The fixtures are out, but what will your team be wearing next
season?
Every Premier League outfit is unveiling at least one new kit
(with the vast majority issuing two or three), meaning supporters
must shell out around £45 to wear their team's colours.
Season ticket prices have been frozen at many top-flight clubs,
but replica kits are still an area in which some fans feel
exploited.
Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters Federation,
said: 'It will not be surprising if sales of replica shirts suffer
as a result of the recession.
'The bottom line for fans is that you need a ticket to get into
the game but you don't need a replica shirt, and when money's
tight, it's the non-essentials which will go.
'We must expect to see older shirts being kept in service for
longer. Clubs would be unwise to budget for anything other than a
drop in sales.'
Here is Sportsmail's
guide to (and verdict on) some of the strips on offer in
2009-10.
AWAY KIT: The Gunners
are keeping last year's home strip for another season, but they
have changed their goalkeeper, away and third kits.
Midnight blue with a pinstripe and collar, a long-sleeved
adult's shirt will set you back £45.
The navy socks (£9) and plain blue shorts (£18) bringing the
total to cost of looking like your heores to £72.
Away day blues The future's bright
GOALKEEPER KIT: For
another £45 you can have a yellow jersey with orange sleeves and a
round neck.
The colours clash quite wonderfully with the red Arsenal
badge.
Dark, nondescript shorts with a yellow Nike swoosh are £18 and
yellow socks are £9.
THIRD KIT: The Gunners
are supposed to be releasing another third strip, but there's
nothing official yet. Rumours of a green and blue kit (ala 1982-83)
didn't go down at all well with fans earlier this year...
Two new kits for Martin O'Neill's side, who will wear last
season's turquoise away strip as their third kit in 2009/10.
HOME KIT: No leaked pictures yet, but last
season's home shirt is on sale for £25 so expect a new design
soon.
All white now: The top Villa players will be wearing on
the road
AWAY KIT: Villa will wear new white,
round-collared shirts (long-sleeved from £48) with subtle thin
pinstripes and navy trim.
Blue shorts (from £20) and white socks (£10) complete the look,
which is designed as a tribute to the 67 Villa players who have
represented England.
Whoever decided to put Gareth Barry in the promotional pictures
wasn't thinking straight though...
There are new home and away kits to mark Birmingham's return to
the Premier League.
HOME: Yet to be revealed, but reasonably priced
at £34.99 for a shirt.
AWAY: Black with a blue, gold and white trim,
this Umbro shirt (£34.99) isn't messing about.
Black shorts (£16.99) and socks £7.99) are equally understated.
Or boring.
In the black: Birmingham's away top
New home and away kits for Blackburn Rovers fans.
HOME: Nothing official as yet, but we've
spotted a leaked image on the internet. The phrase 'playing it
safe' comes to mind.
Same again please
A bit fancy
AWAY: The £45.99 shirt is white with flashes of
red and blue at the top of the arms and around the neck and trim.
The red shorts (£17.99) and socks (£7.99) are a touch garish.
A new sponsor for Bolton, so it's all change at the Reebok
Stadium.
HOME: The Trotters' new £39.99 Reebok home
shirt is a strange design that makes the new 118BET logo look like
it's been stuck on with sticky tape.
Navy shorts (£19.99) and white socks with navy writing (£5.99)
complete the look.
Bolton first gave it an airing in last season's final home game
against Hull City.
AWAY: Last season's mustard away kit has been
slashed in price on the club's website, so expect a new kit to be
unveiled soon.
There are new home and away kits for the Championship play-off
winners, designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Burnley's
last Division One title in 1960.
HOME: A proper kit for
one of the founding members of the Football League.
Manufacturers Errea have moved their branding to the sleeve to
add to the retro feel (right).
But the £42.99 price has a very modern feel to it.
AWAY: Very traditional
once again, but with just a hint of that famous claret and
blue.
There's a new home kit for the Blues, which was leaked months
ago.
HOME: The Robocop panels and Grandad collar
aren't going to be the most flattering if you're bigger than the
average footballer (or 'outsized' as the Chelsea website so
eloquently puts it).
A long-sleeved version will set you back £44.99, with shorts at
£19.99 and socks (available in blue and white) at £9.99.
It's what they're wearing on the King's Road: Chelsea's
new strip
There's a new home kit for the FA Cup finalists, with an away
strip still to be unveiled.
HOME: Everton's unusual home strip will set
fans back £74.97 (£44.99 for a shirt, £19.99 shorts and £9.99
socks).
Sweet: The Toffees home shirt for next season
Roy Hodgson's side will sport a retro home kit on their Europa
League adventures next season, with an away strip still to be
confirmed.
HOME: This subtle strip isn't flashy and a
long-sleeved shirt will set you back between £34.99 and £44.99.
Fulham are one of the few clubs to charge different amounts for
different sized shirts.
White socks (£9.99) and black shorts (£17.99 to £19.99) complete
the understated look.
They stayed up by the skin of their teeth and the Tigers will
celebrate with two new kits.
The club are also promoting their official 2009/10 training kit
range.
Hull have yet to release pictures of their new strips, but
there's very little you can do with those traditional black and
amber stripes.
Just one new kit for last season's Premier League runners up -
the home and third kits both live to see another day.
AWAY: Leaked pictures suggest this black shirt
with red piping and gold branding will be worn by Steven Gerrard
and his team-mates in 2009-10.
The club announced a new 10-year deal with Umbro earlier this
month, so look forward to a whole fleet of new kits coming from
Eastlands.
There are two leaked designs for the home shirt doing the
rounds.
The first you can see below, while the other one is a more
traditional design along the lines of the new tailored England
kit.
manchester city kit
The new United 09/10 home kit is being launched on July 1 amid
the normal rumours and counter rumours of what it might look
like.
The strip can be pre-ordered now and Nike have released these
teaser images to give fans a glimpse of what to expect.
Red hot Red Devils: Rio Ferdinand (left)( and Wayne
Rooney
Brace yourself - Pompey are rolling out three new kits for
2009/10. The club are also keeping all three designs firmly under
wraps.
Tony Pulis' men will have new home and away kits for their
second season in the Premier League, with the home strip yet to be
revealed.
AWAY: Abdoulaye Faye reckons it's an
'outstanding new kit', but we reckon it looks a tad casual.
Suits you sir: Faye is impressed with his new look
The Black Cats welcome new boss Steve Bruce with two new kits,
home and away.
HOME: There's not much
you can do with red and white stripes, so Sunderland have kept it
simple with a £39.99 long-sleeved shirt, £17.99 black shorts and
£7.99 black socks with red trim.
Cool for Cats: The kits Sunderland will turn out in
next season
AWAY: Clean and bright,
but the sponsor's logo is a little too obvious. Like the home
strip, it costs £65.97 for the three items.
There are three new kits for Spurs as well.
The strips below have been touted as possible designs. Not much
to complain about there, is there?
And below is a leaked picture of thelkeeper's strip.
The jersey looks like a dodgy hooded top Jamie O'Hara might wear on
a night out with Danielle Lloyd and we're not sure about the
mottled design
The new away kit has been unveiled, while the 2008/09 home kit
is on sale at a reduced price on the club's website - so look out
for another version soon.
AWAY: £45 for a long-sleeved shirt, £20 for
navy shorts and £8.00 for navy socks.
In the navy: What the Hammers will be wearing up and
down the country
Three new kits for the Latics to go with their new manager,
Roberto Martinez.
(You can also buy a £9.99 T-Shirt with 'ROBERTO' on the front
and 'BOBBY'S BACK' across the shoulder blades, though the £32.99
Wigan Athletic cardigan is a personal favourite).
Here's the home shirt, which is £44.99 for the long-sleeved
version.
Blue shorts are £16.99 with white socks at £8.99.
New home and 'change' kits have been issued to mark Wolves'
return to the Premier League.
The home shirt is the traditional orange while the change strip
(available from July 3) is white with a neat red trim giving more
than a nod to one of the first strips Wolves played in towards the
end of the 19th century.
The shirts will cost £45.