Firstly, apologies for not updating with a post about the United kits of the past. There is good reason for this, not least being a new arrival in the family. Anyway, I have recently seen several shirts being sold on ebay which sellers claim are player issued/match worn 2010-11 home shirts. Most of these are nothing of the sort.
Recently, Nike launched a new, limited edition version of the current home shirt, marketed as the Manchester United Authentic Home Shirt. It is exactly the same as the players' shirts except for one crucial difference. It has a sewn-in care label, just like the standard replicas. The real players' shirts have the care instructions printed onto the inside of the shirt. Do not be fooled.
Other than that - just like the players' shirts - it features the venting panels under the sleeves and stripes without the devil on the left sleeves.
The launch of the authentic shirt explains my previous criticism of the standard replicas. Another example of cynical marketing by Nike. The authenic shirt sells at £90 - twice the price of the standard version. I imagine it costs only a pound or two more to produce and that includes the cost of the brown cardboard box it ships in. This is a new trend I would like to see the end of. Umbro's retail shirts are exactly the same specification as their clubs' players wear, are made of far superior materials, feature fully embroidered crests and cost the same. With Umbro now being a subsiduary of Nike, this feels like replica-buying supporters of the American brand's clubs are being ripped off somewhat.
