Ipswich Town are close to revealing their new home kit for the 2020/21 season. Andy Warren ranks every effort from the last 20 years from worst to first.
15 - 2005/07 - Punch
Punch produced some excellent kits during their run supplying the Blues but this was not one of them.
The swooping beauty contest white sash didn’t work at all, particularly because there was a blue one on the shorts as well. They never lined up and just looked plain odd.
It didn’t fit anybody, athlete or fan, well either and the material wasn’t great.
It’s propping up the pile.
14 - 2011/12 - Mitre
It doesn’t feel like an awful lot of effort went into this particular jersey.
It has the exact main pinstriped body of Town’s shirts between 2007 and 2009 but then bolts on the sleeves of the 2010/11 shirt.
It’s an ok shirt but you want a bit more imagination.
13 - 2009/11 - Mitre
As previously mentioned, this shirt was sampled a year later as its shoulders were stolen and used again.
This shirt’s fine but it’s not inspiring. It feels like plenty of clubs wore this design at the time.
12 - 2016/17 - adidas
My least favourite of Town’s new generation of adidas kits.
I don’t like the different coloured blue chevrons (looks like a re-worked version of the Polyfilla logo), I’d prefer adidas stripes to be white and the fact it was worn with blue shorts wasn’t great either.
11 - 2018/19 - adidas
This shirt has grown on me significantly.
I have to admit, I wasn’t a fan when it was first launched, mainly due to the red, but it looks so much better in person than it does in pictures.
The Magical Vegas logo is an obvious negative – I doubt that colour scheme would work on any shirt – while the fact it was the jersey worn as the club tumbled towards relegation doesn’t do it any favours either.
10 - 2015/16 - adidas
Pinstripes, tick. Old-school collar, tick. Blue sleeves, tick.
It’s feels a little like a throwback to the 80s while also fitting in well in the modern era.
A solid effort, but we’ve seen all of these elements before in the not-too-distant past.
9 - 2012/13 - Mitre
Ah, yes. The shirt launched with that wonderful farmyard video.
From memory this shirt split opinion, largely down to the red stripes across the shoulders.
I like it, though, largely because it’s one that sticks out following a few years of shirts which all blend into one.
8 - 2017/18 - adidas
Another clean and simple effort but it works really well for me.
The blue is a good shade (though not quite as silky as the 2019/20 edition) and the adidas stripes down the ribs is a nice touch.
A good, solid ‘v’ collar as well.
Marked down because Birmingham wore almost exactly the same shirt during the 2017/18 season.
7 - 2013/14 - Mitre
The final Mitre kit was a decent effort (though I had completely forgotten it existed prior to putting this list together) with nods to the Wembley 2000 effort from Punch. That’s never a bad thing.
Maybe a little too much white?
6- 2001/03 - Punch
I still stand for this shirt nearly 20 years later.
It’s probably the most simple design on here, with a lone white line separating the sleeves from the body, but that simplicity is something I embrace.
The blue was maybe a little light for some. Not me. I like it.
5 - 2014/15 - adidas
The Blues’ return to adidas was a triumphant one.
There’s nothing overly special about this shirt but the little black flashes, around the collar and sleeves, are great and give it a touch of class.
It’s clean and simple. A nice shirt which comes with good memories as Town reached the Championship play-offs.
4 - 2003/05 - Punch
It may just be my age, but this shirt only brings back good memories for me.
It’s an incredibly simple design using entirely straight lines, but it did the job as well as the team on the pitch.
The white flashes from the waist up are subtle and the collar simple.
3 - 1999/00 - Punch
For many, this will be the undisputed No.1 on this list. I hear you and, in many ways, I agree.
The memories it brings back are stunning. It’s maybe the last truly ‘old school’ Ipswich kit worn by the club and was used during the Blues’ last truly successful period.
So forgive me for only having it third.
Maybe my tastes have changed slightly. Maybe I’ve dropped it down the list to be a little provocative. Who knows?
But is it maybe a little busy? Is there too much red? Has that use of red encouraged too much red in future years?
I’m torn, but it’s staying third.
2 - 2019/20 - adidas
This was supposed to be the kit donned by the Ipswich Town players as they won promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt, possibly winning two Wembley finals along the way.
Alas, that wasn’t to be, but this is still a great kit. For my money the best since the return to adidas in 2014.
The shade of blue is spot on. It’s clean, simple, classy and the darker blue chevrons are subtle yet noticeable. The fact sponsor Magical Vegas agreed to have their colour scheme changed makes this shirt.
It’s just a shame images of it won’t be particularly prominent when it comes to the club’s history.
1 - 2007/09 - Mitre
Yes please. This shirt is top of the pile.
The pinstripes are executed perfectly and classically and the round collar helps show them off to the full.
This shirt looked particularly good in the long-sleeved version and with the E-On sponsorship rather than the Marcus Evans logo.
A thing of beauty and a deserved winner.
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