Aston Villa players complain Castore shirts negatively impact performance

[pauliewalnuts]

I trained in Aston Villa’s £115 Castore shirt – and flooded the gym floor with sweat
It appears that Aston Villa’s controversial football shirt is more suited to aquatic sports than the beautiful game

DELIVERED! Enjoy your new merch.” said the cheery email from Aston Villa’s online shop. But would I enjoy the notorious wet-look shirt? The one that becomes instantly saturated during exercise? This is the shirt, it is whispered, that would make even Prince Andrew perspire.

Retailing at £115 (or £130 with a player’s name) the latest version of the claret-and-blue kit reflects poorly on both manufacturers Castore and Villa themselves. It finished next to bottom in Telegraph Sport’s round-up of the season’s best kits. And that was before we’d heard about its side-effects.

‌My test kit arrived in the post yesterday. As I was separating it from the packaging, the fabric felt almost identical to the surrounding plastic. Clearly, no animals nor plants had been harmed during the making of this shirt. There was about as much natural fibre here as you might find in a Pot Noodle.

Torn between sizes, I had eventually ordered the small. The idea was to replicate the figure-hugging effect reported by Villa’s players. For the women’s teams, the discomfort has extended beyond the physical. “No woman that I know wants to get hot and sweaty and have their sports gear cling to them in all places,” said the BBC commentator Jacqui Oatley last week.

In the absence of a last-minute call-up to training at Bodymoor Heath, I took myself and my shiny second skin down to the gym. Half-an-hour on a Wattbike should sort the cotton from the polyester. And indeed I was only five minutes in before an uncomfortable prickling broke out on my back. Either someone was walking on my grave, or the shirt was already sticking like cling film.

I should point out that I am a drippy character at the best of times. No-one would entrust me with a reverse-swinging cricket ball, for fear of the dry side being tainted. But even I wasn’t prepared for the sweatnami that erupted from my pores.

Nor for the process of clearing up the mess afterwards. I was spraying water like a firehose, creating a sizeable puddle at the foot of the machine. Having climbed off the bike, I went to work with paper towel and a hygienic spray – plus a little help from an understanding David Lloyd Leisure employee. But a mop and bucket would have been handy.

Despite now looking like the “Before” section of a deodorant advert, I remained at the scene of the crime for another few minutes. I was discussing Castore with my new friend: the gym supervisor, who had generously forgiven me for flooding his floor.

We agreed that Castore’s tennis kit, pioneered by Andy Murray four years ago, is excellent. But perhaps the firm’s rapid expansion – which includes contracts with the England cricket team, as well as Rangers and Newcastle United, among other footballing clients – has left them overextended? The new Villa shirt was made in China, where last season’s had come from Turkey.

We weren’t chatting for long, though, before my teeth started chattering. It was as if I had climbed straight out of the adjacent swimming pool into the gym’s ferocious air-conditioning. So I took myself off to the shower and packed up my stuff. Next time… well, with any luck, there won’t be a next time. But if there were, I would make a mental note to bring a second bag. As I shoved the sodden shirt in with the rest of my kit, I might as well have poured my water bottle in there too.

I still had to repeat a similar process this morning. My boss insisted that natural light would facilitate the snapping of humiliating pics. This time, as I performed shuttle runs at the local park, I did at least have some breeze in my face. But after 20 minutes or so, the result was the same: half human, half otter, only considerably less cute.

News reports suggest that Aston Villa are already in discussions about terminating their equipment contract. I can understand why. Judging by my experiment, this shirt is only fit for one sport, and that’s water polo.

From the torygraph

[AV84]

The bold bit is something I was talking about a few days ago. At this time of year the shirts are horrible sticky things that must be really uncomfortable and we can all see that but when we get into winter games on a cold evening with frost in the air playing in a shirt that is soaked through will go from being a bit uncomfortable to being borderline dangerous.

From this guy's write up it also sounds like the problem isn't just the lack of wicking ability, it's that the material is akin to a plastic bag, making you sweat more than you normally would. Which is bound to have an effect on hydration during a match too. They could market the jersey to boxers trying to make weight and make a fortune.

[paul_e]

The bold bit is something I was talking about a few days ago. At this time of year the shirts are horrible sticky things that must be really uncomfortable and we can all see that but when we get into winter games on a cold evening with frost in the air playing in a shirt that is soaked through will go from being a bit uncomfortable to being borderline dangerous.

From this guy's write up it also sounds like the problem isn't just the lack of wicking ability, it's that the material is akin to a plastic bag, making you sweat more than you normally would. Which is bound to have an effect on hydration during a match too. They could market the jersey to boxers trying to make weight and make a fortune.

Absolutely, use them in the same way some people use cling film, could open up a whole new revenue stream for the club.

[brontebilly]

It beggars belief how we even played one pre season game with these defective kits. They must have been horrendous in the heat to wear.

[AV84]

The timing couldn't be worse to leave the deal, with the anniversary next season, lead times etc. We'll have no kit ready for supporters to buy until November etc.

It's highly unlikely that we'll go into the new year not having a new manufacturer lined up, or at the very least a renewed Castore deal with very tight assurances from them.
Whoever we're going to have next season will have plenty of time to get things organised. It might not be made public knowledge until the end of the season, but I don't think it'll be a last minute thing.

[chrisw1]

The timing couldn't be worse to leave the deal, with the anniversary next season, lead times etc. We'll have no kit ready for supporters to buy until November etc.

It's highly unlikely that we'll go into the new year not having a new manufacturer lined up, or at the very least a renewed Castore deal with very tight assurances from them.
Whoever we're going to have next season will have plenty of time to get things organised. It might not be made public knowledge until the end of the season, but I don't think it'll be a last minute thing.

It might not be a last-minute thing, but if we changed horses now we would still be months behind the usual process.  Next seasons PL shirts will mostly now already have been designed and factory time booked.  It's not impossible for someone to step in, but they would be up against it in our anniversary year.  And if you think we get kits late now, try swapping manufacturers at this stage.

[pablo_picasso]

I trained in Aston Villa’s £115 Castore shirt – and flooded the gym floor with sweat
It appears that Aston Villa’s controversial football shirt is more suited to aquatic sports than the beautiful game

DELIVERED! Enjoy your new merch.” said the cheery email from Aston Villa’s online shop. But would I enjoy the notorious wet-look shirt? The one that becomes instantly saturated during exercise? This is the shirt, it is whispered, that would make even Prince Andrew perspire.

Retailing at £115 (or £130 with a player’s name) the latest version of the claret-and-blue kit reflects poorly on both manufacturers Castore and Villa themselves. It finished next to bottom in Telegraph Sport’s round-up of the season’s best kits. And that was before we’d heard about its side-effects.

‌My test kit arrived in the post yesterday. As I was separating it from the packaging, the fabric felt almost identical to the surrounding plastic. Clearly, no animals nor plants had been harmed during the making of this shirt. There was about as much natural fibre here as you might find in a Pot Noodle.

Torn between sizes, I had eventually ordered the small. The idea was to replicate the figure-hugging effect reported by Villa’s players. For the women’s teams, the discomfort has extended beyond the physical. “No woman that I know wants to get hot and sweaty and have their sports gear cling to them in all places,” said the BBC commentator Jacqui Oatley last week.

In the absence of a last-minute call-up to training at Bodymoor Heath, I took myself and my shiny second skin down to the gym. Half-an-hour on a Wattbike should sort the cotton from the polyester. And indeed I was only five minutes in before an uncomfortable prickling broke out on my back. Either someone was walking on my grave, or the shirt was already sticking like cling film.

I should point out that I am a drippy character at the best of times. No-one would entrust me with a reverse-swinging cricket ball, for fear of the dry side being tainted. But even I wasn’t prepared for the sweatnami that erupted from my pores.

Nor for the process of clearing up the mess afterwards. I was spraying water like a firehose, creating a sizeable puddle at the foot of the machine. Having climbed off the bike, I went to work with paper towel and a hygienic spray – plus a little help from an understanding David Lloyd Leisure employee. But a mop and bucket would have been handy.

Despite now looking like the “Before” section of a deodorant advert, I remained at the scene of the crime for another few minutes. I was discussing Castore with my new friend: the gym supervisor, who had generously forgiven me for flooding his floor.

We agreed that Castore’s tennis kit, pioneered by Andy Murray four years ago, is excellent. But perhaps the firm’s rapid expansion – which includes contracts with the England cricket team, as well as Rangers and Newcastle United, among other footballing clients – has left them overextended? The new Villa shirt was made in China, where last season’s had come from Turkey.

We weren’t chatting for long, though, before my teeth started chattering. It was as if I had climbed straight out of the adjacent swimming pool into the gym’s ferocious air-conditioning. So I took myself off to the shower and packed up my stuff. Next time… well, with any luck, there won’t be a next time. But if there were, I would make a mental note to bring a second bag. As I shoved the sodden shirt in with the rest of my kit, I might as well have poured my water bottle in there too.

I still had to repeat a similar process this morning. My boss insisted that natural light would facilitate the snapping of humiliating pics. This time, as I performed shuttle runs at the local park, I did at least have some breeze in my face. But after 20 minutes or so, the result was the same: half human, half otter, only considerably less cute.

News reports suggest that Aston Villa are already in discussions about terminating their equipment contract. I can understand why. Judging by my experiment, this shirt is only fit for one sport, and that’s water polo.

From the torygraph

Interesting that it apparently "reflects poorly on Villa".

The club are just as much victims, due to Castores issues, as the fans are.

They didn't ask for the shirts to be made out of bin bags...

[AV84]

Interesting that it apparently "reflects poorly on Villa".

The club are just as much victims, due to Castores issues, as the fans are.

They didn't ask for the shirts to be made out of bin bags...

This is why I wish they'd address the fact that other clubs have the same supplier and seemingly don't have the same problem. He should have done the same workout in a Wolves jersey, a Rangers one, and a Rep of Ireland one for good measure. Then a Spurs one and a Fulham one, just to compare brands, and then written up his report.

[pauliewalnuts]

Interesting that it apparently "reflects poorly on Villa".

The club are just as much victims, due to Castores issues, as the fans are.

They didn't ask for the shirts to be made out of bin bags...

This is why I wish they'd address the fact that other clubs have the same supplier and seemingly don't have the same problem. He should have done the same workout in a Wolves jersey, a Rangers one, and a Rep of Ireland one for good measure. Then a Spurs one and a Fulham one, just to compare brands, and then written up his report.

It's not a scientific report, it's a throwaway piece in a newspaper.

The reason he won't have tested other shirts is because those other clubs have not had the problem.

[AV84]

Interesting that it apparently "reflects poorly on Villa".

The club are just as much victims, due to Castores issues, as the fans are.

They didn't ask for the shirts to be made out of bin bags...

This is why I wish they'd address the fact that other clubs have the same supplier and seemingly don't have the same problem. He should have done the same workout in a Wolves jersey, a Rangers one, and a Rep of Ireland one for good measure. Then a Spurs one and a Fulham one, just to compare brands, and then written up his report.

It's not a scientific report, it's a throwaway piece in a newspaper.

The reason he won't have tested other shirts is because those other clubs have not had the problem.

I'm aware it's not a scientific report. But if you're going to say something makes the club look bad you should probably, at the very least, compare kits made by the same manufacturer for other clubs.

[johnc]

Interesting that it apparently "reflects poorly on Villa".

The club are just as much victims, due to Castores issues, as the fans are.

They didn't ask for the shirts to be made out of bin bags...

This is why I wish they'd address the fact that other clubs have the same supplier and seemingly don't have the same problem. He should have done the same workout in a Wolves jersey, a Rangers one, and a Rep of Ireland one for good measure. Then a Spurs one and a Fulham one, just to compare brands, and then written up his report.

It's not a scientific report, it's a throwaway piece in a newspaper.

The reason he won't have tested other shirts is because those other clubs have not had the problem.

I'm aware it's not a scientific report. But if you're going to say something makes the club look bad you should probably, at the very least, compare kits made by the same manufacturer for other clubs.

Its a wonder the club didnt road test them beforehand. You live and learn I suppose

[chrisw1]

I doubt any club road tests final manufactured shirts.  They are designed to a spec which Castore have clearly failed to deliver.  The club is not at fault here.

[AV84]

I doubt any club road tests final manufactured shirts.  They are designed to a spec which Castore have clearly failed to deliver.  The club is not at fault here.

It's possible too that samples were made up in their smaller factories and they were the ones given the go ahead from the club. Castore then went and had them made in China for cheap.

Funny that when they were launched there were people on here saying how they'd bought knock off ones from China for a fraction of the price. They're probably the real deal.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Interesting that it apparently "reflects poorly on Villa".

The club are just as much victims, due to Castores issues, as the fans are.

They didn't ask for the shirts to be made out of bin bags...

What reflects badly on Villa is that they’re still selling these shirts in the club shop. For £115

[pablo_picasso]

Interesting that it apparently "reflects poorly on Villa".

The club are just as much victims, due to Castores issues, as the fans are.

They didn't ask for the shirts to be made out of bin bags...

What reflects badly on Villa is that they’re still selling these shirts in the club shop. For £115

Granted, that is a fair point...