Anger of parents as Manchester United roll out fifth home strip in five years - Mirror.co.uk

Parent groups have accused Man United of "profiteering from children's loyalty" after they unveiled their fifth home strip in just five years.

The new design by Nike, pictured above, will hit supporters hard in the pocket... and the design has been panned by fans too.

In a move away from the traditional plain red shirts, the new top has an unusual checked print with black lines and a black V neck. Man ­United fan Dave Roberts, 39, said: "The ­design is awful. It is like one of those gaudy, revolting shirts from the 1990s. I don't know why they have changed the style away from the plain red shirts.

"It is nearly as bad as the infamous grey kit. The players won't be able to see each other in these shirts. They should have kept it simple with the plain red design.

"They are ­obviously just changing it to make money and get the fans to buy it. But I actually don't think the fans will be ­rushing out to the shops, it won't go down as a Man United classic."

It is understood the new kit will be unveiled at the end of May, earlier than the normal launch date because of the Euro 2012 tournament and the Olympics.

But the design has been leaked on to Man United fanzine Red Issue's website, and is also featured on a YouTube clip which shows the shirt hanging up, along with a blue tartan-print shirt believed to be an away jersey.

Fans have left a string of negative comments about the new strip on the website, describing it as "horrible" and "abhorrent". One said: "It looks like a school dinner-
lady's outfit."

Man United claim to have ­333million supporters worldwide, with six times as many fans in India than in the UK and a huge army of followers in China and ­Indonesia. It is estimated the club sells up to 1.5million shirts a year.

And while the coffers at Old Trafford have been boosted by the shirts, pressure grows on families to buy the new kits.

Siobhan Freegard, co-founder of ­Netmums, told the Sunday Mirror: "While it's normal for clubs to change their kit each year it creates huge problems for parents.

"Kids naturally want the newest kit to keep up in the playground, but it adds up to almost £100 per child to buy a new home and away top.

"This is an ­incredible amount of money for any ­family to find. But without it kids could feel second best as it creates 'haves and have nots' according to who can afford it. "As it's always the most loyal fans who buy the kit, clubs should look at reducing the cost of kids' tops to the more affordable price of a tenner or less. Anything else is just ­profiteering from children's loyalty."

A Premier League charter has stated that replica shirts would be released every two seasons, but in recent years most clubs have ignored this in pursuit of ­profits.

There was further outrage this week when it emerged the England national strip was being scrapped after being worn in just eight games. While the FA insists money generated from the merchandise is ­re-invested in the game, parents are left counting the cost.

Man United refused to comment.