Nike or Adidas on pre-season tour?

While Nike have provided United fans with the odd great shirt during their 13 years as our kit providers, there have been far too many cheap and nasty looking jerseys. Often they grow on the fanbase as the season progresses, but all too often, when the first pictures have been leaked, United supporters have been disappointed.

It was great when it was announced that Adidas would be doing our shirts from next season onwards, with memories of the classic jerseys they had provided us with in years gone by. Maybe it’s nostalgia kicking in, but some of those Adidas kits in the 1980s were absolute quality.

However, we might just have to wait a bit longer than expected to see the players wearing the shirt, as our deal with Nike doesn’t officially expire until July 31st. Last season’s tour started on July 23rd, and that was in a World Cup year, with our manager away in South America, still taking charge of games as late as July 13th when the Netherlands beat Brazil 3-0 on July 13th.

In a summer without a tournament and with the manager available throughout this period, you do wonder when and where United will be playing. The main tour is likely to take place in USA again, with discussions on-going to keep the fixtures just on the East coast. Last summer, Van Gaal wasn’t impressed with the arrangements that had been made before his appointment, which saw United travelling all over America.

We have to prepare the season and when you have commercial activities and dreadful distances, having to fly a lot and the jet lag, it is not very positive for a good preparation. The tour was already arranged and I shall adapt and United will do everything to apply to my rules, but I have said that already.

United will start their tour wearing Nike shirts, before the grand unveiling of Adidas’ shirt on August 1st.

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Campo Retro make old school United shirts