It seems right now that [West Ham](https://www.claretandhugh.info/how-much-west-ham-chasing-e30m-hitman-with-huge-price-drop/) fans are just in a bad place. They’ve had a tough season and had to endure woeful football, three managers inside twelve months, continuing criticism of the ‘soulless bowl’ which is called ‘home’ and the usual nonsense come transfer-window time. But the kit release comments were quite surprising: As one who currently has eleven shirts from various era – and counting – I do find myself drawn to the damn’ things despite every ounce of common sense suggesting they’re a waste of money.
From all of the negativity surrounding the new kit you’d think it was some kind of Millwall – Spurs pastiche. Admittedly this is all one opinion – and you know what people say about opinions – everyone has one – but from the image below there’s surely more than an echo of the AVCO 1986 kit. Which is surely one of the most fondly remembered.
AVCO kit ’86: spot the difference
And at least it isn’t orange!
_Is there just such a malaise amongst Hammers’ fans at the moment that pretty much every piece of news is seized on for worse rather than for better?_
This is not a suggestion that we all go out and buy one – far from it: Eighty quid for any design which will be ‘history’ in twelve months time seems outrageous and a continual indictment of the commercialisation which every football fan has to endure these days ( I sound like my Dad).
But it is Claret, it still bears more than a passing resemblance to the shirt Cottee, McAvennie and Co graced Upton Park with in 1986, and you can buy one of those for about £25 on e-bay if you’d rather. It also goes to show how poor West Ham’s PR skills are, instead of announcing an _‘homage to 86’_ it’s just been thrown onto the market without much thought.
Now if only we can find a couple of young strikers to emulate the Cottee -McAvennie combination. Forty six goals between the two in 1985-6. The whole team managed 49 last season.