aglockhart

The disappearing of soft ground Boots

Shout out to Iain Harvey (@sixstud) on Instagram for the article suggestion! It used to be that the majority of boots on the market came almost exclusively in soft grounds. As you all know, these days many boots are firm ground and artificial ground. I’ve argued before that hard ground boots you be more widely […]

Blog update #2

Hi all,Just wanted to give a heads up with what is going with the blog right now. I have finished reviewing the Mizuno Morelia Indoors, I just need to get photos done for them. Also, in the next week or so my review for the new Morelia II Japan will be dropping as well. I […]

Predator can be a new start for adidas

Consistency and risk management is key As late as the start of the last decade, the adidas Copa Mundial was still one of the top selling boots in the world. Because of this fact, adidas was able to take a lot of risks with their football boot line without worrying (too much) about whether or […]

Nike is over-reliant on knit

And it’s stifling innovation With the recent launch of the PhantomVSN 2 Nike seemed to have improved on what issues people had with the original. The boots become more slimmed down and the collar was lowered to make the boot look less ridiculous. The massive triangle part of the instep was stretched out, more grip […]

Un-logoed Boots

A desire for less branding Since the rise of social media and the internet, advertisements are seemingly everywhere. Even if you have an adblocker on your PC or phone, there’s no escaping them. Advertisers’ biggest goals are to get you to look at their ads and click on it. Profiles are drawn up through people’s […]

Mizuno’s Morelia Masterplan

Mizuno should have a more coherent approach with the Morelia At the beginning of this month, Mizuno revealed the newly-updated Mizuno Morelia II Japan to co-inside with the beginning of the 35th Anniversary of the Morelia series. The new update made enough changes that one could call it the Morelia 3 but Mizuno decided against […]

We should be treated more like the pros

Give us the options at least Over the years we have repeatedly seen the lengths that brands go to in order to appease the players under contract with them. Messi, Van Persie, Honda and Sterling are all great examples of this. From Messi’s F30/F50 Hybrid during the days of the TUNiTs to the fact he […]

Why Pros use carbon fibre in their boots

It isn’t just for speedsters If you’ve ever looked at a boot collectors Insta who collects matchworn boots, you’ll have no doubt come across some player’s boots that have carbon fibre either as part of the midsole, attached to the insole or used as an insert. In the past, several brands such as Nike and […]

Why some brands succeed and others fail Part 2

There are several reasons Market Research Aside from the money and the talent factors, market research is one of the best tools brands have in their arsenal. A good market research team can help brands and designers determine: what the market will bear (product-wise and price-wise), what colours can make a splash, how much advertising […]

Why some brands succeed and others fail Part 1

There are several reasons The biggest brands in football spend a ton of time and money on market research and R&D (research and development) in order to be successful. They also constantly compare themselves to competitors to see how they measure up against them. A lot of hard work and effort goes into boots long […]