One of the ways I coped at school when I got fed up was to design football tops. With this in mind I fancied one day having an actual go at creating my own kits and through Daft Laddie Apparel I got my opportunity. I intend this to be a stand alone part of the wider Daft Laddie network.
I decided on the Apparel badge as I wanted to pay tribute to Admiral sports company for fuelling my passion for kits with their innovative 1970s range of designs. I was already something of a kit geek as a youngster, their appearance on the scene merely cemented their place in my consciousness as being a leader in the field.
Sponsorships – I sponsored a local football team which I just happen to manage as well. This design also formed a T-shirt design which proved popular.
Similarly this take on the famous Dukla Prague shirt proved popular.
Taking my homage to Admiral that bit further I fancied producing a Claret & Amber version of their famous Tramlines design which they supplied to Coventry, Wales, Dundee & Eintracht Frankfurt among others. Trouble was I couldn’t decide which one, so I just produced all 3 variations.
How to follow that one eh? Well the World Cup was fast approaching and I remember a bit of a stooshy over England’s kit for the 1982 tournament. Lovely design although the manufacturing process left a bit to be desired. So I spoke to my designer Willie Kay and he came up with this cracker, with a twist to appease the fervent Scots among my customer base. The badge features Sid punching a ball, much in the same way Diego Maradona did in the 1986 tournament. On the back we went for the new wording ‘Daft Lad Diego’ or ‘daftladdiego’ which raised a few eyebrows. Not really that clever a move cos it alienated my English clientele and the design didn’t really go down that well with Scottish contingent. Ach well, back to the drawing board.
Plain and simple, I’ve always fancied a Claret & Amber Hooped jersey. Not those silly thin hoops that Celtic, Accies or Kille used to wear. No, great big massive Hoops like QPR in the 70s. I got this one right, received to great aplomb by the buying public.
I also used the Apparel badge on a short run of tees and sweats
Euros were looming fast, everyone and their granny was going to be all over this for merchandising but what could I do that was sufficiently different to give me a chance of standing out? Retro jerseys, with my own design badge. Scotland released their home and away kits and they were horrific. My mind was made for me, I pulled the trigger on the Home one and came up with the notion of a Rosebery style away jersey. Best sellers for a while these. Willie came up with the 12th Man tagline and stuck the number 12 on the back.
For years I tried to find a Roma away jersey from 1993/94 season to add to my collection. I even wrote to some of the fake retro sites that have sprung up lately to see if it was something they would have on their planning but to no avail. So I decided to make my own. And it’s beautiful!!!
The Ancell Babes were my Dad’s favourite Motherwell team of all time, and this jersey is my favourite jersey of all time. I did produce a copy of this way back in the 90s when guy I knew worked for a rugby shirt manufacturer and he arranged for a short run to be made. Around the same time I did a few retro shirts. I even offered them to the club shop to reproduce. I obviously kept one of each for myself so I handed them over thinking they would copy the style and see a new range of retro kits in the shop soon. No! The jerseys were sent to the Xara factory in Egypt where they were promptly cut up, apparently to test the fabric. So my beautiful retro shirt enterprise was no more. Maybe they were just getting rid of the competition who knows, but I wasn’t best pleased. Through time I might go back and revisit some of the others but for now, this Ancell Babes one is the only one to get the treatment.
Another long time favourite kit which I could never find was this Aston Villa away kit buy French makers Le Coq Sportif. Again, I just decided if no-one else is going to do it then I will. The company I use introduced a new heavier style jersey, more in keeping with retro shirts, whereas before they were just lightweight nylon football shirts. This was the first attempt using that process and I have to say it is impressive. Willie Kay designed a new badge to pay tribute to Le Coq who had recently went under sadly.
