Manchester United are one of the most popular football clubs in the world, they have a deeply ingrained local heritage based in the manufacturing of cotton dating back to the 18th century.  The club like to embrace this local history in the look and design of the football kits that the players wear each week on the pitch.  Nike a sportswear manufacturing giant based in America has been designing and producing the teams kits since 2002, today the new kit designed for the upcoming 2013/14 season is released for sale.

The club was originally introduced under the name of Newton Heath in 1878, this was changed to Manchester United in 1902 after financial difficulties saw the original club wound up, with the introduction of a new name came the introduction of the now famous red and white colour scheme.  It is therefore no surprise that the new home top is red in colour, it is an all red, plain fabric design that is classically simple.  Again referring to the local heritage and the stylishness of Manchester the classic polo neck design is incorporated into the new kit, polo neck collars were a regularly occurring feature in the shirt designs of the 90s and were famously worn upturned by Eric Cantona.  The underside of this seasons contrasting black collar features a grey gingham pattern inspired by the manufacturing history of the local area, and alluding to last seasons all gingham fabric design.  The collar can be worn up as a fashion statement, or fastened down with the button placed on the underside at the back.

The club crest is a standard feature of all football shirts, the Manchester United crest was originally inspired by the city councils coat of arms, over the years crests are changed and redesigned to reflect modernity.  The outline structure of today's crest remains similar to the original, the sailing ship from the first crest is still depicted, along with the newer 'red devil' inspired by the teams nickname, and the rosettes from the early crest have been replaced by footballs.  Inside the neck of the collar there is a woven script stating 'Forged in industry, striving for glory', again strongly reflecting the heritage in which the teams history and focus is based.

This is the last season in which the Manchester United home top will feature the sponsor AON.  AON is an insurance risk management company that have sponsored the club since 2010, they have signed a new deal to sponsor the teams training kit from next season and the training ground is to be renamed the AON Training Complex.  The club have signed a new multi million pound sponsorship deal with Chevrolet, and this is the sponsor that will feature on the match day kits from next year.

Manchester United are the most popular selling Nike football shirt in the world, selling approximately 1.4 million over the last five years.  The club has recently celebrated their 20th Premier League Championship title, and new manager David Moyes will be keen to make an impression and push the team forward in their new kits to have another successful season again bringing home silverware.

What is your opinion of the new Manchester United home top?

Do you like the contrasting coloured collar?

You can show your support for Manchester United by ordering your new kit from Soccerbox now.