A quick note about a great project that some of our musical friends have been involved with – Thirty One. It’s a compilation bringing together some of the finest bands from around Manchester, with all proceeds going to a very worthy cause, CALM.
The compilation brings together the likes of Murkage, The Travelling Band, Dutch Uncles and Air Cav, all bands that we’ve featured here on the Umbro blog. Not only that, but the art direction was by none other than England shirt designer Peter Saville and our friends LOVE as well, so there’s plenty of Umbro connections to this terrific project!
For more information on the record, head over to the Thirty One site.
Picture from http://thefootballarchivist.tumblr.com
That’s right – like a certain ginger-haired midfielder or un striker français – Back Of The Net has come back from retirement to add firepower and a bit of pizazz to the Umbro blog, picking out some of the finest things we’ve found around the internet and presenting it to you in one handy place. We’re starting off this week with the place where we discovered that cracking picture at the top of the page, one of the growing Tumblr pages that capture some great football moments.
The Football Archivist is a Tumblr that brings together some fantastic retro football photography from all around the world. Tracing everything from the majestic to the mundane from the world of football, it’s a fantastic way to while away an afternoon at work. The picture above features some classic retro Umbro drill tops which is why we’ve chosen it, but the superb moustache on display also helps!
Visuals are also the name of the game over at On Goals Scored, a favourite here in the Umbro office – so much so that we collaborated with the man behind it on an Umbro Tee Shop tee. Creating his own visuals based on some hardcore football stats, Liam has produced a pretty unique visual style, something that’s pretty hard to do in the crowded world of football. Our current favourite is this graphic that examines what life is like for clubs once they’re promoted to the top division. It might look like someone’s gone mad with a felt-tip pen at first, but look closer and you’ll see the detail involved. There’s plenty more where this came from at the On Goals Scored site.
If you’re looking for more words to get your teeth into, then there’s a new blog devoted to all things England that should do the job. The Stiles Council easily wins the award for the best name for a new blog, and it also promises to be a pretty impressive forum for an analysis of all aspects of the England set up in the run up to this summer’s action. It’s from the same team as the now defunct Two Footed Tackle, so if you were a fan of that, you can lok forward to their particular perspective on England here.
Also known for their way with words is In Bed With Maradona, who have won a few awards for their insight and stories from around the world. They’re particularly good at stories from South America, such as this recent preview of the Copa Libertadores: now those of us who haven’t got a clue about the exotic cousin to the Champions League can impress our mates down the pub with a quick scan of the article. Cheers guys!
Finally this week we’re shining a light on a website that mixes words and visuals to terrific effect. Yes, Minoboro does have a strong Middlesbrough side to it, but it’s a gem of a site for fans of any club. The first thing you’ll notice is the cracking creative visuals of footballers both classic and modern, but there’s also some great interviews on the site. The chat with Bob Mortimer in particular is a great read – who knew that The Man With The Stick was a Boro fan?
That’s everything for this week’s internet trawl – if you spot anything you think deserves to be here next week, give us a shout in the comments section.
Congratulations to Darren Bent on scoring his 100th Premier League goal tonight! Here’s a close up view of the very special Speciali R boots Darren has to mark the occasion. Here’s to 100 more!
Umbro founder Harold Humphreys was born on this day in 1902, the man who brought football and fashion together and introduced tailoring to the world of sport. Over the years, Umbro have crafted some of the most iconic moments in football’s history, kits and products that continue to influence the sport today. It’s these items that we’re celebrating in our Icons Reissued collection.
A premium collection of some of our most iconic products, reproduced stitch by stitch from the original designs, Icons Reissued are steeped in history and the story of football, but they also look great as modern designs. There’s four items in the Icons Reissued collection, here’s a little bit on them all:
Crafted from a Victoria blue stonewash twill, this Anthem jacket will forever be associated with English football’s greatest every victory. With the England crest proudly embroidered on the chest, the jacket also has red, white and blue ribbed trim on the collar, cuffs and hem.
Another item forever associated with classic England footballing moments, the Mexico 70 jersey looks just as good today as it did over 40 years ago! With a classic crew neck collar, the shirt is crafted from the same ribbed fabric as the original, and features a reproduction of the ‘Choice Of Champions’ screen print that featured on the hem of the original shirts.
The original inspiration for our celebrated New Blue collection, the classic Umbro drill top was a part of every player’s wardrobe and even found its way onto the stage at one of the biggest gigs to ever take place in Manchester. Recreated stitch for stitch, the drill top features an oversized Umbro logo on the chest, and is crafted from the same washed cotton twill as the original.
We’ve recreated the look of the taped track jacket many times, but this is the original that they’re all inspired by! With the same ribbed taping down the sleeves as the original, the Icons Reissued track jacket features a subtle Umbro logo on the chest.
We’re really excited by the Icons Reissued collection, and we’re sure you’re going to be impressed when you see it up close. There’s more pictures over on our Flickr stream, or you can head straight over to Umbro.com now for more details. Happy birthday, Harold Humpreys!
These are some colourful boots! Look out for them on the feet of Aston Villa striker Darren Bent this weekend, when he debuts them in his club’s FA Cup 4th round tie against Arsenal. Created especially for Darren, there’s only a tiny number of these yellow and purple football boots ever being created. Ahead of the game, we had a quick chat with Darren about his boots, and him closing in on 100 Premier League goals. Here’s what he had to say….
You’ll be debuting these boots in a big game at the weekend, are you looking forward to the game at Arsenal?
‘Yeah, it should be a good game. I wasn’t involved in the game earlier this season, but I was at the last one down at the Emirates and it was a good game. Being an Arsenal fan as well, it’s always nice to play against them, but hopefully we’ll beat them!
The FA Cup is a special competition, and if you can beat Arsenal on the way, then it’d be even better. Beating Arsenal wouldn’t make it any easier though – that’s the magic of the FA Cup, that you can play any team and everyone just grows in stature. It doesn’t matter what division you’re in, anyone can beat anyone, it’s just about producing the goods on the day. If you don’t do that, then you’re out!
Winning the FA Cup would be a massive thing for Villa, we’re a massive, massive club and they should be winning trophies. If we could win the FA Cup, which is such a big prize, it’d be great for all the fans, and there’s no reason why we couldn’t do it.’
These special boots are a bit colourful, is that what you were looking for?
‘Yeah! I’ve always wanted some boots that are a bit more out-there, and Umbro have certainly produced the goods with these ones. I’m looking forward to wearing them! Umbro boots have always been really comfortable, they’re probably the most comfortable boots out there, and then they’ve done this yellow and purple colourway just for me, and they look fantastic, so I’m really pleased. With the colours, I just liked the look of them, I liked how out-there they are. You can’t sit on the fence with these ones.
The boots have also come at a great time as you’re close to getting 100 Premier League goals. Were you aware that you’re close to joining a very special group of players?
‘Yeah, it’s always been an aim of mine, to get in the Premier League 100 club, it takes some doing and there’s some absolutely class players in there. Alan Shearer, Robbie Fowler, Thierry Henry, these are all people that I regard as the best to ever play in the league. I’m on 99 at the moment, so I’m just looking for one more, hopefully I’ll get one off my shin or anything, just so I can be part of that. Once I get in there I’ll just be looking to get more as well. If I could get to 150 and beyond I’d be so happy.’
Obviously if you keep scoring goals, you could be part of the England squad at the Euros this summer. Have you thought about that yet at all?
‘I’m just concentrating on the cup and the league to be honest, because I’ve been in a similar position before, and all I can do is focus on what I do and play as well as I can for Villa, and if I got to go to the Euros with England I’d be delighted.’
We’ve done some special boots for you before, when you were the first player to have their Twitter name on their boots. How does it feel to be a trendsetter?
‘Nice! As long as people know that I was the first person to do it that’s cool, it’s all good fun. Trendsetter, I like that!’
Thanks to Darren for taking the time to speak to us. You can get your own pair of Umbro Speciali boots over at Umbro.com now – the Speciali 3 is on sale now.
Following our chat with Manchester City legend Paul Lake, we recently had the chance to speak to another special character from the club’s history – Steve Redmond. City’s youngest ever captain, Steve was a mainstay in the MCFC defence between 1984 and 1992, making over 200 appearances for the club.
Steve also played for the club in a pretty interesting game for the club which we’ve discovered online. In December 1990, City played Spurs at home, just as they’re doing this weekend (check out the video we discovered below of the original game). On this occasion though, thick fog in Manchester meant that the club had to don their maroon away kit just so they could be seen on the Maine Road pitch. A rare appearance of an away shirt being worn by the home side, it proved to be a lucky omen, with City beating Spurs 2-1. Steve Redmond got the first goal on that occasion, a rarity for him, and something he was happy to talk about!
Do you remember that goal Steve?
‘Yeah, it was off my knee I think! Quinny headed the ball to the back-stick, and it came off my knee, and then Clarkey (Wayne Clarke) claimed it! I didn’t score that many, I remember my first for the first team, against Coventry away on Boxing Day. I played in centre midfield and we drew 2-2, and I got both goals. I also got a header against Oxford at Maine Road, and a left-foot free kick against Luton on the plastic pitch, they all stick out.’
What was it like to captain Manchester City at 18 – the club’s youngest ever?
‘It was a bit weird at first, as a youngster I wasn’t the loudest. But when I went to City I moved from centre forward to a centre back, and from there it’s easier to see everything and dictate to people. To be honest, it wasn’t that bad, I didn’t have to give anyone a rollocking in the dressing room or anything like that. We had a good group of lads which helped. I wasn’t a big time Charlie, so hopefully the other players just respected me for who I was. I got a bit of abuse just because I was a Scouser – if anything went missing in the dressing room, I usually got the blame, that kind of thing!
I remember when I was captaining the first team, looking back at the lads in the tunnel and thinking ‘I’m in charge of these guys’. I always remember my mum telling me that her and my dad cried when I lead the team out, that’s something that will always stick with me. But once you’re out on the pitch, it doesn’t’ really matter who the captain is, there should be 11 captains. But as an honour, to do it as an 18 year-old and to progress so quick, it’ll stay with me forever.’
You were also part of the team that won the FA Youth Cup against United. Was that a highlight of your time at the club?
‘I remember that game well – it was a two legger, we drew 1-1 at Old Trafford, Lakey (Paul Lake) scored a penalty, and we got them back to Maine Road and we won 2-0. The 5-1 would have to be the highlight though – the win for the Youth Cup against United was the first – but for a result in the first team it would be have to be the big one at Maine Road. Also, being a Liverpool fan, the first time playing at Anfield always stood out. I’ve still got the video of the 5-1 in the house, once every blue moon I’ll put it on and show my son, ‘look, your dad was a footballer!’ It was just one of those days that I’ll never forget, everything clicked for us and we scored some great goals.’
You played during a great era for English football, who were the best players you played alongside and against?
‘It’s difficult to single one person out to be honest. Players like Keith Curle, Colin Hendry, Mick McCarthy, they all had things that made them great players, they’d run through walls for the team, the ultimate player would be a combination of all three. It’s the same with players you’ve played against – people like Lineker or Ian Rush stood out because they were quick, but then there’s Mark Hughes who was as strong as an ox. Dalglish was very clever, and then someone like Mick Harford who you knew was going to smash you to bits. That’s why it’s hard to pick one, when you’ve played against such a collection of different players.’
It seems like a different era, in terms of defending and what was allowed in the game?
‘You watch games now, and any time an attacking player gets near the box, everyone backs off. It’s going to get to the stage where you won’t be able to make a tackle. In my day, centre forwards knew that in the first two minutes they were going to get smashed, and they just got on with it. Nowadays, every tackle is scrutinised on TV, there’s no chance of just having a moan and getting on with it. I loved a tackle, and it’d lift the crowd almost as much as a goal would. I’d be sent off most weeks if I was playing today!’
Do you still watch City today?
‘I go to watch City when I can, and I always enjoy it. In terms of the current squad, I do like Kompany, I’d have liked to have played alongside him. I wouldn’t fancy facing someone like David Silva though!’
This week’s theme – the first of 2012 – was another one from the ‘why haven’t we done that already?’ category. Inspired by the fact that Budweiser are sponsoring the FA Cup, and it’s the 3rd Round of the competition this weekend, we thought it’d be the perfect time to think of beverages.
We got an absolutely cracking response from you lot, so thanks to everyone that got involved – there were loads of great puns that we just couldn’t fit into our final line-up. If you want to get involved in the next punathon, check out our Facebook and Twitter pages every Friday. Cheers!
There was a distinct Christmas feel to our final Spot The Ball of 2011, as we asked you to pick out the location of the ball in the snowy scene above after we’d made it disappear. With the prize of 12 tee shirts up for grabs – the complete collection of our 12 Tees Of Christmas – it was one of our most popular Spot The Ball competitions so far, but there could be only one winner….
Congratulations then to Alex John who gave us the most accurate answer and was picked out as our winner. He’s now got a whole collection of uber-fashionable tees to see him through the next few weeks, or birthday presents for any footy-mad friends and family sorted for the whole of 2012!
Thanks to everyone who entered our latest Spot The Ball competition, keep your eyes peeled for plenty more prizes on offer throughout the year!
What difference does a load of footballs make? As you can see in this picture, our donation of some footballs to the town of Las Laderas in Peru made some children very happy. The balls arrived in Peru via company near us here in Manchester, Amoria Bond. As part of their fantastic charity work, Amoria Bond have pledged to build a number of houses in the shanty town of Las Laderas, and they got in touch with Umbro asking if we had any stock we might be able to donate.
We supplied a bunch of footballs and tee shirts to take with them, and we hope they’ve being put to good use now by all the children in Las Laderas! Amoria Bond built 30 houses in the town on their recent visit, and are planning on building another 70 homes over the next two years, as well as a soup kitchen to help feed all the people in this particular area of Peru.
The work that Amoria Bond have been doing is fantastic, and we’re very pleased to have played even a little part. Check out this video that shows some of the work the team put in during their recent trip:
We all have our favourites at this time of year, and footballers are no different. We met up with England and Aston Villa star Darren Bent a few months ago, and asked him for his top Christmas film and song. His answers? Home Alone for the film – solid choice. But favourite Christmas song? In his own words, “the one that goes, ‘Last Christmas, I gave you my heart….’, who sings that one?”
Yes, we can reveal it here, Darren Bent is a fan of Wham! Here’s Darren with some cooler musical types, Kasabian:
We spoke to Darren while he was trying on the Umbro Poppy Tee, pictured above. The shirt, which was on sale through the Umbro Tee Shop and at Wembley, raised over £2,000 for the Poppy Appeal – thanks again to everyone who bought one!
Have a great Christmas, from everyone at Umbro – remember you can still enter our Spot The Ball competition, and will all 12 Tees Of Christmas!
Reference to specific teams, players or organisations within this blog - or links from it to external team, Player, individual, media, community or organisational websites - does not constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation of umbro or the umbro brand. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of umbro.
