care about kits.   Fair play to those who don’t but not sure why those who do need to be moaned about.  

Edited February 24, 2023 by lenred

[View from the Dolman]

33 minutes ago, Norn Iron said:

I'm pleased if it is O'Neill

The shirts will most probably be made in Strabane, Norn Iron or in Dublin. I will be passing nearby to the Strabane factory next week. If I can, I will ask at the main desk if they are making it.

Their Megastore in Derry is fantastic. I have been wondering for years if they could make decent football shirts as their GAA and Rugby sportswear is of really good quality.

Finally, when was the last time we had a shirt made in the UK or even Europe?  I think it was Nibor made in Stoke -on-Trent. You'll be lmpressed if it is O'Neill who has the contract.

Pretty sure some of the Bristol Sport kits were made in Scotland.

[italian dave]

2 hours ago, MarcusX said:

The signs point to something being amiss here (disappearence of the sponsor from the website) but it's incredibly rare for a team to change shirt mid-season, I can't recall a time off the top of my head?

Odd that it's taken that long for the news to break on here then

Isn’t @Robbored our usual senior reds channel? Probably something to do with it not having been announced on the OS?

[1960maaan]

3 hours ago, Tinmans Love Child said:

I really like the Castore kits although they are very expensive,m

 

https://castore.com/collections/football-clothing?gclid=Cj0KCQiA3eGfBhCeARIsACpJNU-5_Bag03ug9hiuM3zU-CglwYkWlMDNZlCzftkqHeMGbxXP9mbuYUMaAka1EALw_wcB

I think that £50 that we charge is bloody expensive.

TBF the Rangers shirt is similar to Everton at £65, Liverpool charge £100 for a shirt , it's the way things are going sadly.

I agree with you though, some nice stuff on there. We haven't been known for being reasonable with pricing lately, but drop those prices a bit and I think they could sell loads.

[Robbored]

13 minutes ago, italian dave said:

Isn’t @Robbored our usual senior reds channel? Probably something to do with it not having been announced on the OS?

I haven’t been to Senior Reds for over a couple of years. It’s became very poor value for money. It used to be the complete opposite……………

Edited February 24, 2023 by Robbored

[Davefevs]

@headhunterdid you hear this at Senior Reds?

[ChippenhamRed]

1 hour ago, Bristol Rob said:

So to recap... And assuming I've followed this correctly.

The club have been moaned at for half the season owing to a lack of shirts available in the club shop, even though it appears to be out of their hands because the distributor went under, the club then decide that due to these factors and the inability Hummel to meet demand, they'll look elsewhere.

The club decides to go with a company with a 100 year history of providing sportswear, and without seeing a shirt, design or the quality of the product, some people are upset.

I quite like the fact the club have gone down a different route, should give us the chance to introduce some new products that will likely be unique to the Championship.

I'm sure the deal the club have struck gives allows them to make a few quid on sales, and if the supplier is eager to move in to the UK 'soccer' space, a deal with City might have been too tempting for them to turn down, even if it isn't the most lucrative deal they'd hope to get in the longer term. 

Also explains why the club are trying to give away anything they can via the rewards points! 

This is all true and fair enough. But equally - aside from a rather OTT “deeply upsetting” comment earlier in the thread - I also think it’s entirely reasonable that people are disappointed to be moving away from a supplier who have something of a cult reputation and have produced some excellent quality kits for us, towards a much less familiar brand. Particularly given we had recently announced a six year partnership that we were all very happy about.

Also, the cheap looking Weymouth kit at the start of the thread probably hasn’t helped!

The more recent comments from those more familiar with the brand are encouraging. Let’s hope Oneill can hit Hummel levels in terms of design and quality.

[Dolman Queen]

• OTIB Supporter
• •  50.3k
• Location: Downend

Posted 12 minutes ago

@headhunterdid you hear this at Senior Reds?

I did, indeed its true.   It wasn't quite black and white but that he thought this was the case

DQ

[MarcusX]

1 hour ago, Norn Iron said:

I'm pleased if it is O'Neill

The shirts will most probably be made in Strabane, Norn Iron or in Dublin. I will be passing nearby to the Strabane factory next week. If I can, I will ask at the main desk if they are making it.

Their Megastore in Derry is fantastic. I have been wondering for years if they could make decent football shirts as their GAA and Rugby sportswear is of really good quality.

Finally, when was the last time we had a shirt made in the UK or even Europe?  I think it was Nibor made in Stoke -on-Trent. You'll be lmpressed if it is O'Neill who has the contract.

I've no idea, but I'd be disappointed if Bristol Sport kits weren't made in the UK?

[Steve Watts]

4 minutes ago, Dolman Queen said:

•  

I did, indeed its true.   It wasn't quite black and white but that he thought this was the case

DQ

Blimey!  The meltdown that's about to happen for moving away from red and white........!

Edited February 24, 2023 by Steve Watts

[ChippenhamRed]

One thing I find particularly weird about this story is that this thread is literally the only place it’s getting a mention and yet it appears very credible. All the more surprising given it was mentioned over a week ago at the Senior Reds meeting. There’s nothing on Twitter at all.

[cidered abroad]

2 hours ago, glynriley said:

What I would say, given the association with gaelic football and rugby, the kit must be fairly robust.

Not sure it should be seen as a backwards step either. A long standing sportswear manufacturer, looking to expand it's horizons in the football market, could be seen as a positive if we become the biggest client and the 'poster boy' for the brand.

Castore as a brand is less than 10 years old, yet is associated with some of the biggest clubs in the country and also the England Cricket team. All about seizing opportunities at the right time.

 

The quality of the last three rugby manufacturers, has been considerably stronger or tougher than the football ones.

This seasons shirt that I mentioned in my previous post, was so thin and flimsy compared with a couple of rugby shirts I have.

I guess simply that rugby shirts need a greater resistance because of the handling they get during a match.  Thus I prefer something more substantial today wear than a shirt with the thickness of a one sheet of kitchen roll.

Edited February 24, 2023 by cidered abroad