I think it should end at the end of 2018/19; 2014/15 was the first season under Puma, so unless they secretly extended the contract, it should go: 14/15 15/16 16/17 17/18 18/19 I honestly hope the club decides to go back to Nike. Puma's gear leaves much to be desired for me.
I think Under Armor has made a lot of good business decisions in the last couple of years. IMO, they are slowly surpassing Adidas. Wouldn't mine them or Nike.
I realize it's just my own humble opinion, but F***ING HELL NO! Hope that company rots from the inside. Okay, carry on.
I like the puma gear. The kits feel a little cheap but the rest of the stuff is nice. More stylish than the stuff Nike did, IMO. Plus their shoes are the good shit. I switched to Puma Suedes and they last a lot longer than the Adidas i was wearing before, and are more comfortable too.
Same. I have someone on this board to thank for posting their biannual sale link. Got two pairs of suedes and a nice hoodie for like half off.
Pro tip: Give them 3 coats of Scotchgard for suede to keep those stripes from getting dark prematurely.
Say what you want about Puma, but at least they've made a commitment to having yellow/gold aways every year.
I'll acknowledge that, but I have to temper that sentiment with the dreadful-looking third kits. If they hadn't gone all barber-pole with this year's third, it would look seriously badass; I think it could've been one of the best looking kits the club has ever worn. Hopefully they'll recognize that "less is more" with this next cycle.
At least Puma did a good job for one club next season: . . Anybody know when Arsenal's new kit will be released? . .
Looks fairly official and i doubt a sports shop would be hanging up fakes. I like the away kit except for the cuffs but am not a fan of that odd stripe down the front of the home kit.
I loathe that away color combination. Feels like a lose-lose compromise. As for the home shirt, not thrilled with all the white on the shoulders, but part of that has to do with what appears to be some B-grade material involved. Like the collar and everything else about it fine, though. Still miss the last, classic badge.
Chelsea sign w. Nike for double AFC's deal. Spurs are also believed to be signing w. Nike after next season. Getting interesting in London http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...gn-60m-a-year-kit-sponsorship-deal-with-nike/
Read that over lunch. How on God's green earth is Chelsea's kit worth twice Arsenal's? Absofarginlutely garbage! This is where I get all conspiratorial about back room deals and such, because even though Arsenal don't peddle themselves as sweepingly as other clubs this kind of stuff is just insane. Just over 10 years ago Chelsea were no bigger than WHU as far as brand value. This is the kind of bullshit that makes me wanna drive an anchor bolt through RA's knee caps and drag him behind my car for a few blocks. The business of pro sports is just killing pro sports. Feck, now I'm all angry again.
This is less an Arsenal problem and more a matter of how the sponsorship money is so screwed up. It so heavily skewed toward a handful of teams. (And yes, Arsenal is high up on that curve, I know) This is why I'll go to the grave knowing at least the TV and UEFA monies should be divided evenly. But I digress. /rant
Agree w. you. After reading this article and seeing how smart Chelsea were in negotiating this new kit deal, Yokohama sponsorship and sponsorship for just their training kits it comes down to having smart people w. right connections to cut these type of deals. It's quite apparent AFC are quite lacking in this dept. I mean how much is Gazidis making and how much has he built the brand and revenue (will have to check Swiss Ramble) Yes, AFC are not as big as MUFC globally but United are a good blueprint on expanding a brand and signing partnerships w. anything assoc. w. MUFC. A good example is a deal w. New Era for headwear only. Maybe if AFC had better people upstairs Arsene wouldn't be as dependent on just qualifying for CL football and knocking out the rent and could focus on the pitch and winning trophies. Rant over.
Those things are changing. Arsenal were so far behind commercially, and they've done a decent if not great job at changing that, but it's both progressive and cyclical. When the Puma deal was signed, it was huge. Things can escalate quickly in these situations. We'll use the new Chelsea deal (and similar) as a precedent for leverage in our next one.
I understand this. What I don't understand is how Chelsea could be worth that much? Did they really need just a dozen years to garner more global fans and merchandise appeal than the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool, let alone Juventus, Milan, etc? Clearly I'm out of touch with the mainstream plastic fan, then.