Chelsea's new home kit honours Ted Drake; fans divided over turquoise and white collar

Chelsea unveiled their new home kit for the 2022-23 season on Thursday with a video featuring players of the men's and women's teams. While the colour scheme and sponsors largely remained the same, one distinct feature of the jersey was the collar, which includes shades of a lion. 

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The club's website stated the kit was intended to pay homage to one of the most influential people in the club's history with that design: Ted Drake. "The new Nike home kit to be worn by Chelsea throughout the 2022/23 season pays homage to one of the most important figures in the club's history, Ted Drake," a statement on the website read.

The statement also added, "It is 70 years since Drake joined Chelsea as a manager in 1952 and his influence can still be strongly felt at Stamford Bridge, a theme continued by our new home kit, with several features a nod towards the innovative changes he made in modernising the club, producing one of the biggest turning points in our history."

"The visionary former Chelsea manager is best remembered for guiding us to our first-ever top-flight league title in 1955, having recruited wisely and in contrast to the past when unreliable big names were signed," the club noted.

"That collar also references another change to the club's identity made by Drake, which has stood the test of time - the introduction of the iconic 'lion rampant regardant' to the club's badge - replacing the image of a Chelsea Pensioner as the central theme under the legendary Blues boss," the west Lodon club explained. 

"The current badge is largely similar to the one worn on the team's shirts for the first time during Drake's final season at the Bridge in 1960/61, with the 'lion rampant regardant' still present and inspiring the Pride of London," it concluded.

While many fans weren't aware of the reason behind the collar, there were mixed reactions to the kit. One fan shared a picture of the Chelsea players' photoshoot and said, "New Chelsea Home kit is beautiful!"

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Another fan liked the jersey however wasn't the biggest fan of the collar as he said, "So, there we go. The 2022/23 Chelsea home shirt is finally released. Largely looks very smart. Plain white collar and I think would've been one of the better Nike kits."

Some fans were harsher, saying, "One of the worst kits we've ever had. What is that collar? Why do our home kits always flop." On the other hand, some loved the retro and simple aspect of the jersey. Here's a look at the reactions: