Cardiff City is entering a new era, with the club ready to undergo one of the most major summer changes in recent years.
Steve Morison, the club’s manager, faces a monumental task in rebuilding a roster that could lose up to 21 players this summer.
On Friday afternoon, the club completed the acquisition of Forest Green Rovers midfielder Ebou Adams, and there will undoubtedly be a number of new faces through the door before the transfer window closes.
However, not only will the coaching staff be altered. Cardiff’s outfit is also changing, with New Balance recently confirmed as the club’s new shirt supplier for the next four years, terminating their relationship with Adidas.
The Bluebirds are also the first Championship club to collaborate with the American firm, and fans are already wondering what to anticipate ahead of the new season.
The new kit is expected to be released in July, and there has already been much conjecture about what it might look like. At this time of year, concept kits are nothing new, but one design in particular has managed to whet the appetite for this summer’s new release.
Graphic designer RH Designs has put together an effort that seems to have been inspired by a couple of kits from the late 80s. It features the traditional Bluebird blue with a white pinstripes. A white rounded collar is complimented by white and yellow trim on the sleeves.
Some fans were seamlessly positive. “Really like this, echoes of the Buckleys brewery shirt of the late 80s,” said one. “Best concept I’ve seen so far hands down. Guaranteed it won’t look like any of them, they never do,” said another.
However, not everyone is convinced. Some have pointed out that it looks like a shirt worn by another EFL club.
“Like it, but it is very Ipswich,” was another verdict, while one critic said: “I don’t like the white stripes or the two tone blue. It a big no for me. I’d go as far as to say it’s one of the worst home shirts I’ve seen us have aside from the red rebrand shit.”