46. Matchwinner 'Stream' (1992-95) *
Chris Oakley | 20 June 2024
Long-time followers of this series may well remember that Matchwinner featured in the number 56 article where we looked at their ‘Piazza’ template. Well, here we are again; another Matchwinner creation, just as creative, just as original, and just as responsible for the 1990s boom period that put the Lanarkshire-based company on the map.
This template, unofficially named ‘Stream’ for its watery motif, takes a different approach to the one previously featured. Once again, there’s a striking element to each shirt, but here we find a series of wavy curves crossing one shoulder and appearing further down on the opposite side. Asymmetric designs were few and far between in the football world of three decades ago, as were those incorporating any kind of undulating device. Consequently, ‘Stream’ stands out for its individuality and several teams were keen to wear it.
From left: Carlisle United (1993-94 away), Greenock Morton (1993 away), Montrose (1994 home), Preston North End (1992-93 home).
Naturally suited, perhaps, to change kits, Preston North End and Swansea City went the whole hog by wearing it at home and away. In both cases, the home shirt was white and the away shirt yellow, and that was no coincidence. This design, for all its flair and élan, works best when the wavy strands are dark in colour on a light-coloured background. When the reverse is true, it somehow doesn’t look quite as effective.
Preston and Swansea, therefore, could allow themselves two versions of the template, just as Tottenham Hotspur or Leeds United could have done, in theory. Most other teams, however, could have only opted for one at most, and even then on the proviso of having that light-coloured background. No problem for the likes of Greenock Morton, Carlisle United, Montrose and Rotherham United, who picked out a white or yellow version to suit as an away shirt.
The versatility of the design came in the ability to specify the colour (or colours) of those all-important waves. Of the dozen or more that appear on each shirt, a few were always set aside for those teams wanting a tertiary hue. Preston showed the way with a splash of yellow to complement the white and navy blue of their home shirt, as did Carlisle and Montrose who completed a red, white and blue colour scheme to good effect. One version I’d love to have illustrated was the Doncaster Rovers away shirt. If the images I’ve seen online are to be believed (and were actually worn in a match setting), theirs was white and red with green accents - a particularly nice palette to work with. Thus far, though, I’ve seen no proof of the shirt being worn on the pitch. Hope springs eternal...
From left: Preston North End (1992-93 away), Rotherham United (1995 away), Swansea City (1993-94 home, 1992-93 away).
Colours aside, nearly every version of this template had a nice winged collar, all with varying trim styles. Greenock Morton somewhat bucked the trend, however, by opting for a simple v-neck which took a little of the character away from the overall design, in my view. All of the shirts I uncovered in my research did feature a shadow pattern, but that pattern seemed to vary slightly on one or two of them from the scant number of photos I was able to find. In general, though, it comprises a series of diamonds and upward pointing angles.
One peculiar thing I spotted during the making of this article was that each shirt was made up of only a single piece of fabric for the front and back. There are no separate sleeve sections attached, as has been the case for just about every other template covered so far. The entire shirt is made from just two parts, and given the trend for bagginess that arrived in the football kit scene of the 1990s, it seems entirely appropriate for that to be the case. ‘Tailored by’ was clearly a redundant phrase thirty years ago.
So once again, Matchwinner managed to create a thing of beauty that has lasted the test of time. Knowing the predilection for bringing back old shirt designs on the part of modern-day suppliers, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this one reappears in some form soon as well. If it does, surely it’s only right that Matchwinner be the company to do so. On the basis of this effort, they fully deserve to take another encore for this fabulous creation.
To see the full set of Matchwinner 'Stream' kits, visit the Matchwinner 'Stream' template gallery page.
Update:
Since writing this article, I've heard from Denis Hurley who sent me a photo of Doncaster Rovers wearing their version of the Matchwinner 'Stream' template against Scarborough. I'm grateful to Denis for sending me the photo as it enabled me to illustrate Doncaster's away kit from 1993-94 and add it to the template gallery page. Thanks again, Denis!
I was also contacted on Twitter by Victor Devine who said:
"You mentioned at the end the possibility of this design returning. Well, Swansea's home kit of 2022/23 from Joma had an homage of sorts, the wavy lines being rendered in white. And they did a full tribute to their old away kit with the goalkeeper's jersey."
He's quite right, of course! You can see the images here and here if you want to see how that looked. I'm not sure that the all-white version does the original template justice, but the yellow goalkeeper shirt certainly has that familiar look to it! Thanks for the information, Victor...
As ever, please do get in touch if you've seen any other kits based on this template or know of its official name. Drop me a line with any details you may have via the Contact page. Thank you...
(* unofficial name)