Manchester United fans have been lucky enough to be treated to some brilliant kits throughout the years.
However, for supporters of a certain vintage, the home and away strips from the 1975-76 campaign will be remembered the most fondly. Although Tommy Docherty's side would end the season losing to Southampton in the FA Cup final, fans still argue that the pair of kits created by Admiral are among the all-time best.
In the book 'Get Shirty - The Rise & Fall of Admiral Sportswear', author Andy Wells speaks to the former owner of Admiral, Bert Patrick, and ex-managing director John Griffin about how these legendary kits came about. At first, it was looking unlikely that Admiral would even have the chance to make the strips.
The manufacturer was making the England kits before becoming sponsors of United, but it was always seen by those in the know that a deal with the Reds was the 'golden nugget'. United had much more of a worldwide appeal than the Three Lions so the contract would be lucrative.
However, Manchester-based manufacturers Umbro were the supplier for Docherty's team in 1975 and it was at first seen as being unlikely that Admiral could prise the deal away from them. "It was a huge deal, in that although the England deal was big, Manchester United would sell throughout the world," Patrick explained.
"They travelled the world out of season, playing matches, and they were hugely popular in places like South East Asia." Domestic sales were also looking promising for United considering the upturn in form the Reds were going through at the time.
With so much on the line for Admiral, both Patrick and Griffin decided that they needed to be wary of diverting away from the tried-and-tested formula when pitching to the club. Griffin explained: "I was thinking, we won’t get much change on the home jerseys, immediately you think of that."
Before putting any shirt designs to United, Griffin spoke at length with the company's North West reps about how the United shirt should look. What they would come up with was a design that supporters instantly loved.
Thin red stripes were added to the white collar and cuffs but the overall effect meant United retained their familiar-looking red shirts, only with a single Admiral logo on the chest and shorts. Before being perused by the fans, Matt Busby and the Edwards family both had to give their seals of approval to the kit.
Fortunately, all involved were impressed and a five-year contract was signed. The agreement was seen as being a coup for Admiral, especially because they had overcome the challenge of Umbro, and had agreed similar terms to the ones they had with England, a remarkable feat considering the greater exposure United had. While the Reds' home shirt was a conservative design, Admiral knew that they could push the boat out with the away kit.
The template remained broadly the same as the red home shirt but with asymmetric black stripes running down the length of the white away jerseys. It was described as being radical to match United's playing style under Docherty at the time.
United's love affair with Admiral would only last until 1980 when Adidas would agree a contract with the club, creating some more all-time classics in the process. But, for those growing up in the mid-1970s, no kit will ever come close to those initial Admiral designs.