New Kits for 2006/07 - Part 1

As you'd no doubt expect, some of the new football kits for the 2006/07 domestic season are now starting to appear so we thought we'd take a look at some of before the action begins in earnest.

To start off with, we have the top four in the Premiership all sporting new home strips. Here you can see the shirts for Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool accordingly.



Arsenal, you'll note, have reverted back to the old 'red with white sleeves' routine having ditched last year's redcurrant shirt. It features a gold stripe down either side, has Arsenal's new sponsors Emirates Airlines on the front and is currently in the shops now. Not bad, but perhaps not one of their 'classics'.

Next we have the retro offering that is Manchester United's new home kit. It commemorates the first league championship to be won by Busby's Babes 50 years ago and is, well... old-fashioned in it's design. Oh don't get me wrong - I like retro design when it comes to football kits, but this one just looks too boring for my liking. Anyway, Man United's kit is also (like Arsenal's) made by Nike and they too have new shirt sponsors - AIG. If you want to adorn your back with this one, the kit goes on sale on July 27th.

Next up, a more modern outlook for Chelsea. They've joined Adidas after a lengthy spell with Umbro and the first strip to head their way is pretty standard fair for the German firm. It has the usual three stripes down the sleeves, a bit of white piping here or there... and that's about it. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but it looks smart enough, I guess. You can pick it up now, should you so wish to do so, and is available in various stockists including Chelsea's official website.

Finally, we have the rarely seen new Liverpool home shirt. They, too, have defected to Adidas and this one is reminiscent of the kits worn during the 2006 World Cup by France and Germany. It's red (naturally) and has curly white stripes running from the neck down to the sides. It hits the shops on Monday, but other than that, do try to keep an eye open for their snazzy away kit of yellow with red trim which accompanies it, too. Harking back to the away kit they wore during the early 1980's, it's based on the same design as the new Chelsea home shirt.

That's your first four to chew over - next up, some selections from the other end of the Premiership pecking order that may just appeal to you more than this bunch...