www.uibhfhaili.com

Does anyone think its about time that Offaly changed the jersey? I think it could be 6 or 7 years since they changed it. I know they changed the sponser 2 years ago and changed the original design( removed that extra stripe). I remember talking to a Westmeath county player who told me in 2006 that County Boards get €5 per shirt sold.
The County Board could do with the extra cash!

I would suspect that they won't for another while myself. There were a few years there when the jersey changed almost every year between the yellow bar across the green that was introduced and then removed, and then the new crest. I know these were small changes, but they still would have annoyed parents with kids etc.

Also, it's always best release a jersey when a team is on the upswing - i.e. not now. Something tells me if Offaly make a bit of a revival in either or both codes this year we might see one in time for next Christmas. That would just be plain business sense.

Offaly got the new style jersey with the V shaped stripe in 2002.
Like O'Neills tended to do, they developed one new design and rolled it out to every county jersey, which was grand for counties with one main colour and maybe white trimmings.
It didn't suit Offaly's three striped design and the following year the V stripe was dropped and the current version came along.

The most recent change was adopting the new crest design. It wasn't strictly a change, in the sense that no other feature changed.

However I think the county should probably change the kit design every 3 years, for commercial and fashion reasons. If parents knew when the kit would change, then they could make their decision when to buy accordingly. With children growing in size, parents mightn't want to shell out when they don't know when the design might change. As much as the costs are criticised, they do represent good value for the amount of wear they get and how well they stand up to continual washing and other hardship.

Lone Shark wrote:I would suspect that they won't for another while myself. There were a few years there when the jersey changed almost every year between the yellow bar across the green that was introduced and then removed, and then the new crest. I know these were small changes, but they still would have annoyed parents with kids etc.

Also, it's always best release a jersey when a team is on the upswing - i.e. not now. Something tells me if Offaly make a bit of a revival in either or both codes this year we might see one in time for next Christmas. That would just be plain business sense.

As a parent I've never really had a problem with sports jerseys (and the regular changes) as in most cases they tend to be good quality and more importantly they are never off kids backs - they don't want to wear anything alse. The fact that Offaly don't change the kit too often is to be admired on one hand but is silly on the other - kids will still get the new jersey for their birthday or Christmas only it'll be United/Liverpoool/Celtic/Barca/Munster whatever..
and this is where we miss out.. I'd sooner see a kid in their club or county jersey but if the kit isn't being changed there will be no demand. Look at counties like Dublin and Kerry (and they are not the only ones) where every year they change the jersey and they sell bucket loads.. I never hear too many complaints either!

DD wrote:Look at counties like Dublin and Kerry (and they are not the only ones) where every year they change the jersey and they sell bucket loads.. I never hear too many complaints either!

Agreed, I know Dublin are consistent in their jersey release cycles, i.e. every 2 years.
Again they would be more commercially sensitive than Offaly, as they are more obviously going head-to-head with Celtic, Man United, Leinster rugby on the sports shop shelves. Also the revenue from jersey sales is a big money generator for Dublin's coffers.

Their designs are different enough every time to make it obvious which is the new jersey.

Offaly had the famous jersey with the yellow squared sleeves from 1994 to 2002 and if you ignore the fiddling over stripes and crests, have had the same jersey since 2002. Admirable in many ways, but probably not commercially savvy.

One thing I'd love to see is more availability of retro jerseys.
In particular, as a for instance, the 1982 football jersey, which you can get here:
http://www.retrogaa.com/product_info.ph ... cts_id=358
I doubt the county board sees anything from the sale of these, does anyone know?

I was in O'Connor Park last Sunday, and the one thing i noticed was the amount of people wearing Offaly rain gear, fleeces, t-shirts etc. There is a big market for GAA wear now, and I think the County board should release a new shirt.

I stand corrected on this but I believe Offaly, Kildare and Carlow are the only counties not to have changed jerseys in the last 3 years? I suppose its hard to re-design these shirts.

[quote="the rat"]
I stand corrected on this but I believe Offaly, Kildare and Carlow are the only counties not to have changed jerseys in the last 3 years? I suppose its hard to re-design these shirts.[/quote]

The designs of GAA jerseys in general are extremely poor and unimaginative - there must be no-one with an ounce of flair working in O'Neills (or Azurri for that matter). The sooner they open up the market to Umbro/Adidas/Nike etc the better..

I'd disagree with that last element - the GAA's rule on gear having to be manufactured in Ireland is antiquated, probably contrary to EU law and certainly will go at some stage, but I for one would be sorry to see it pass. It's not like the jersey buying public would get county shirts any cheaper if Nike or Reebok were on the job, so I'd be quite happy for O'Neills/Azzuri plus anyone else who feels up to the challenge to keep it going.

Also, it's all very well to talk about unimaginative, but with such a strong sense of tradition, how many people here would be happy to see the tricolour radically changed? I'm not saying tweaking is not possible, but when you see the uproar that came out last time we had the jersey with the yellow bar across the green, it shows how limited designers are in terms of what they can do.

More use of away colours on the other hand - now that's something that should be happening. Whether it be the 1982 type, or else some newer creation, there would be a lot more scope in that for a bit of creativity, along with certainly more retro designs and gear.

Lone Shark wrote:I'd disagree with that last element - the GAA's rule on gear having to be manufactured in Ireland is antiquated, probably contrary to EU law and certainly will go at some stage, but I for one would be sorry to see it pass. It's not like the jersey buying public would get county shirts any cheaper if Nike or Reebok were on the job, so I'd be quite happy for O'Neills/Azzuri plus anyone else who feels up to the challenge to keep it going.

Also, it's all very well to talk about unimaginative, but with such a strong sense of tradition, how many people here would be happy to see the tricolour radically changed? I'm not saying tweaking is not possible, but when you see the uproar that came out last time we had the jersey with the yellow bar across the green, it shows how limited designers are in terms of what they can do.

More use of away colours on the other hand - now that's something that should be happening. Whether it be the 1982 type, or else some newer creation, there would be a lot more scope in that for a bit of creativity, along with certainly more retro designs and gear.

A few years back there was a noticeable difference in the price of O'Neills gear versus a Nike or Adidas garment but that gap has closed or is gone completely so the pricing is a red herring.
The reason there was "uproar" over the gold bar/vee or whatever it was is because it looked shit and was just totally ridiculous. There wouldn't necessarily have to be any break from the traditional colours but surely O'Neills could come up with something a bit better than changing the sleeves and putting Uibh Fhaili on back or the like every decade or so.
I don't anyone that doesn't like the 82/away jersey and when it's on sale they are usually snapped up so it definitely shows there is a market out there for new jerseys. Most importantly if a good deal could be thrashed our with whatever sportswear manufacturer it would be much needed revenue that could be ploughed back into Offaly GAA..

The 1982 jersey is a real icon of the GAA, and it's great to see updated versions of it as an away shirt, like a few years ago when we beat Meath in Leinster. In fact it often happens that GAA teams have similar enough colours and maybe we could see it more often. Unfortunately, the home jersey isn't something that has been updated with any great success -if anything I'd be inclined to go for a retro design. When you look at old matches and photos the tricolour looks a lot more solid and manly. Great things were achieved with the yellow-sleeve effort of the 90's but Jaysus it looks awful. I think keep it simple is the way to go - strong blocks of plain colour. The more you tart it up the worse it gets.
I realise this doesn't help when it comes to shirt sales revenues but when Barack Obama wins the election in th US we can try to tap into the American market.
As a point of interest, have the hurlers ever worn the '82 football style jersey?

Off topic, but an Offaly man for President is a very interesting theme for 2008...

McCain won in Florida. He is starting to gain momentum on the Republican side.

I don't see why they don't just use the away jersey EVERYTIME they are drawn as the away team. Its probably a GAA regulation or something but surely the GAA won't get in the way of county boards making money considering all the worry about paying so much expenses now adays.

We could always wear the white jersey when drawn as the away team against any team apart from Kildare. Doesn't make sense not to use it as it would definitely increase revenue and I think its a better looking jersey anyway.

On a slightly related topic.
Remember O'Neills released an Offaly away jersey in 2000.
It was a sort of update on the 1982 style one, but with green sleeves and the crest on the sleeves (as all O'Neills jersies had back then).
It sold well, but was never actually approved by the county board and hence never worn by the team.
Despite this, it still showed the appetite there was from Offaly fans for a bit of variety in the county wear range.

Contrast this with Kerry where they release a jersey like their recent blue away one and wear it at a number of league games (even home ones) to launch it and get an interest going.

Yes that Offaly away shirt with the green sleeves was a nice jersey, I think the County Board went over the top by banning it though.

The county footballers and hurlers must be hoping the County Board change the home shirt, as players from other counties must be sick of swapping shirts for the same offaly shirt every year. Although who could forget the time they werent allowed to swap shirts a few years back!!