This article was first published today in our bespoke Sports newsletter The Fixture. You can sign up in seconds to receive it straight to your inbox every weekday here.
There has been plenty to gladden the hearts of St Mirren supporters this season. Last summer, they installed a new chief executive in Keith Lasley who vowed to listen to the supporters more often and promptly backed up that claim when the club acted on a fan vote which declared that they wished to have more tickets for matches against Celtic and Rangers. It was part of a series of measures to make the club more community conscious. On the pitch, the team which had narrowly escaped relegation last season, responded in kind by beating Celtic in their first meeting with the champions following the implementation of the new ticketing arrangements and their good performances under the manager, Stephen Robinson, have kept them in the upper half of the Premiership and in touch with the European qualifying positions for most of the campaign.
Those are the big wins but there have been even bigger ones (irony alert). Not least the news this week that St Mirren's away strip has been named the best in Scotland's top flight by casino comparison site JohnSlots. In a week when the 150thanniversary Scotland football shirt has been lauded for its aesthetic qualities, St Mirren's change strip – with its sublimated grey paisley pattern design – has been hailed for its approach to giving supporters “something to be proud of”.
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Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder because The Fixture doesn't really agree that a paisley pattern strip (a design 'borrowed' from Puma with their Manchester City third jersey of the 2020/21season) in Scottish football is at all acceptable nor do I concur with the belief that it is the kind of look your average, corpulent St Mirren supporter will be rocking, even if does manage to hide the stains of pie gravy that little bit better than the pristine white home shirt.
The research – which involved JohnSlots using date from Football Kit Archive – to ascertain which kits were the most popular revealed that Celtic's away shirt was second on the list. Again, The Fixture finds itself baulking at a jersey that screams 'yer da on his work's Christmas night out' but, of course, JohnSlots isn't just a barely known online casino. It is clearly a forum for giving out advice on sartorial elegance.
For example, this from a spokesperson: “St Mirren's 2022-23 away kit taking the top spot is no surprise as it features a simple black colour, making it easier to style compared to kits with bright colours. The paisley pattern throughout does give it a distinctive touch but keeps a subtle look with a grey hue.”
READ MORE: Glass, litter, half-working floodlights - Scotland's pitch shame
And this, too: “On the other hand, Celtic’s away and home both feature bold contrasting details but have still made onto the top 10 list by sticking to what their fans are familiar with: a traditional green and white colour scheme. The results clearly show that football kits are not designed purely for the players to stand out on the field but also for fans to wear something they feel proud to be part of.”
For those invested in the tribalism that these meaningless surveys throw up Hearts away finished third, Motherwell away fourth, Celtic home fifth with Hibernian (home), Kilmarnock (third), Rangers (home), Dundee United (home) and Rangers (fourth) completing the top 10.
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