The launch of Everton’s new home kit has become an eagerly-anticipated annual event for many Blues fans both young and old. Supporters wonder what the strip will look like and crucially whether they’ll like it.
Will the kit adhere the club’s traditions but will it also fit in with modern fashions? Everton launched their new 2022/23 home kit which pays homage to the central element of the club’s famous crest – the iconic Prince Rupert’s Tower on Friday morning.
The home shirt features a heat embossed tower pattern repeated across the whole jersey, contrasting against flashes of white across each side and finished with a white round neck. For the first time, the traditional four hummel chevrons down the arms are pared back to two, allowing the striking contrast between the embroidered pattern and white side and neck detail to take centre stage.
While everything went smoothly with the latest launch as the likes of Anthony Gordon, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ben Godfrey and Dele Alli all modelled the 2022/23 home kit alongside Hanna Bennison and Toni Duggan from Everton Women, it wasn’t always the case and this year represents the 25th anniversary of the Blues’ most infamous replica kit faux pas.
When asked to recall an unlikely Everton hero from the 1997/98 season, most fans are likely to say Gareth Farrelly but how about the name Robert Armstrong? The eagle-eyed Blues supporter – who was only 13 at the time – is the person who spotted that the shirts being worn by the players on the pitch did not match those being sold in the shops.
His discovery led to the youngster appearing on the front page of the ECHO 25 years ago and Howard Kendall’s side changing their home kit. Recalling the incident in 2017, he said: “I was actually reading a copy of the Beano and Dennis the Menace plus the other characters were all wearing that season’s Premier League kits.
EXCLUSIVE: Everton enter race for Jesse Lingard after Richarlison exit
READ MORE: How Everton supporters can get discount on new home kit by donating old shirt
“I spotted that the colour scheme on the central panel of the Everton shirt didn’t match my own but at first I feared that it was only my shirt that was wrong. From top to bottom, the panel on the players’ shirts went blue-white-yellow – a pattern that was repeated on the shorts – whereas mine was yellow-white-blue.
“It had already been a late kit launch with the shirts not available until September and my mum tried to take it back to the shop and explain but they didn’t seem to understand what we were getting at. So then we went to the ECHO with the story and I ended up on the front page!”
An embarrassed Umbro who manufactured the kit were forced to act quickly and declared that it was the players’ kit that was wrong and the thousands of replica shirts that were right. The sports marketing manager Simon Marsh said at the time: “We don’t know how this happened, but new shirts are being sent to the club.”
Sporting their new batch of “correct” kits with the logo the other way around for the first time on September 20, Everton defeated Barnsley 4-2 with the ECHO’s David Prentice declaring that the Yorkshire side’s defence had “more holes than a Tetley tea bag.” To the club’s credit, the unused kits were then auctioned off for charity with the proceeds going to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and two decades later, Robert, from Rice Lane, finally got to meet his idol Duncan Ferguson after Everton arranged a meeting after a follow-up article revealed he had become a father for the first time to daughter Hannah Marie who got her first Everton kit complete with “Little Dunc” on the back.
READ NEXT
Burnley and Leeds drop complaint against Everton after Premier League message
Richarlison exit confirmed as Everton and Tottenham transfer details set
Everton and hummel unveil new home kit for 2022/23 season as club pays homage to famous crest
Exclusive: Everton minority shareholders won't be forced to sell if takeover completes
Frank Lampard facing big Seamus Coleman Everton dilemma after Crystal Palace speech
