What's in a football crest - and why do clubs change them?

The passion felt by a football fan about their club's crest knows almost no limit.

It can represent the good times of cup glory and league triumphs, while serving as a reminder of tougher times where they stuck by their team.

So what happens when that crest is changed? Is history sacrificed at the altar of online marketing and a digital-first world?

Some fans of Peterborough United have this week been questioning their side's new crest, which was rolled out on Monday morning.

Posh follow in big footsteps. Among the most famous rebrands in modern football this millennia include Manchester City, Chelsea and Juventus.

Their new crest shows a winged lion holding a key against a blue background and was designed by Christopher Payne.

While they do not all feel on the crest of a wave about Peterborough's fresh look, not all fans are despondent about it either.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says while the club will have wanted to please supporters, ultimately it is a business decision.

"Clubs don't want to restrict themselves to just being seen as football clubs anymore," he says.

Maguire points to Spanish sides Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, who both have affiliated basketball teams, and to Manchester United, who dropped "football club" from their badge in 1998.

He continues: "Why restrict yourself to being just part of the football industry when, in theory, you can expand into a multi-sport or multi-functional brand?"

Posh say their new crest will be "good for the club long-term" and that it has been "shaped by thousands of supporter voices".

But some fans on X have been critical, with one saying: "You've just erased real history for commercialised rubbish that looks like a Chinese knock-off of Peugeot."

Another adds: "Who wants to walk around with that abomination on their chest having to explain to people what it is?"

The previous crest was based on the city's coat of arms, which features cross keys, lions and the motto "upon this rock".

Modern football clubs are not just locally-run community hubs anymore. Many are also global brands with logos as much as crests.

Posh owner Darragh MacAnthony says branding is a "massive part" of the club's evolution and the new crest will help to secure commercial deals.

He is not the first to follow that approach.

Many clubs feel they can no longer just focus on the kit, but instead consider how the crest is used across social media and "sub-brands" born in the digital era.

They are looking for something instantly recognisable, Maguire explains, rather than a busy badge that does not immediately tell a neutral who it represents.

Manchester City adopted a simpler crest in 2016, while Italian side Juventus went even further by stripping theirs back to become a black and white J with the club's name above it.

Aston Villa also spent £80,000 on a rebrand in 2016, removing the word "prepared" from the crest and making the lion bigger, in the name of being "more effective in the digital age".

Ultimately, Maguire believes it is driven by business.

"It all boils down to if it will generate revenues and even act as a cost-saving measure too," he explains.

"From a design point of view, it's cheaper to produce shirts with simple crests too.

"It's also an opportunity to reinvent the club, to say it's moving in a new direction and that this crest represents its new values."

However, rebrands do not always work. Just ask Leeds United.

The then-Championship side spent six months researching a new crest, but it was slammed as "awful", "horrendous" and "shocking" by fans on social media in 2018, leading to it being scrapped altogether.

Sheffield Wednesday have also gone back to basics. The club has started using its classic owl crest on social media, replacing the logo introduced under controversial previous owner Dejphon Chansiri.

"You've got to be aware it is the fans who are buying the merchandise and who are providing the vibrancy of Elland Road or wherever else it may be," Maguire says.

"Fans are pretty tolerant, but there is always a line in the sand if you go for too radical a change."

However, the expert says any rumbles of discontent almost always disappear with winning on the pitch or the signing of a new star striker.

He adds: "I think then fans just sigh and get on with it all."

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