End of an Errea Part Three – Brighton and Hove Albion kits 2005-2008
Errea have made their last Brighton and Hove Albion kit after 15 long years, with the club naming Nike as their “technical partner” from the start of the 2014/15 season.
The Italian company proved to be popular with fans having produced some of the best kits in the clubs history as well as being around for some of the most successful times, particularly with the move to the Amex.
In this mammoth five part series (presuming we don’t get bored and give up after three), WeAreBrighton.com takes a look back at every shirt home, away, and goalkeeper worn by the Albion that Errea came up with.
In terms of on the pitch, Part Three covering the years 2005-2008 was arguably the most boring as the Albion were relegated from the Championship and then had a couple of mediocre years under Dean Wilkins in League One.
Kit wise it was a completely different matter though with Errea excelling, particularly when it came to goalkeepers kits with the Tour De France shirts and the pink and grey kit showing fashion at their best. We also had the first ever supporters vote for a new kit, which didn’t go entirely to plan.
The Maroon Away Kit, worn August 2005 – May 2007
The first kit that Albion fans were given a say in choosing with a public vote allowing them to pick between two all-maroon versions and one green and black striped effort. The green and black stripes actually won the vote, but the club decided to combine the votes for the two separate maroon kits to combine that the “winning colour”. A cynic might point out that this was because all the training wear for the season had already been ordered in maroon, but we’d never accuse Dick Knight of any sort of sleight of hand or blatant nonsense. Used as an away kit in 2005-06 and the third kit in 2006-07, it was made of the same tight fitting material as the Palookavile kit which wasn’t ideal for the more rotund of supporters.
The Tour De France Goalkeeper Kit, worn August 2005 – May 2006
In a period of time before Team Sky even existed and Britain’s dominance of world cycling was a mere pipedream, this goalkeepers kit showed great vision of what was to come by channelling the spirit of the Tour de France and recreating its yellow leaders jersey. Featuring black and white down the sleeves, it was worn with black shorts and black socks with Wayne Henderson making excellent use of it during the memorable 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace in 2005-06. Sadly, it didn’t survive longer than one season.
The Green Tour De France Goalkeeper Kit, worn August 2005 – May 2006
Errea were obviously aware that cycling wasn’t a particularly big deal in England at this point and so their contingency plan was to produce an identical version of the Tour de France kit in green. This number again featured black shorts and socks and was used sparingly, usually alongside the maroon kit. Another jersey that was used for just the one season.
The Two Tone Blue Goalkeeper Kit, worn August 2005 – May 2006
2005-06 really was an outstanding year to be a goalkeeper at the Albion and it wasn’t just the Tour de France kits that made it so. The other design could have been pretty boring, featuring just one a small patch of secondary colour on the sleeves. Errea’s choice of colours however ensured they were anything but boring, the first option featuring different shades of blue that coupled dark navy blue and sky blue for the shirt and was rounded off with navy blue shorts and socks. Not worn nearly enough however.
The Pink and Grey Goalkeeper Kit, worn August 2005 – May 2006
Before this snazzy little number came along, we thought it should never be acceptable to combine grey and pink together. But that is why Italy leads the world in fashion design and Britain does not. An absolutely stunning kit that is up there with the best Errea produced, it is a travesty the only image of it we have been able to locate is of a blurry Michel Kuipers. Exactly the same as the two-tone blue version seen above, it was coupled perfectly with white socks just to complete the flair look.
The Crystal Palace Away Kit, worn October 2005
What do you do when you come up against opposition who wear red and blue stripes when your three kits consist of blue and white stripes, maroon and navy blue? The simple answer of course is to play in a fourth kit of the season when you visit Selhurst Park – an all white number. Billed as a one off, the Albion stated that it wouldn’t be available to buy by supporters but that was before Paul McShane popped up with a 79th minute header to secure an historic 1-0 victory. Never one to miss out on an opportunity to cash in, the club released a limited number of shirts with an inscription marking the glorious occasion.
The Blue Backed Home Kit, worn August 2006 – May 2008
The Albion’s return to League One after relegation from the Championship also saw a return to the more traditional shade of blue for the home kit. This was in fact one of the bluest kits we’d had since the 1980s, with both the sleeves of the shirt and the back being completely blue. It was rounded off with white shorts and white socks. The club crest also made it’s return after the use of an overweight seagull on the Argentina kit. Lasting the two seasons of 2006-07 and 2007-08, this was to be the final regular season home jersey that would feature Skint as a sponsor.
The White Away Kit, worn August 2006 – May 2008
Buoyed by the success and popularity of the all-white one-off Crystal Palace kit of the previous season, a permanent white away kit was used for the first time since the 1993-94 season in 2006-07 and continued it’s run as third choice kit in 2007-08. The shirt featured a minimal amount of blue trim with the shorts and socks also being blue, meaning it was easily interchangeable with the home kit. Bizarrely the sponsor was also in white which at times could make it a challenge to see, not least when Joe O’Cearuill and Kerry Mayo were attempted to chase around Carlos Tevez in a slight mismatch at West Ham United in the FA Cup Third Round of 2006.
The Aqua and Gold Arrowed Goalkeepers Kit, worn August 2006 – May 2008
This really was a golden period in terms of Errea’s goalkeeper kit designs as their 2006-08 products were a continuation of the excellent work of the previous season. It is rare that we find a number one jersey that survives more than a year as first choice, but a sign of how good this stunning aqua and gold number was is that it was consistently used throughout the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Featuring a bizarre arrow pattern on the sleeves and very thin stripes on the front, it went together magnificently with navy shorts and socks to be one of the best keeper kits of Errea’s entiree 15 years.
The Navy and Gold Arrowed Goalkeepers Kit, worn August 2006 – May 2008
This navy and gold arrowed kit was another absolute beauty which will unfortunately probably be best remembered for Henderson’s untimely slip in the 90th minute away at AFC Bournemouth on New Years Day 2007 which effectively ended his Brighton career. Featuring the same design as the aqua and gold, it replaced aqua with navy blue for startling effect and was the only one of the keepers kits of the 2006-2008 period to feature shorts with an accompanying arrow pattern.
The White and Gold Arrowed Goalkeepers Kit, worn August 2006 – May 2008
Not enough goalkeeper kits feature white and a prominent colour other than black for our liking and that is something that was addressed in glorious style with this particular effort. Again, it took the arrow design, using white as it’s main colour along with gold. But what was more impressive was the fact that rather than use standard issue black shorts, gold shorts were used alongside it to complete a thoroughly foreign and flair looking number. Throw in white socks and you have a kit that looked absolutely amazing, even when losing 4-1 at home to Crewe Alexandra and 3-0 at home to Blackpool.
The Maroon and Gold Arrowed Goalkeepers Kit, worn August 2006 – May 2008
Criminally underused in its first season of 2006-07, this number really took off with Michel Kuipers’ return to first choice in 2007-08 after the maroon third kit had been ditched. It effectively became second choice goalkeeper uniform behind the aqua in that campaign, being used regularly away from home in combination with the new yellow away kit of that season. The combination of maroon and gold was particularly pleasing with the shirt being teemed with the basic navy blue shorts and socks.
The Goldstone Anniversary Home Kit, worn April 2007
Just shy of the tenth anniversary of the last game at The Goldstone, Doncaster Rovers made their first visit to Brighton since that fateful April 1997 day for a League One Withdean encounter. And what better way to mark the occasion – not to mention getting the tills rattling – than with a one off special edition kit for the game? It was identical in design to the kit used when Stuart Storer wrote himself into Albion folklore, down to the Skint logo being changed to use the same lettering as the Sandtex sponsor and the numbers on the back of the shirts being red.
The Used to be Brazil Away Kit, worn August 2007 – May 2008
Having a blue and white home kit and an all white away kit led to a few problems in the 2006-07 season – chiefly, what the hell happens when you face a team who wear white? With the maroon third choice kit consigned to history, the answer was a new away kit of all yellow. Originally, it was intended to be used with the previous seasons away kit’s combination of blue shorts and white socks but it was very quickly realised that it was nothing short of an insult to Brazil for Brighton to wear such colours. As a result, yellow shorts and socks were introduced a few games into the season.
The Goodbye Skint Home Kit, worn May 2008
The last game of 2007-08 saw the Albion say goodbye to Skint as club sponsors after nine years. And just like when all good relationships come to an end, it was decided to celebrate with a one-off shirt for the visit of League One champions Swansea City to Withdean. It was a hark back to the popular first kit that both Errea and Skint were involved in from 1999, with the same sponsors logo, shirt design and white shorts-blue socks combination. Added was a little bit of gold and the inscription “team mates” above the sponsor logo. Still brings a tear to our eye to this day.
