P 39 W 21 D 9 L 9 F 65:A 29 65% successful
Description
	White shirt. Deep white v-neck, with thin red and royal blue stripe in middle. White cuffs, with thin red and royal blue stripe in middle. Thick royal blue panel across shoulders, either side of v-neck, with slightly thinner red panel directly underneath, across collarbone, either side of v-neck. Thin royal blue line across breast, either side of base of v-neck. Emblem underneath thin blue line on left breast on a white embroidered patch. New-style red logo, overlaid with 'Admiral' in royal blue title case lettering on right breast on a white embroidered patch underneath thin blue line. Red numbers on reverse in this font: Royal blue shorts, with white drawstring. White seams, with a thick red vertical stripe in the middle and a thin royal blue vertical stripe on each side of the central red stripe. New-style red logo, overlaid with 'Admiral' in royal blue title case lettering on left thigh on a white embroidered patch. White socks, with red and royal blue stripe across tops (the same as for the 1974 white uniform).
Variations	The Admiral logos were removed from the shirts and shorts for the duration of the 1980 European Championship final tournament in Italy. A white logo with 'Admiral' in red was worn at the base of the first digit of the shirt number against Kuwait, and for all the digits in the last 12 games in which the shirt was worn. For the three games in which this uniform was worn at the 1982 World Cup final tournament in Spain, England wore white numbers on the right thigh in a different font to that on the reverse of the shirt. Against Czechoslovakia and Kuwait, the Admiral logo was positioned above the number, whilst against Spain, it returned to its usual position, on the left thigh. At the beginning of the 1981-82 season, a new sock design was introduced. The red and blue stripe across the tops was replaced by a thick royal blue stripe, overlaid with red logos, but without the 'Admiral' lettering. England reverted back to the original sock design, without the Admiral logos, for the three games in which this uniform was worn at the 1982 World Cup final tournament in Spain. The second sock design was then used for the last 12 games in which this uniform was worn with white socks.
Most Appearances	28 - Kenny Sansom 24 - Paul Mariner 23 - Phil Neal 59 England internationals appeared in this shirt. 29 players made their international debut in the shirt, including John Barnes, who went on to win 79 caps, and Terry Butcher, who won 77. Thirty players won their last cap in the shirt, including Dave Watson (his 65th cap), Kevin Keegan (63rd) and Emlyn Hughes (62nd). Eleven players won all of their caps in this shirt, including Garry Birtles, Steve Foster and Derek Statham, who won three caps each.
Top Scorers	9 - Paul Mariner 7 - Trevor Francis 6 - Tony Woodcock Nine players scored their first international goal in this shirt, including Bryan Robson, who went on to score 26. Fifteen players scored their last international goal in this shirt, including Kevin Keegan’s 21st. Six players scored all of their international goals in this shirt, with Luther Blissett’s three, all coming in one match against Luxembourg, at Wembley, in 1982.
Captains	11 - Kevin Keegan 5 - Phil Thompson 4 - Mick Mills, Bryan Robson 3 - Ray Wilkins 2 - Dave Watson 1 - Trevor Cherry, Emlyn Hughes, Phil Neal Only three of the nine had not captained England before (Cherry, Neal and Wilkins). Four defenders wore this shirt when they captained England for the last time (Hughes, Mills, Thompson and Watson).
England celebrated the end of the barren spell that was the 1970s, by qualifying for the finals of the European Championship as the tournament expanded to eight teams. In the six years that England had been wearing Admiral kit, they had experienced successive failures to win their qualifying groups in the European Championship and World Cup, but the arrival of Ron Greenwood as manager in 1977 had seen a new optimism and the run-up to Europa '80 in Italy was filled with a genuine belief that England were about to reclaim lost glories. A new kit design was commissioned to commemorate the forthcoming event and was unveiled for the first time prior to the game against Spain in March, though England wore their 1974 uniform in Barcelona. Admiral came up with an even more flamboyant effort. Remember, this was the time when England stood behind the union flag, not yet the cross of St. George. So, it was red, white and blue that comprised the uniform and England emerged looking like they were carrying the union flag on their shoulders. It was a shock for the traditionalists, who still yearned for the success of the sixties, when England were bedecked in plain white shirts and navy shorts. In later years, however, this second and last Admiral home uniform took on cult status and was much sought after by shirt collectors. The game chosen for its debut was a prestigious Wembley friendly against the world champions, Argentina, who numbered in their ranks, a 19-year-old called Diego Maradona. The prodigy would have his day in the future at England's expense, but on this occasion, it was Kevin Keegan and company who stole the show. A convincing 3-1 victory made the world take notice. Who could stop England now in the little old European Championship? Italy, that's who. Before that, just four days after Argentina, Wales were to burst the England bubble with their biggest ever victory against their illustrious neighbours, who would argue that it was an experimental eleven that travelled to Wrexham. England never really got going in Italy, in their modified kit, without the Admiral logos. Rioting fans and tear gas interrupting the opening game in Turin didn't help. Neither did some strange team selections against the host nation, three days later. Admiral Sportswear was declared bankrupt in 1980, but the brand was bought, so the Football Association were obliged to honour the contract they had signed. The following World Cup campaign was a rollercoaster ride of emotions, with England qualifying despite suffering three defeats on the road. This uniform was also worn on 24th March, 1982, when England drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao in Francisco 'Checo' Rojo's testimonial, a game used as a PR exercise to introduce England to the fans in Bilbao, which was to become their base for the first round of the World Cup, three months later. When the time came, England hit the ground running and finally began to show their true potential, despite the loss of Keegan and Brooking through injury and a mysterious set of inconsistencies in the kits that were worn in Spain. A new set of lighter shirts was sent out for the Kuwait game because the players had complained that those worn against Czechoslovakia had been too heavy for the hot conditions. The suppliers took the opportunity to slip an additional Admiral logo onto the reverse of the shirts. England continued to wear the kit until the end of the contract, which coincided with their failure to qualify for the 1984 European Championship in France. Once more, England were in a trough and the F.A. looked to start afresh with a new kit manufacturer, one with a more stable future. It turned out to be an old friend...

Matches in Which England Wore the 1980 Home White Uniform
1979-80
539	13 May 1980	3-1 vs. Argentina, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	Fr	HW
540	17 May 1980	1-4 vs. Wales, Racecourse Ground, Mold Road, Wrexham	Fr	HW
541	20 May 1980	1-1 vs. Northern Ireland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	HD
542	24 May 1980	2-0 vs. Scotland, Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow		AW
543	31 May 1980	2-1 vs. Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park, Sydney	Fr	AW
Euro Champs Finals 1980
544	12 June 1980	1-1 vs. Belgium, Stadio Comunale di Torino, Torino, Italy	ECF	ND
Notes		The Admiral logo did not appear on the kits.
545	15 June 1980	0-1 vs. Italy, Stadio Comunale di Torino, Torino	ECF	AL
Notes		The Admiral logo did not appear on the kits.
546	18 June 1980	2-1 vs. Spain, Stadio San Paolo, Napoli, Italy	ECF	NW
Notes		The Admiral logo did not appear on the kits.
1980-81
547	10 September 1980	4-0 vs. Norway, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	WCP	HW
548	15 October 1981	1-2 vs. Romania, Stadionul 23 August, Bucureşti		AL
Notes		England wore all white, the white home shirt and socks with the 1974 white change shorts, against Romania.
549	19 November 1980	2-1 vs. Switzerland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	WCP	HW
550	25 March 1981	1-2 vs. Spain, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	Fr	HL
Notes		England wore all white, the white home shirt and socks with the 1974 white change shorts, against Spain.
553	20 May 1981	0-0 vs. Wales, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	HD
554	23 May 1981	0-1 vs. Scotland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London		HL
555	30 May 1981	1-2 vs. Switzerland, Sankt Jakob Stadium, Basel	WCP	AL
556	6 June 1981	3-1 vs. Hungary, Népstadion, Budapest		AW
1981-82
557	9 September 1981	1-2 vs. Norway, Ullevĺl Stadion, Oslo	WCP	AL
558	18 November 1981	1-0 vs. Hungary, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London		HW
559	23 February 1982	4-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	HW
560	27 April 1982	1-0 vs. Wales, Ninian Park, Sloper Road, Cardiff		AW
561	25 May 1982	2-0 vs. Netherlands, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	Fr	HW
562	29 May 1982	1-0 vs. Scotland, Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow	BC	AW
563	2 June 1982	1-1 vs. Iceland, Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavik	Fr	AD
World Cup Finals 1982
566	20 June 1982	2-0 vs. Czechoslovakia, Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain	WCF	NW
567	25 June 1982	1-0 vs. Kuwait, Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain		NW
569	5 July 1982	0-0 vs. Spain, El Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid, Spain		ND
1982-83
570	22 September 1982	2-2 vs. Denmark, Idrćtsparken, Křbenhavn	ECP	AD
571	13 October 1982	1-2 vs. West Germany, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	Fr	HL
Notes		England wore the white home shirt with blue home shorts, but wore the 1982 red change socks, against West Germany.
573	17 November 1982	9-0 vs. Luxembourg, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	HW
574	23 February 1983	2-1 vs. Wales, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	BC	HW
576	27 April 1983	2-0 vs. Hungary, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	HW
577	28 May 1983	0-0 vs. Northern Ireland, Windsor Park, Belfast	BC	AD
578	1 June 1983	2-0 vs. Scotland, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London		HW
579	12 June 1983	0-0 vs. Australia, Sydney Cricket Ground, Moore Park, Sydney	Fr	AD
580	15 June 1983	1-0 vs. Australia, Lang Park, Milton, Brisbane	Fr	AW
581	19 June 1983	1-1 vs. Australia, Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne	Fr	AD
1983-84
582	21 September 1983	0-1 vs. Denmark, Wembley Stadium, Wembley, London	ECP	HL
583	12 October 1983	3-0 vs. Hungary, Népstadion, Budapest		AW
584	16 November 1983	4-0 vs. Luxembourg, Stade Municipal, Stad Lëtzebuerg		AW

 

England's Record wearing the 1980 Home Shirt
Type	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	FTS	CS	FAv	AAv	Pts %	W/L
Home	16	10	2	4	34	10	+24	3	8	2.125	0.625	68.8	+6
Away	19	8	6	5	25	17	+8	4	9	1.316	0.895	57.9	+3
Neutral	4	3	1	0	6	2	+4	0	2	1.50	0.50	87.5	+3
Total	39	21	9	9	65	29	+36	7	19	1.667	0.744	65.4	+12

 

(far left) Kevin Keegan lines up against Spain on June 18th, 1980.  Note the absence of Admiral logos. Kit manufacturers were not allowed to advertise their products during the European Championship in Italy.

(left) The practice of adding an Admiral logo to the base of the number, began at the 1982 World Cup and continued intermittently until the end of the Admiral contract in November 1983.  England did not use the space again until 2005, when the Three Lions emblem appeared in the same place.

 

 

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