Stoke City Away Shirt Asics 1993-94 Vintage Carling

Stoke City 1993-94 – The Asics away shirt from the Championship era, Carling sponsor

The 1993-94 season at Stoke City was one of reconstruction for a club in the former First Division – what everyone now calls the Championship after the 1992 Premier League revolution. This Asics away shirt with the Carling sponsor on the chest is a direct witness to a pivotal era in English football, before TV rights money changed everything.

Shirt details

Season: 1993-94
Club: Stoke City
Type: Away
Kit Manufacturer: Asics
Sponsor: CARLING
Size: XL
Condition: 8/10
State: LITTLE PULLS – authentic wear of a worn vintage shirt, a few small fabric pulls that show this shirt has lived

What this shirt represents

In 1993-94, Stoke City played in the First Division – the English second division, which had just lost its elite status to the brand new Premier League launched a year earlier. The Potters navigated troubled waters, seeking to regain the elite of English football they had left. It was a period of transition, of reconstruction, but also a period that had its raw and authentic charm for any true football fan.

The partnership with Asics as kit manufacturer is itself a curiosity of this era. The Japanese brand, now better known for its running shoes, had a notable presence in English football in the early 90s, signing clubs from lower and middle divisions with designs that radically contrasted with the omnipresent Nike or Umbro kits. This shirt therefore bears the dual signature of an era: that of pre-inflated English football and that of an atypical kit manufacturer that has not made football kits for a long time.

Moments etched in this shirt

Lou Macari at the helm of the Potters
The 1993-94 season saw the Potters play under managers who sought to restore the club's identity. The rebuilding work around Victoria Ground – their legendary home before moving to the Britannia Stadium – forged a mentality of resilience that characterized Stoke at that time.

Mark Stein, the Potters' marksman
Mark Stein is one of the prominent figures of this period at Stoke City. A prolific goalscorer, he had scored no less than 26 goals in all competitions the previous season (1992-93), making him one of the division's most feared strikers before his transfer to Chelsea. His departure left a void that the club sought to fill during the 1993-94 season.

Victoria Ground as a backdrop
This away shirt was worn in stadiums in the heart of England, those that television still ignored. Tough away games in Grimsby, Nottingham or Millwall, far from the cameras and glitz of the nascent Premier League. That's the authenticity of this 1990s English First Division shirt.

Authentic vs Replica

An authentic vintage shirt is a shirt that was marketed at the time to be worn – by players or by fans – and not reproduced afterwards for collectors. The finishes, labels, and textile technologies of the time are different from modern productions: heavier fabrics, looser cuts on the shoulders, screen prints or heat-sealed plastic flocking that have stood the test of decades.

This one has a few small fabric pulls – what are called "pulls" in English – which attest to real use. This is not a shirt taken out of a box in cellophane for 30 years: it has lived, it has been worn. And that is precisely what makes it credible in the eyes of a true collector of vintage English football shirts. The rating of 8/10 indicates a remarkable condition for a shirt of this age.

Vintage size guide

Vintage sizes from the 90s do not correspond to current standards. An XL from 1993 is generally the equivalent of a modern L, sometimes even an M depending on the brand. The cuts of the time were designed to be worn fitted, a far cry from the oversized XXL kits that some like today. Asics in particular tended to cut their shirts quite strictly, in the tradition of Japanese sports equipment manufacturers of the time.

Before ordering, get out your tape measure. Measure your chest circumference and compare it to the actual measurements of the shirt – which we show in the detailed photos. A poorly fitted shirt is a shirt that stays in the drawer rather than on your back or in your display case. For casual wear, allow an extra 5 to 8 cm of ease compared to your actual chest circumference.

Why have it in your collection

Vintage Asics football shirts have become extremely rare on the collector's market. The brand quickly abandoned football to focus on other sports, meaning that the stock of authentic kits from that era is no longer supplied and never has been through re-editions. Add to that a club like Stoke City, whose 1993-94 away shirt is almost impossible to find in good condition, and you have a serious collector's item for any fan of retro English football.

An 8/10 for a thirty-year-old shirt, with only a few light pulls, is honestly a nice surprise. There aren't many in this condition on the market – and even fewer with the Carling sponsor clearly visible, a logo that alone immediately refers to a whole part of British football culture of the 90s, when beer was at the heart of game sponsorship in England. This shirt is a time capsule.

To go further

• Stoke City – Wikipedia
• Football Kit Archive – History of jerseys
• UEFA – European Football

If you're a fan of 90s English football, rare pieces and equipment manufacturers no longer in the game, this Stoke City 1993-94 shirt has everything you need – it's up to you.