Hoping for amber nectar

Dec 1 2007 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

TOWN are set to give their third kit a second airing at Southend on Wednesday.

And they’ll be hoping for a better outcome than when the amber was first worn.

That was for the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy first-round tie at Grimsby, today’s FA Cup second-round visitors.

The Mariners, whose black and white stripes meant neither Town’s blue and white nor change black kit were suitable, won 4-1.

The latest switch is because Southend wear an all navy blue outfit.

It’s 37 years, incidentally, since Town first turned out in amber, or what was officially described as ‘sunburst yellow’.

That kit, worn here by Jimmy McGill, made its debut in the 2-0 top-flight defeat at Newcastle in December 1970.

Town’s existing second kit at that time was red and black stripes, forever associated with the 1969-70 Second Division title campaign.

The yellow, which then-manager Ian Greaves believed helped his players see each other better, took over as the main change colours.

Worn with white, green, yellow and finally blue shorts, it stayed until the late Eighties.