After that whole Paddy Power x Huddersfield fiasco we started thinking about which shirt sponsors are the most iconic in the game. Which sponsor immediately comes to mind when someone mentions a football club? Which sponsors actually enhanced a club's kit design? We all love the retro vibe of a sponsor-less kit, but which sponsors actually increased the appeal of a shirt?
With that in mind we've picked out the most iconic shirt sponsor for every team in the 2019/20 Premier League season. We ran a few polls on Twitter to get accurate answers, but we disagreed with most results because everyone is too young and it's our game with our rules. Obviously your age will influence your decision, as will the success or failure of your club at the time they were sponsored by a respective company. So here it goes... We've thrown in some bonus shirts at the end to help you forget that we picked the wrong one for your club. We good? Let's go...
Arsenal x JVC – Tough one to start with. We actually put a poll out there on Twitter with four options. JVC (35%), SEGA/Dreamcast (9%), o2 (45%), Fly Emirates (11%). The o2 days were some of Arsenal's very best in terms of on-pitch success, so understandably Twitter's younger age demographic went for it. But there's just something about that block 'JVC' branding and delicious adidas kits that takes the win for us.
Aston Villa x Mita – Straight shootout between Mita and Muller here. Photocopiers vs yoghurts. Already we're having to fight between 'Most Iconic Sponsor' and 'Best Sponsor' – there's a line in there somewhere. The Muller logo was probably more iconic, but the Mita logo made for some beautifully aesthetic shirt designs.
Bournemouth x Frizzell – Not overly spoilt for choice are Bournemouth. You could argue that one of their more recent Premier League sponsors could take the title, being at their very highest position and that. But we're going for Frizzell, because it sounds ace and is printed in block white capitals. Safe.
Brighton x Skint – Easy one, this. 'Skint' were a local dance music record label and sponsored Brighton for nine years until 2008. With Brighton fan Fatboy Slim enjoying huge success under the label at the time the kits all took on an added cool factor. It's a sponsor that has Brighton fans remembering a time when they were struggling in the lower leagues, but a decade later and the club are anything but Skint.
Burnley x Endsleigh – An eleven year stretch on the front of the jersey is enough for Endsleigh Insurance to take the honour of Burnley's most iconic sponsor. From 1988 to 1999 the shirts hosted the company's smart logo including a Division 2 play-off win at Wembley in 1994.
Chelsea x Coors – Another tricky one. Commodore, Coors, Autoglass, Samsung or Fly Emirates? You'd argue that the latter two were the most successful in terms of on-pitch performances, and younger fans will lean towards Samsung. We were stuck between Commodore and Coors for a while, but beer always wins. A seductive little font made any shirt look better.
Crystal Palace x TDK – Only one winner here. One look at TDK has us thinking about Attilio Lombardo's beautiful bald bonce, and manually rewinding tapes. The electronics company sponsored the club between 1993 and 1999. Special mention to Fly Virgin, a contender.
Everton x NEC – The clean, strong logo took centre stage on the Everton shirt from 1985 to 1995. Fittingly, the last ever game that NEC donned the Everton shirt was the 1995 FA Cup Final victory over Manchester United. A decade of iconic kits. Special mention to Danka. Special do one to Angry Birds.
Leicester City x Walkers – IND COOPE and LG might stake a claim here, but there's only one sponsor that can win this for Leicester and that's Walker's Crisps. A variation of different company logos blessed the Leicester City kits between 1987 and 2001, and then obviously the Walker's Stadium in 2002. Easy winner.
Liverpool x Candy – Pretty much every LFC fan under 30 will hammer us for this. Carlsberg comes in at an incredibly close second but the kits that Candy featured on were pure retro royalty. Crown Paints were also up there, but we had to opt for the appliance company with their lovely italic font. They can thank adidas for sorting them out with some stunning kit designs too.
Manchester City x Brother – A one horse race. A classic font, over a decade-long partnership and during a time when the Gallagher brothers were smashing it up in City shirts. They made photocopiers and printers if you're interested, Brother that is, not the Gallaghers.
Manchester United x Sharp – A trip across the city saw a much harder choice. Vodafone won our Twitter poll, ahead of AIG and AON, but Sharp is Manchester United for us. A strong, attacking-football-associated word, colours that always complements the shirt design. If you're under 30 let's pretend we picked Vodafone and we can all move onto the next one happy, okay?
Newcastle x Newcastle Brown Ale – Nothing is more Newcastle than this photo of local hero Alan Shearer wearing the home shirt with local brewery Newcastle Brown Ale on it. The only thing more Geordie would be Gazza slurring 'Fog On The Tyne' after 12 cans of the stuff.
Norwich x Norwich & Peterborough – Lotus and Fosters were up there but we had to give this one to Norwich & Peterborough Building Society. It's local, it's beautifully clunky in 90s style and it featured on the best Norwich home shirt of all time – the classic 1992/94 design.
Sheffield United x Arnold Laver – Blades fans will name one company asked about their greatest ever sponsor, and that's Sheffield based timber merchants Arnold Laver. Another smart 90s italic font combined with some the best kits in the club's history. Not to mention on the shirt of their debut Premier League season, and the Premier League's first ever goal, courtesy of a Brian Deane header against Manchester United.
Southampton x Draper Tools – Proper old school sponsor, no nonsense logo, no nonsense tools. The glorious days of local sponsors rather than Chinese betting companies.
Spurs x Holsten – Just pipping Hewlett Packard to the gong of Tottenham's best ever spinner is Holsten. Alcohol brands rarely produce a bad logo for football shirts and Holsten were no exception. Coinciding with some magnificent Hummel and Umbro kits, this is what we picture when we think of a Spurs shirt. Current sponsor AIA ain't bad but they insist on using red, and for that reason they'll never be Holsten. Plus the fact that German beer is much more fun than a pan-Asian life insurance group.
Watford x Phones 4 U – Whenever we think of Watford we think of Phones 4 U (4 less... at Phones 4 U), then we think of Micah Hyde playing Snake on a 3210. Confusing isn't it? About as confusing as why Watford, nicknamed the Hornets, have a giant moose as their club crest. Football is weird.
West Ham x Dr Martens – This was the hardest one to choose. Dagenham Motors or Dr Martens. Both of them beautifully East London. Both looked superb on the claret and blue of the Hammers. We're going for Dr Martens despite the purity of flogging cheap MOT's on a Premier League football shirt. Still can't decide to be honest.
Wolves x Doritos – The answer here should be Goodyear. But it's not. The Doritos logo just worked on the Wolves shirt, it was a little bit different and absolutely everyone loves Doritos. That 2003 play-off final demolition of Sheffield United, and Kenny Miller wheeling away after scoring the winner against Man United in the Premier League.
So there you have it. That's our top pick for each 2019/20 Premier League club. While we're here it would be a crime to leave out some classic continental pairings of clubs and sponsors so browse away below.
PSV x Phillips & Inter x Pirelli
AC Milan x Opel & Real Madrid x Teka
Rangers x McEwan's Lager & Napoli x Mars
Borussia Dortmund x Die Continentale & Eintracht Braunschweig x Jägermeister
Fiorentina x Nintendo & Juventus x Sony
Special mentions to Fulham (Pizza Hut), Charlton (all:sports), Sheff Wed (Chupa Chups & Sanderson), Portsmouth (TY Beanie Babies), Forest (Labatts), Coventry (Peugeot/Subaru), Reading (Auto Trader), QPR (Guinness), Marseille (Panasonic), Napoli (Peroni).
See, not all sponsors are rubbish. Some genuinely make football shirts better. When you see a retro shirt you immediately relate to the sponsor more than anything else. So would we want every football shirt to be sponsor-less, like Paddy Power's campaign mentions? No thanks.
