We’ve done a lot on Admiral kits lately, so here to redress the balance is some vintage Adidas…
The German sportswear giants turned their attention to the UK in the late seventies and began to takeover the kit contracts of many of the clubs on the ailing Admiral roster… West Ham, Orient, Aberdeen, Crystal Palace, Luton, Norwich, Manchester United and Wales were all re-branded with the distinctive three stripes.
Two of the first clubs that Adidas kitted out, Ipswich and Nottingham Forest, earned instant silverware winning the FA Cup and League Championship respectively in 1978. When Forest went on to lift the European Cup twice this only helped to promote the idea that this was a brand for winners.
Adidas have had a big presence in British football ever since, and all the top clubs have worn Adidas at some stage, including Manchester, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea…
For more of this sort of thing buy ‘Got, Not Got’ here…
Great to see that classic Orient shirt.
About the others, I remember when it was a novelty to see the Adidas stripes on the tops of the sleeves. A few years later, it seemed like clubs were changing their strips every season (still do).
Those first Adidas kits used to be used for about 3 or 4 seasons, seems many clubs have now introduced the yearly change.
They lose their distinction.