Dozens of clubs have made changes to their crests over the last few years, sometimes unnecessarily. Here are few whose image could actually do with a little modernising.
5 Clubs Who Could Do With Crest Update
A new or updated club badge is sure to cause a stir among football fans. Sometimes the reaction can be positive with fans in agreement that the new look is an improvement on the old one. However, we've seen plenty of redesigned badges that go for the ultra modern, corporate logo style, generally to the disappointment of fans, who'd prefer to keep their existing badge.
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A lot of clubs with a perfectly representative badge have cast it aside in favour of current trends, but on the other end of the scale are the clubs whose crest is overdue an update. Check out our pick of five clubs who definitely have some room for improvement in the visual identity department.
Southampton
Southampton's badge has undergone minimal updates over the years, with the basic form first introduced in 1974 and most recently tweaked in 2011. The problem is, the graphic representations of all the elements are quite childish and outdated. The tree, scarf, football and halo symbols all look like clip art. The banner, tucked in underneath the shield and partially obscured, and the black space between the top of the shield and the scarf add to the amateurish aesthetic. Keep the elements, but surely there's a more stylish way to put them all together.
SV Zulte Waregem
Looking like a diagram from a chemistry textbook, Belgian side Zulte Waregem's crest has been in use since 2005, when they abandoned their striped shield for something less typical. Having a unique badge can be a source of pride for a club, but this one unfortunately just doesn't look like the badge of a football club, never mind a good one. The brushstroke effect is the opposite of timeless.
Sassuolo
Sassuolo is a town of just 40,000 people but their football team managed to establish themselves as a fixture of Serie A since 2013. Prior to that, they had spent their entire history in the lower divisions. They were in Serie B in 2010 when they updated their crest, going for a shape similar to Barcelona's, but the end product again looks a little bit small time. The off centre spike at the bottom, the grey border and the football and aqueduct graphics need reworking, and an alternative font wouldn't go amiss either. They've got a great colour combo to work with so fine tuning the other aspects shouldn't be too difficult.
Club Puebla
Yet another amateur look from Mexico's Club Puebla. Look a bit closer and you'll see that a continuous, unbroken line forms the crest shape and the sash, starting at the top left and ending at the bottom right. A nice feature that is somewhat ruined by the contradictory outer border. Strangely, this border was only added in 2018, with previous versions faring much better without it. The team name across the centre and the football in motion at the top, along with the overall graphic style are not very befitting of a club playing in the top flight of their domestic league. A few minor adjustments could do the trick here, no need to reinvent the wheel.
Wigan Athletic
More clip art graphics here from Wigan. The shading on the tree and crown mark this one out pretty clearly as a 2000s design (this crest dates from 2008) and is a feature that has very much faded out of fashion. In contrast, the roundel shape has turned out to be a choice popular among many clubs who have redesigned their badge. Once again, nothing drastic is required here, but this one could be polished up for a much classier effect.
Are their any other clubs who you think should give some thought to a badge redesign? Comment below.