Tailored by David Smith, which will be worn by John Terry

Here’s what David (pictured) had to say about the inspiration behind his design: “After uploading my design I was a little unsure as to whether the concept would come across strongly enough, whether the design would be clear or whether people would see it as a simple cream and black thing!

Whilst I loved my idea, I didn’t believe it would make it this far, there were so many great designs up there. I was trying to continue the Tailored By England campaign which you’d kicked off for the latest England kit, so the natural progression in my mind was to show the sole of a formal shoe on the Specialis – something like a loafer or a good old British brogue. I’ve just got to hope now that I can appeal to John Terry’s sartorial taste…” Looks like it worked!

Speciali Pride by Marko Govorusa, which will be worn by Gael Clichy

Here’s what Marco had to say about his design:    “My idea came from trying to show the passion and desire in a football match. From players screaming to one another, to the fans cheering them on and hopefully filling rival teams and fans with fear. A roaring lion made up of Umbro Diamonds is a simple but effective depiction of this.

Fitting the roaring lion to the sole of the boot was a little more tricky, as the stud holes were obstructing either the lion’s fangs or its eye. So I was trying to rotate or scale the illustration to fit, and after a couple of attempts, and adding more hair to the lion’s mane I was happy to submit my entry.
The king of the jungle becomes the king of the pitch, in a pair of Specialis – hence the name Speciali Pride.”

Eat My GOOOAAL by Tom Fournier, which will be worn by Michael Owen

Here’s Tom’s description of how he came up with Eat My GOOOAAL: “For this, i was trying to think of a new, unique and quirky way to look at the base of the football boot. The positioning of the studs reminded me of teeth in an open mouth and like a big light bulb appearing above my head i came up with “Eat my Goooal”.  I sketched away for a couple of hours and then got to work on the computer and this is the end product. ”

Here’s a clip of Michael Owen deciding on his choice from the shortlisted designs:

The boots are now being manufactured, and will be worn by the players later this year.

All the boots for each shortlisted finalist are also in production now, and will be sent out to all the winners. You can read the stories behind the other shortlisted designs here.

Designer Stuart Semple helped to draw up the original shortlist of fifteen for the Speciali competition. He’s also created a unique design for the Speciali which will feature on a limited run of boots. You can see Stuart coming up with his ideas for the design in the video below. Esquire magazine have 25 pairs of the Stuart Semple designed Specialis to give away – head over to their website here for a chance to grab some.

Esquire, Umbro and Stuart Semple from esquireuk on Vimeo.

Aeiko by Pete Harrison

“Basically I wanted to create something that stood out on the boot and went well with the Speciali colours. I created a boot template then played around with a few vectors and positioned them the best way I could to fit the shape of the boot, the concept was just freestyle, a mashup of graphics onto the sole of the boot..

I wanted to make the design pop and stand out using splashes of red and keep the Umbro logo red.”

Zombie by Stuart McCluskie

“I concentrated on the idea of the passion of football. I played around with the idea of following the sport, and in particular your own team, and the almost blind devotion fans display week in, week out, season upon season. Coupled with the lure and attraction that the sport has on so many people I arrived at the symbolism that football supporters become single-minded and mesmerised in a way not dissimilar to that of ‘the undead’.

Drawn to the support of your team – never more apparent than in a World Cup tournament – fans become zombie slaves to the game! The application of that to the canvas of the Speciali then followed suit. The design of the chrome, shiny stud caps had to become protruding hypnotic eyes and why not multiply that beyond the number of studs on the boot to increase the crowd of zombie fans jostling for space on the design.”

Football Of The World by Tom McDonald

“We decided that football was one thing that everyone in the world understands and so we decided to do flags of the world. We used the studs for the flags that had circles in like Japan and put the United Kingdom’s flag in the centre. I DREW AND COLOURED ALL THE FLAGS MYSELF IT TOOK FOREVER !!!!!”

Face Red by Joaquin Cordoba

“The image I chose is a picture of a friend who I always see in the place of work. I believe it is very elegant, as English football is. Besides liking the colour scheme, wiping her face gives some fear while allowing anyone to identify with the drawing.”

Koi Kick by Andrew Ashbourne

“As the name implies my design was based on a Koi using its tail fin to hit an Umbro ball. I used a Koi in my design because they are known to symbolise strength, courage, determination and good luck, traits we all need to have on the pitch. The contours of the Koi naturally fitted to the shape of the boot and the waves and cherry blossom were used to give the design more impact. I used a background of red and white to match the colours of the Speciali boot and to help the Black Koi stand out. I believe that the writing translates to seize the day and overcome all difficulties which I feel was fitting for the design.”

Subbed by Jeff Jardine

“As a boy I loved Subbuteo and I came across the picture and I thought I had to use it on the boot. I like the way the figure had a used look, just like the ones I had owned and I thought the fact it was an Argentina player would give it some special meaning to England players and in particular Michael Owen. Originally I wondered if the shape was all wrong for the boot but I played with it a little on Microsoft Office Picture Manager and then pasted it onto the boot, the Umbro website made this really easy and you didn’t have to do any difficult cropping.”

Reach For The Stars by Miha Oluru

“This idea just crossed my mind, I admit it is not original but I felt it had to be done. As a matter of fact I thought some of my other ideas were very original and stood a better chance (reading that Michael Owen likes and owes horses I tried to find a photo of one of his horses, fastest one preferably – he would have chosen my photo for sure had he seen it – but I  could not find any)”

Aaarg by Scott Pollard

“I wanted my design to be fun and colourful. It depicts a giant stampeding like a force of nature and not stopping no matter what. If your caught sleeping then he will get you.

I drafted my design out on paper and once I was happy with my design I created the artwork and uploaded it straight away. It was great to be able to upload it to the site and make slight changes so it was just right. ”

End Of Summer by Tian Lan

“My life is like a jigsaw, each piece of it gets together to form my life. One of the important pieces is about the soccer pitch and soccer, so I’d like to share it with everyone. I hope that I can put on the END OF SUMMER to fight for my dream just like Michael Owen.”

And remember, the competition may be over, but you can still upload and share designs for Speciali boots over here at the Umbro website.

Opta will be a familiar name to many football fans, but you might be unsure exactly what the company do. That’s why we took a trip down to their head offices in London last week, to take a look at this stat-happy gang in action. The company has offices across Europe, but it’s London that’s the real central hub for Opta’s operations. Umbro joined them on a Champions League evening, and there was a constant buzz of excitement about the place as kick off drew closer. Before watching the Opta boys do their stuff, we sat down for a chat with Simon Banoub, Opta’s Head Of Marketing, to talk about the impact of statistics on the world of football.

Opta has existed since 1996 in various guises, providing statistics and sports data to football clubs, TV companies and betting agencies. As Simon explains, Opta was in the right place at the right time to deal with the increasing desire for footie stats. ‘The birth of the stats industry was around the same time as when Opta started,’ he explains. ‘If you think about it, before that things like assists weren’t in people’s languages. Opta’s been growing with the industry and to some extents driving the industry from that point really.’

Various reasons have been given as to why stats have become such a big thing in the game, and one factor is mentioned more than any other – TV.  ‘I think changes in technology have been important, but I think it was the growth of televised games, from everywhere, that was the big thing,’ Simon suggests. ‘Previously, to really know about football, you had to go to the games. When Sky came along, the Premier League kicked off, and there was more and more live games. From the live coverage there was more interest in the game, and then people wanted to enhance their coverage, and that’s where the growth of stats really came in. Online took it to another level – it allows for live statistical coverage, people like Opta can send data directly to TV companies so they can use it in graphics live as the match is taking place.’

People have often talked about the effect that television has had on football, both good and bad, and one thing often mentioned is the globalisation of the game. On the night in question, Liverpool were due to take on Lyon, and the attention surrounding that game typified how far football has changed. ‘Five or six years ago, we wouldn’t have known any of the Lyon players, or most of the Barcelona team,’ argues Simon. ‘But now Messi, Iniesta and people like that are household names. Football has globalised so much – there’s kids growing up in England who support Spanish teams, because they can watch them every week on TV. The interest has grown both in terms of the depth of coverage of our own league, and in the breadth of information. Stats have grown alongside that.’

Another big change that the world of statistics has enabled is the kind of man who now sits in the dugout. The big-mouth manager, shouting and bawling on the touchline, is much less common than he used to be, with a more tactically astute character taking his place. ‘There’s a different breed of manager now such as Arsene Wenger who’s interested in the statistical side of performance, the nutritional side of performance, the scientific side,’ Simon explains.

There are plenty of people that would argue that, because of these changes, football has lost some of its romance, and that a manager like Brian Clough wouldn’t have been such a success in the statistical era. Opta would obviously disagree, and argue that there’s still plenty in football that’s down to intuition and instinct.

‘I think there’s too much money in football now to leave it to chance,’ Simon suggests. ‘But I think there’s still a place for instinct – spotting young players for example, because there aren’t the layers of data available about them. You can see the point about it losing some of the romance, but I do think there’s a place for the subjective and the objective in football. Every decision that a manager makes now is a big business decision, and nobody would make a decision worth millions of pounds without consulting all the available information. Companies like us are just providing that information, but there’s still an element about getting the right blend in a team, and no amount of stats can ever really tell you that. I don’t think we’re going to start collecting stats on the shopping habits of player’s wives, so these things are still open to chance!’

Of course, while things might have changed on the pitch, in the pubs and around the grounds, there’s still plenty that’s the same – such as arguments about which players are up to the job or not. For someone working at Opta, being able to pull out an argument-winning stat is one of the best things about the job.

‘It’s absolutely brilliant actually!’ laughs Simon. ‘When all the talk about Michael Owen was kicking off when Man Utd signed him, and plenty of people were saying he wasn’t as good as he’d been, we could look at the stats and see that his chance conversion ratio was better than any other player in the Premier League last season. Michael Owen actually used that stat in his brochure, and these nuggets of information are so great to use. It’s that element of Opta, driving the pub conversation, that really appeals to me. I’m a Middlesbrough fan, and when Gordon Strachan took over recently I was straight onto the stats team to find out his win ratio, things like that. They can do it so quickly, because all the info is in that database – so they can tell me that Alfonso Alves really is rubbish!’

And with that controversial statement, it was time for kick off. The pictures here capture the Opta team at work, as eight Champions League games, plus the Premiership tie between West Ham and Aston Villa, kicked off almost simultaneously. Every match has at least two people watching, one for each team, who type in every piece of action as it happens. Every shot, save, free kick, misplaced pass or throw in is tracked by the observers, with anything slightly contentious passed on to a third ‘referee’ to clarify. A big game – such as Lyon against Liverpool, pictured above – is watched on five monitors, in order to ensure the accuracy of the data that’s being recorded. This data can be used almost instantly, by bookmakers providing betting odds, TV companies updating the action, and the teams themselves, to work out what they’re doing right and wrong, and how to fix it.

It’s a tricky job to do, and must require a massive knowledge of football to do on a regular basis. As one member of staff pointed out to us, it’s one of the only roles in the world where you can admit to a love of watching football and playing computer games, and enhance your chances of getting the job. Apparently, only five out of every 100 applicants to a position is seriously considered for a job, with the ones who get the job able to accurately mark 98% of what happens in the game, a figure which rises to 100% when the matches are re-checked afterwards.

Despite all the football action taking place, Opta’s offices have a very different atmosphere to what you might expect, with an air of busy industry throughout the evening. The only time any shouts are heard is when Lyon’s late equaliser hits the net, bringing an equal amounts of curses and shouts of joy from the room.

Of course, this is a workplace, rather than a football stadium, and it’s clear that everyone at Opta takes their work very seriously. Earlier, talking to the team about their plans for the future, we were given a glimpse of a video-database that will hopefully be established in the new year. From this, a team will be able to select any player, and see all their action in a clip virtually instantaneously. Had a German winger recommended by a scout? Use this tool, and you’ll be able to watch all his assists, or all his mis-placed crosses before you make your decision.

There’s also enhanced searches on the horizon, which will allow clubs to accurately compare players from anywhere around the world against each other. Want to see a list of central midfielders under 25 in La Liga who performed best against the top clubs, particularly in the second half when every other player was getting tired? You’ll be able to do so, at the click of a button. It’s impressive stuff, and the breadth of information is almost scary.

Another project on the horizon for Opta is a historical look at the World Cup, from 1966 to 2006. Every match from these tournaments is being analysed and recorded by Opta’s stats guys so that comparisons can be made between the players then and now. Want to know who is really better between Bobby Charlton and Franz Beckenbauer? Soon the stats will be there that’ll show you. It seems that, having shaped our footballing present, Opta are looking to offer a new perspective on football’s past and future as well.

If you’re interested in following Opta on Twitter, where you can get interesting statistical info as games are played live, you can do so here.

The Winter Umbro Industries is now open for submissions, where anyone in Greater Manchester with a creative idea can be in with a chance to win £10,000 to help make those ideas a reality. Check out the video to see what impressed the judges last time around, and then head over to the Umbro Industries website and upload your ideas – it could be the best decision you make in a long time…

You’d think that football fans and trainspotters would be quite different, but in fact they share a few similarities: a love of statistics, a fondness for strong tea served from a flask, and an ability to stand in cold, windy places in order to observe their favourite pastime. The two were brought together in one big geek-hug this week by The Guardian’s Knowledge team, who produced this map when faced with the question of what is the greatest number of football league grounds that can be seen during a single train trip across Great Britain. The answer, in case it’s been keeping you awake at night, is 20 – but you’ll have to sit through a journey from Plymouth to Aberdeen to see them all.

The chances of seeing non-league Paulton Rovers’ ground from the train must be pretty small – Winterfield Road has a capacity of just 2,000. Tomorrow however, there’ll be plenty of people watching, when Paulton take on League One Norwich City in the FA Cup First Round. It’s a perfect FA Cup tie, with possibly the biggest club in the competition at this stage coming up against the smallest. Unprofessional Foul, which is run by a Norwich fan, have a great preview of the game here, complete with some great pictures of the West Country ground.

Scottish football can be unfairly mocked sometimes, so it seems important to note when something positive happens over the border. The emergence of Islam Feruz at Celtic is certainly a positive step for the Scottish game. Feruz has already represented Celtic at a number of levels, but his recent appearance in national Scotland youth squads is a significant step, considering that he wasn’t actually born in the country and has no family ties to the place. However, Feruz is the first person to benefit from changes in Scottish football rules that allow people who have lived in the country for a set number of years to represent the country of their choice. Good news for Feruz, some may say, whose family sought asylum in Scotland after fleeing from Somalia. Other people might say that it’s more likely to be good news for Scotland, who can now pick someone with Feruz’s talent. Either way, it’s a significant step, which is examined in more detail in this excellent article over at When Saturday Comes.

Other big news in football this week came from Wayne Rooney, and the birth of his first child. You can already follow Kai Rooney here on Twitter (something tells me it isn’t the real Kai however) whilst these cartoons over at Studs Up offer some interesting perspectives on that choice of name.

This week’s picture is a classic bit of Umbro kit we discovered on Flickr, after we decided that these pics of Katy Perry in a special West Ham shirt were a little racy. Uploaded by TonyTheTiger69, it’s the shirt worn by Man City in the 1974 League Cup final. Check out the classic Umbro logo!

As a football tailoring service with 84 years experience, Umbro has plenty of pieces of football memorabilia – such as Matt Busby’s boots, pictured above. We’re also sure that a lot of you people out there do too, and that’s why we’re hoping to begin a series of exhibitions in which we can showcase the finest pieces of football history around. Here at Umbro, we’re hoping to open up our design space in Manchester’s Northern Quarter to the best pieces of football memorabilia we can find. We’ll look through our archives and find the best bits, but we also want you to get involved. So, if you have any memorabilia that you think might be of interest, get in touch. We’re talking photos, shirts, boots, tickets, programmes, autographs – anything football related.

Of course, that could add up to a lot of stuff, so we’re going to narrow it down with a series of categories. These will then be showcased with a number of mini-exhibitions showing the finest contributions we’ve brought together. Everyone who contributes will be invited along to see their items on display and to explore Umbro’s own elements of football history.

For the first exhibition, we’re sticking to our roots, and focusing on Manchester as a theme. That doesn’t just confine us to United and City though. We want to see stuff from these clubs of course, but we’re also interested in Greater Manchester’s other teams – Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, Wigan, etc. If you’ve anything that you think might be of interest, we want to hear from you. You’ve got until Friday November 20 to get your suggestions over to us for the first, Manchester-themed exhibition, which we hope to put on in the new year.

So what to do now? The first thing to do is get in touch – we want to know what footballing stories should we concentrate on – United’s rise to the top? Oldham’s time in the spotlight? Great derby matches? We want to tell Manchester’s footballing story, and we want you to help us. Email your suggestions, perhaps with examples of the things we could include in the exhibition to tell these stories, to blog@umbro.co.uk or comment here on the blog and we’ll use the best ideas to shape the forthcoming exhibition.

To inspire some ideas, have a look at some photos of the Northern Quarter base where we intend to stage the exhibition over at our Flickr account.

How long have you been here and what do you do?

I’ve been working at Umbro for a year now. I’m the other half to the Visual Merchandising duo within the UK.

What would other people say you did?

To quote my Mum, “He makes things look pretty”. In reality I’m responsible for the presentation of Umbro product in store across various different retailers, as well as helping out visually displaying our products for different events throughout the year.

How is Umbro changing?

Umbro is changing for the better, we’re starting to show the world what we are really about and developing some of the best products I have ever seen Umbro make!

Where would you like to see it going?

Back to the Shearer days, when Umbro was the biggest football brand around, and everyone wanted to wear a pair of Umbro boots.

What do you think is the best/worst kit that Umbro have produced?

The best kit has to be the 1966 red England away shirt, it’s so simple it’s become an iconic classic! There’s been some shockers for the worst shirt, but the prize has to go to the 1996 England away Goalkeeper shirt, that multicoloured monstrosity with Seaman’s pony tail? A recipe for disaster!

What memory of football do you hold most dear?

Watching the 2005 Champions League final, and seeing Liverpool come back from 3-0 down to win it on penalties. That’s one of the games which shows what an amazing sport football is! Plus seeing the emotions of the fans after the game, it just brings everyone together.

If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be…

A teacher! The kids won’t teach themselves.

The Winter installment of Umbro Industries opens for applicants today, offering creative types in Greater Manchester the opportunity to win up to £10,000 to fund a project or idea they’ve had. So if you’ve got a great plan for a gig, an exhibition, a club night or a special project, and all that’s missing is the funds to make it happen, this is the perfect opportunity to get the cash that will set the gears in motion.

All you have to do is head to the Umbro Industries website, where you can give a brief description of your idea and how much you’d need to get it off the ground. While you’re there, you can also vote for the other ideas that you like the best, and read up on the panel of creative and business innovators who’ll be voting for the eventual winners.

Entry to this round of Umbro Industries is open until January 28th, after which the panel will draw up a shortlist their favourite suggestions. These finalists will then present their ideas directly to the panel in order to persuade them that their ideas are the best. If you want some tips on what the judges are looking for, here’s what two of the panel had to say about the entrants and the eventual winners of the Autumn Umbro Industries.

Mike Pickering (former Hacienda DJ, now head of A&R at Sony BMG)

‘I thought the standard of entries was excellent, not just the shortlist but throughout the competition, so narrowing it down wasn’t that easy. In fact some of them, you feel like telling them to resubmit, as they’ll have a chance to be considered again.

With the two winners, there was a couple of reasons why they stood out. First of all, they’d both been doing it for a few years, and they’re all still passionate about what they’re doing. Mind On Fire have got a great website, and they’ve got a great idea to put new Manchester talent on the b-side to more established acts on their website, taking Manchester music to the rest of the world. They were also really passionate and really well thought out, and it was the same with Same Teens really. They’ve done it for a while, so it’s something that you know will work. They’ve got ties in Tokyo and Hamburg, so it’s already recognised on a global scale.

Umbro Industries can only be positive thing for Manchester’s creative community because even if it’s just a bit of money to a cause, it gives the people who are doing it a boost. When I was working my way up, if you get people recognising what you’re doing and offering a hand, it’s a big boost to your enthusiasm.’

Dave Rofe (manager of Doves and Cherry Ghost)

‘I must admit that when I first got asked to pick the best ideas, I thought it’d be quite easy.I thought there’d be about 10 or 15 to choose from, and that it’d be dead obvious who the winners would be. But I was amazed at both the amount of entries, and how well written they all were, so it was a really hard decision. On my shortlist I had to choose five because I couldn’t get it down to three.

I think this shows that Manchester’s creative community is probably as strong as it’s ever been. There’s always been a lot going on, but what’s happened in the past is that people have collaborated, whereas now I’m not sure whether that happens as much. So something like Umbro Industries is going to be good in bringing people together.

If I was going to offer any advise to any potential future entrant, I’d ask them to give us as much detail as possible, and to be realistic with what you ask for. Work out what you need in terms of money, and work on that basis. If you’ve got an idea, and you can represent it, visually, bring it along, so we can see what you want to do.’

Here’s what Stuart Semple had to say about the entrants:

‘There were some unbelievable entries, I was pretty surprised by the diversity. At the top end the standard was incredible – I was particularly impressed with the entries that dealt with the architecture of the boot within their work. There were some really hilarious entries too. I think overall the shortlist shows an exciting breadth of talent and some exciting non-literal interpretations. It seems the Speciali competition has bought some incredible talents out of the woodwork.’

Each of the winners will have a pair of Specialis with their design on the sole made up for them, but that’s not all. Michael Owen, Gael Clichy and John Terry will each pick their favourites from the final 15 and wear them on the pitch later this year in a Premiership match.

Here, in no particular order, are the winners, with comments from designer Stewart Scott-Curran:

Tailored by David Smith                     Zoom Zoom by Luke Tonge

On Tailored – ‘This is a really clever design that seems obvious when you see it but those are the designs that often stand out. The ones that make you go “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!”

On Zoom Zoom – ‘I really like the simplicity of the design and the balance of colour. It’s a very eye catching design and proves that sometimes the simplest is the best.’

Aeiko by Pete Harrison                       Zombie by Stuart McCluskie

On Aeiko – ‘Another beautifully executed design that really pops on the red and white speciali. I love the clean lines and the little details that reveal themselves on the second or third look.’

On Zombie – ‘There’s a lot of humour in football and I love the sense of humour in this design. I also loved how the designer used the placement of the studs as eyes. I like it when the design is tailored to the canvas rather than the other way around.’

Football Of The World by Thomas McDonald / Muscle Du Pied by Jessica Fayard

On Football Of The World – ‘This was a very popular concept but this was the only version of the flags theme that has been hand drawn and really considered. If you notice, the designer has matched flags that contain circles to where the studs are placed. It was that attention to detail that really made this stand out from the rest.’

On Muscle Du Pied – ‘Again, this was a popular concept but for me this really talks into the idea that the Speciali boot is designed around the anatomy of the foot and that the footwear designers have considered every aspect of muscle structure and pressure points. I love the visualization of that concept in this design.’

FaceRed by Joaquin Cordoba                    Koi Kick by Andrew Ashbourne

On FaceRed – ‘Beautifully drawn. I love how the artist keeps it really tight at the bottom but the drawing gets looser as you reach the toe.’

On Koi Kick – ‘The execution and colouring of this is phenomenal. It really flows with the shape of the footplate and the inclusion of the ball takes it to the next level.’

Subbed by Jeff Jardine                    Winners Never Quit by Jack Allen

On Subbed – ‘Great eye catching design using a real iconic image of football. I love the fact that the designer is playing with scale so you can really see the detail and imperfections of the figure.’

On Winners Never Quit – ‘Simple, hand crafted design that really uses the monochromatic colour scheme to full effect. Great sense of humour too.’

Speciali Pride by Marko Govorusa    Eat My Gooooal! by Tom Fournier

On Speciali Pride – ‘The use of the Umbro Diamond in this design is inspired. The end result is vibrant and alive.’

On Eat My Gooooal! – ‘Again, my favourite designs are the ones that really use and enhance the shape of the canvas available. This is probably the best example of this that I’ve seen. It also has a great sense of fun, epitomized by the placement of the diamond. Fantastic.’

Reach For The Stars by Mihai Oluru         Aaarg by Scott Pollard

On Reach For The Stars – ‘The contrast of the dark design against the white boot makes this design really pop. It’s also a reminder that football is the world’s only truly global game.’

On Aaarg – ‘I love the humour in this design and the colours are great. If you snooze you lose!’

End of Summer by Tian Lan

This afternoon, Sunderland’s Darren Bent will debut a very special pair of Umbro Specialis in the game against West Ham. As you can see from the pictures featured here, Darren’s Specialis feature the logo from social networking site Twitter, plus the name @DBTheTruth, the name that the striker goes by online.

Here at Umbro we designed the boots for Darren after we realised what a massive fan he was of Twitter – he posts on the site a few times every day, and often takes pictures of things that catch his attention and uploads these as well. At the shoot for the pictures featured here, Darren snapped three different designs that we’d taken along for another pair of boots we’re designing for him, and asked his Twitter followers to pick out the one they liked best. He’ll wear the dynamite boots in another upcoming match.

Darren is the highest profile Premiership player to regularly use Twitter, something which famously got him into trouble earlier this year when comments he posted over his protracted move to Sunderland became public. He’s not the only footballer to Tweet though – two weeks ago, Darren was joined by Aston Villa goalscorer James Collins in celebrating scoring the winner through his Twitter posts. If you want to discover which other footballers are Twittering on a regular basis, we’ve collected the best ones that we can find here.