Why Did We Play In Black?

[Open End Numb Legs]

If you are playing a fast moving sport like football that benefits from good peripheral vision then surely playing in a bright kit must be a benefit. Not a huge benefit maybe but in this age of small margins, worth taking.

Watching Arsenal in their bright yellow kit it is so easy to see the passing options.

Black in a night game? Can't be great.

[Davefevs]

24 minutes ago, Robbored said:

It’s one of our away kits.

Whenever a club play us at AG they always wear one of their away kits even if their home doesn’t clash worth ours.

False.

Exhibit A.  The earlier fixture with Brum (below)

 

12 minutes ago, joe jordans teeth said:

Are you taking the mick now,if your eyesight is that bad that you can’t pass because the crowd are wearing dark colours then I bloody hope these players don’t drive a car in the dark

There was some study a few years ago from memory that showed some evidence of this being the case.

[CS Red]

I often think that when the colour of the kit has been blamed for a teams poor performance it's just an excuse. But this photo from the BBC website and is top of the match report might be a good example. Nakki Wells is not that easy to see but the goalkeeper in yellow is very easy to see. I don't think Jason Knight is that easy too see either.

[O'Garlandinho]

39 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

False.

Exhibit A.  The earlier fixture with Brum (below)

 

There was some study a few years ago from memory that showed some evidence of this being the case.

I remember this case study, stats don’t lie!

[W-S-M Seagull]

1 hour ago, joe jordans teeth said:

Are you taking the mick now,if your eyesight is that bad that you can’t pass because the crowd are wearing dark colours then I bloody hope these players don’t drive a car in the dark

It's just common sense that a dark coloured kit is going to blend into the dark background of a dark stadium isn't it?

It must make some sort of impact. How big? I don't know. 

If you went our for a run in the evening, you wouldn't wear dark colours would you? You'd wear bright colours go be seen. 

[joe jordans teeth]

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

It's just common sense that a dark coloured kit is going to blend into the dark background of a dark stadium isn't it?

It must make some sort of impact. How big? I don't know. 

If you went our for a run in the evening, you wouldn't wear dark colours would you? You'd wear bright colours go be seen. 

Interesting you say that,if you were a burglar you wouldn’t want to be seen in bright colours so is it better the opposition see you easier or your own players

Edited December 30, 2023 by joe jordans teeth

[joe jordans teeth]

1 hour ago, CS Red said:

I often think that when the colour of the kit has been blamed for a teams poor performance it's just an excuse. But this photo from the BBC website and is top of the match report might be a good example. Nakki Wells is not that easy to see but the goalkeeper in yellow is very easy to see. I don't think Jason Knight is that easy too see either.

Bright yellow will always stand out of course in a night game but you seriously can’t see Wells or Knight without squinting 

[Spike]

2 hours ago, Rossi the Robin said:

Small percentages can make the difference- surely playing in a brighter colour is an advantage when trying to pick out a pass etc 

As soon as I saw we were in black, had a feeling we’d be slightly off it 

By this logic we should want to play in the yellow kit right? 

I honestly don't get what all the fuss is about, from what Scotty said the players like playing in black, so what's the problem? 

[ashton_fan]

It didn't help that their floodlights were so poor, there were several dark patches making it difficult for the cameras 

[MarcusX]

5 hours ago, Robbored said:

It’s one of our away kits.

Whenever a club play us at AG they always wear one of their away kits even if their home doesn’t clash worth ours.

Your memory has failed you again. Hull, just 7 days ago, wore their home kit at Ashton Gate.

[MarcusX]

4 hours ago, Open End Numb Legs said:

If you are playing a fast moving sport like football that benefits from good peripheral vision then surely playing in a bright kit must be a benefit. Not a huge benefit maybe but in this age of small margins, worth taking.

Watching Arsenal in their bright yellow kit it is so easy to see the passing options.

Black in a night game? Can't be great.

 

[ExiledAjax]

Anyone want the colourblind angle repeated?

The third kit - as shit as it is with that ******* robin - would have been better for everyone involved.

Whether it would have improved our chances of winning - who knows - but it would have been easier to watch the game.

[CS Red]

6 hours ago, joe jordans teeth said:

Bright yellow will always stand out of course in a night game but you seriously can’t see Wells or Knight without squinting 

Course I can see them In a still photo. But they are harder to pick out, particularly Wells. Given the pace of the game and the fact that you might only have a moment to pick out a player the darker kit may not help.

[Robbored]

8 hours ago, Davefevs said:

False.

Exhibit A.  The earlier fixture with Brum (

That game was an exception Dave. Why did City play in black last night?

[robinforlife2]

10 hours ago, pongo88 said:

Teams play in their away kit on a regular basis when there is no colour clash. It’s due to one thing - money. Clubs want to sell as many away shirts as possible and the more they are worn the more they sell 

In order to sell something, you have to have it in stock in the first place ............................

[ExiledAjax]

12 minutes ago, Robbored said:

That game was an exception Dave. Why did City play in black last night?

Ipswich, Hull, Birmingham, Coventry, Sheff Wednesday, and Norwich all wore their home kit at AG this season. 

An awful lot of "exceptions".

Read the thread to see Scott Murray's answer to your question.

Edited December 30, 2023 by ExiledAjax

[Robbored]

10 hours ago, pongo88 said:

Teams play in their away kit on a regular basis when there is no colour clash. It’s due to one thing - money. Clubs want to sell as many away shirts as possible and the more they are worn the more they sell 

Spot on Pongo.

Thats why City played in black last night.

[ExiledAjax]

If anyone seriously had issues distinguishing our players from Birmingham's last night out then it might be an idea to take an online colourblindness test.

This is a decent one: https://enchroma.com/pages/color-blindness-test

If that comes out positive then book an appointment with your optician who can do a more thorough test.

Many people, especially men, have undiagnosed colourblindness, and watching blue/black under (poor) floodlights would be a classic instance where a mild instance of colourblindness manifests itself.

There's lots more information here as well https://www.colourblindawareness.org/

Edited December 30, 2023 by ExiledAjax

[Davefevs]

34 minutes ago, Robbored said:

Spot on Pongo.

Thats why City played in black last night.

You said always wear away kit.

26 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

If anyone seriously had issues distinguishing our players from Birmingham's last night out then it might be an idea to take an online colourblindness test.

This is a decent one: https://enchroma.com/pages/color-blindness-test

If that comes out positive then book an appointment with your optician who can do a more thorough test.

Many people, especially men, have undiagnosed colourblindness, and watching blue/black under (poor) floodlights would be a classic instance where a mild instance of colourblindness manifests itself.

There's lots more information here as well https://www.colourblindawareness.org/

I don’t think the issue was distinguishing our players from Brum’s, it was seeing them against the background of dark.  At pitch level probably not as big an issue as being made out, but still not like being able to see something bright / colourful.

[Robbored]

29 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

You said always wear away kit.

I did indeed - I should have posted frequently.

 

[Open End Numb Legs]

9 hours ago, joe jordans teeth said:

Interesting you say that,if you were a burglar you wouldn’t want to be seen in bright colours.........

Any excuse to quote one of the best comedies ever seen, IMO, with a little twist at the end....

 

Norman Stanley Fletcher, you have pleaded guilty to the charges brought by this court, and it is now my duty to pass sentence. You are an habitual criminal, who accepts arrest as an occupational hazard, and presumably accepts imprisonment in the same casual manner. We therefore feel constrained to commit you to the maximum term allowed for these offences: you will go to THE MEMORIAL GROUND for five years.

[spudski]

There have been studies as to which colours are most successful in football. 

Red comes out top. 

Its common sense that any bright colour is easier to pick up at eye level against a dark back ground. 

Wearing black, where the background of the crowd is predominantly wearing dark clothing sat in the dark isn't ideal. 

Remember when Man Utd changed their grey kit at half time, as the players said they were finding it difficult to pick out team mates against the crowd. They never played in that grey kit again. 

Think about driving in your car at night...bright lights from cars and street lights glaring, like floodlights, against a dark background...then you come across a cyclist wearing all black lycra on a black bike...' where did he come from'...that's why high Vis colours are what they are. 

In a fast game of fine margins...why make it more difficult?

Answer...because black football shirts look better as a casual wear with jeans for the fans. 

[Silvio Dante]

53 minutes ago, Robbored said:

I did indeed - I should have posted frequently.

 

To be fair, for most people you post frequently enough.

[shelts]

Blacks very slimming and just after Christmas…..makes sense !

[johnbytheriver]

 

[handsofclay]

I remember when Danny Wilson was manager, I think when we just missed out on auto promotion, we played at his old club Barnsley. Our away strip was either black or white that season but for some inexplicable reason City turned out in yellow. And won.

When asked afterwards Wilson said that yellow is the best colour strip in football as it psychologically feels like the team wearing yellow has an extra player as the colour catches the eye more.

Plus way back Herbert Chapman was the first to introduce hooped socks at Arsenal as he thought players are mainly looking down when the ball is at their feet so usually see the boots and socks of the fellow players first. Thus if teammates are wearing hooped socks that catches the eye that bit quicker than plain socks.

[pongo88]

9 minutes ago, handsofclay said:

 

Plus way back Herbert Chapman was the first to introduce hooped socks at Arsenal as he thought players are mainly looking down when the ball is at their feet so usually see the boots and socks of the fellow players first. Thus if teammates are wearing hooped socks that catches the eye that bit quicker than plain socks.

The modern equivalent is players wearing pink boots, though I’m sure they do it for totally different reasons than Herbert Chapman cunning plan 

[luke_bristol]

One psychological trick we should employ is “forgetting” our own kit and having to wear the home side’s away kit, it will bamboozle the other team so much they’ll drop into the relegation zone in the last ten minutes of the season and get pumped out of the entire EFL system into non-league. It would be hilarious. 

[Cowshed]

13 hours ago, Open End Numb Legs said:

If you are playing a fast moving sport like football that benefits from good peripheral vision then surely playing in a bright kit must be a benefit. Not a huge benefit maybe but in this age of small margins, worth taking.

Watching Arsenal in their bright yellow kit it is so easy to see the passing options.

Black in a night game? Can't be great.

In regards to football there are numerous colour that could provide marginal gain. The colour black indicates strength, and this in theory could make an individual feel marginally stronger. Stripes horizontally make individuals larger rather than vertical stripes. Black horizontal stripes are eye catching hence why the colour black is used in underlining. Red and black is particularly eye catching, red top newspapers originally used their red tops to catch the eye. Black is an excellent choice for catching peripheral vision, and remaining rememberable . 

Watching Arsenal in a kit of flecks, and logos can make their yellow less eye catching, and it has. 

The purpose of much of what goes on a kit does not aid vision, that is not its purpose, what is being done for kits are no more than marketing gimmicks. 

 

[REDOXO]

16 hours ago, Finley_Smith10 said:

It’s our away kit 

 

16 hours ago, Cardy said:

Yeah but we only have to wear it when the home team play in Red. Infact we could also choose to play in Yelliow rather than a Black if we wanted to.

Exactly. It was hard to tell the players apart watching the match on a small screen. There was no reason to play in black except to sell another kit unless there is some away kit rule I’m not aware of. 
 

If that’s not the case then it’s to sell somebody a black City shirt.