When Valiant 2001 took over Port Vale FC on the 7th April 2003 fans knew that this was a brand new era for Port Vale… but two years later they are looking back and have a new away kit not too different from the away shirt of the 1960/61 season. So why have Vale decided this year to have the new retro away kit? Part of it was down to Andy Burgess, who works for the club's commercial department, and played a big part in the decision. He said: “A number of the fans said last season that they would like to see us go back to the black and amber and I suppose we took that on board”. However at that early stage it was still something of a pipe dream, so Andy approached Director Paul Humphreys to see if it was going to be possible. Humphreys agreed, and the plan was put into action. Putting the plan into action Next up they needed to send their idea to the club's kit maker Vandanel, with their initial concept and their brief for the shirt. But there were other factors at work. “This was always our first choice but to be honest we are dictated by the money which means sponsors and if the sponsors had a huge bright colourful logo not only would this detract from the retro style it may also have not worked with the colour scheme” Andy revealed. “So we needed to have some other ideas just in case, because at the time we were working on the kits we didn’t know who the sponsor would be… luckily Broxap do have a nice simple logo we could use” A link with the past Due to the production and hopefully soon the erection of the Sproson statue, Vale decided it would be a great year to bring out the new retro shirt and head back to the club's roots.  | | Adopting the traditional gold 'n' black |
Andy recalled: “Roy Sproson is really the club superstar, he is a folk hero among the fans. He has a legendary status and it’s nice to pay a sort of homage to him with the embroidery.” He added “We wanted to look at what is the traditional values of the club, where we came from. So it‘s a retro shirt made of the modern materials”. Fashion or function? When I asked Andy whether he thought the new shirt is a fashion item or a fan item he was clear to point out that “It’s a bit of both really. The way fashion is there are lots of retro clothes but I’d still say it’s more of a fan item. Something to really support your team.” “It is something that the fans can buy and because we sell it exclusively in the club shop this means that what the fans pay goes into the club they love with means they invest in better players so every shirt is playing its part.” Paying off... The shop has been doing well since it’s relocation to the Lorne Street Stand and it’s doing even better now that the Vale are winning games and seem to be on a high. “We are packed in the shop half an hour before kick off because fans want to show their support.” Football shirts used to just tell one team apart from the other and now there is a team of designers, marketers, fans, sponsors and fabric scientists that spend months coming up with the latest design... | 
