Everton’s new third kit has caused a stir and while the colour scheme of yellow with blue trim is traditional enough, the style of badge on the shirt has upset some. Rather than using the club’s official crest in full as it appears on the home and away kits and most other Everton apparel, there is a simplified silhouette of the Everton Lock-Up or Prince Rupert’s Tower, the 18 th Century Grade II-listing building in Everton Park.
The club have been using this emblem on various graphics for over a year now but this is its first appearance in such a prominent position and the bold step seems to have divided the fanbase, certainly those who are vocal online at least. On Twitter, The Esk said: “For a club that supposedly holds such store in the principles of the fan led review, including heritage, the club badge is supposed to be one of the protected cultural assets. Where was the consultation with fans on such an important part of our identity?” However, Jamie Cottrell replied to him with: “Great way to get some brand recognition without having to use any text. A simple icon that can have multiple uses. Love the way it’s been incorporated in the numbers and other promo bits. Good step forward.”
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John Blain, chairman of the Everton Football Club Shareholders Association, said: “Seems to me it is about brand extension into leisure wear, indicated by the ‘fashion shoot’ style of the main launch picture. No idea who they tested the style with but I’d guess that’s what the Everton Fans Forum is for so maybe they know?” However, Mr Cee Tattoo proclaimed: “I LOVE our crest. The tower, the Nil Satis banner, the shield, LOVE IT. It screams history and identity. I also love this tower concept. It’s modern, it’s contemporary and it’s got that “if you know you know” factor. Keeping the Everton heritage doesn’t mean we can’t move forward too.”
Back in 2013, there was uproar when Everton introduced a simplified crest, dubbed “modern and dynamic” but featuring a less stylised graphic of the tower while omitting the Nil Satis Nisi Optimum motto and laurel wreaths. Liverpool’s elected mayor at the time, Joe Anderson, a lifelong Evertonian, tweeted: “Everton look up the word defile – to treat something sacred or important without respect. Vast majority of fans believe this has happened.”
An online petition on change.org, started by supporter Danny Zocek, stated: “This will not only be an embarrassing crest to represent the club but it will also make the club lose money on merchandise, due to no one wanting to buy any merchandise with that awful crest printed on to it.” A detailed consultation exercise followed to come up with a crest that Blues were happy with.
More than 20,000 people took part in the consultation exercise which involved supporters being engaged across a number of platforms including online surveys, focus groups, telephone interviews and face-to-face meetings at club stores and at Goodison Park and the end product has – up until the launch of the new third kit – been used on all subsequent shirts to date. For many years, the song ‘Grand Old Team’, featuring the line “If you know your history” has been a popular terrace anthem for Evertonians and the sense of importance of the past is perhaps as strong among the fanbase, as they cling to their identity and heritage in a much-changed, more challenging modern football world, as it is at any major club.
In truth though, neither the tower nor the motto even appeared on Everton’s shirt for the first century of their existence. Other than a few seasons during Dixie Dean’s time when they wore the ‘EFC’ shield that was revived on the Goodison Park 125 th anniversary kit in 2017, the Blues generally sported plain jerseys without crests.
In 1972, they introduced the initials ‘EFC’ on their shirts with the tower and motto not appearing until their centenary year of 1978. By 1982, the motto had gone and did not return for another nine years so was thus omitted during the glory days of Howard Kendall’s first spell in charge. The crest has been updated a further three times since, in 2000 (when the word Everton was added); 2013 and 2014 and other than the much maligned short-lived design from 2013/14, the motto has been included.
In his two open letters to fans this summer, owner Farhad Moshiri has stated the following lines: “More than any other club in England, Everton is the club of its people, its community and its fans, and always will be” and “we are an open and collaborative football club which listens to our supporters.” This concept, it seems for many, includes the sanctity of the crest, even on a third kit.
At least Everton haven’t been presented with a totally ‘badgeless’ shirt that instead features the wording of the team like the Puma creations for the likes of Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund last season. And to think, Harry Catterick once insisted: “There is no need for a badge on the shirt. Everton are the team that play in blue and white. Everyone knows who we are; we don’t need to tell them.”
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