We all knew that when Umbro were replaced by Nike as the kit manufacturer that the design elements of the kit would suffer. To Umbro we were one of their higher profile clubs, alongside the England national side, and as such we benefited from a close working relationship. Who can forget the home shirt with the "soundwave" across the front? Ok, so personally I felt it was gimmicky and didn't much like it, but Umbro actually spent time and effort thinking that one through, they came down to the stadium and recorded the noise of the fans singing, they design a shirt which was absolutely unique to Manchester City. To Nike we are just one (and a not particularly important one) of many clubs they provide kits for, we aren't a priority, and as such the time, effort and thought process that goes into our kits will be far, far less. These new kits could belong to anyone, they just happen to have some, but not all, of the colours on them that are associated with Manchester City. There's nothing unique about them, I can guarantee you that there will be other, probably quite a few, clubs out there that Nike make kits for, that have the exact same design, just with a different scheme. I guess when you're trying to maximise your revenue you have to put certain things to one side, it's just a shame as Umbro and Manchester City seemed perfectly suited, Nike seem more like the kind of company the likes of Manchester United would cozy up to.
