Cardiff City drop controversial 2025/26 reveal - it has caused a stir online | OneFootball

Cardiff City have released their new third kit for the 2025/26 season - and it hasn't received the desired reaction

In stark contrast to just a matter of months ago, Cardiff City supporters have precious little to complain about following a breathtaking start to the 2025/26 League One campaign under hugely-popular head coach Brian Barry-Murphy.

The Bluebirds find themselves sitting pretty at the summit of the third-tier standings after taking five victories from their opening six fixtures, with Barry-Murphy's men yet to concede defeat or a single league goal from open play.

Recent victories over fellow newly-relegated sides in Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle, having trounced the latter in a commanding 4-0 triumph at the end of August, have only further underlined Cardiff's promotion credentials, and they are, right now, the team to beat in League One.

A positive and reinvigorating summer transfer window saw the Bluebirds place an emphasis on retaining prized assets and building the team around homegrown stars as opposed to overloading the squad, too. Quality over quantity was very much the mantra laid bare by Barry-Murphy, who only signed three players in Nathan Trott, Gabriel Osho and Chelsea wonderkid Omari Kellyman, but managed to keep hold of key performers such as Cian Ashford, Rubin Colwill, Ronan Kpakio, Dylan Lawlor, Alex Robertson and Yousef Salech.

The mood within the Welsh capital is markedly different compared to just a few months ago, when Cardiff had finished at the foot of the Championship table and found themselves in a state of flux and uncertainty both on and off the pitch.

It's much more positive and uplifting these days, but supporters are not completely without complaint and have made their feelings rather clear to the club's freshly-released third kit, which was unveiled on Friday morning.

Cardiff City fans react to new third kit reveal

Cardiff have left it late to reveal their third kit, which is an intriguing orange number with a navy collar and a mixture of black and faded stripe patterns emblazoning the centre of the shirt.

The last time Cardiff experimented with an orange shirt came in the 2019/20 season, and the Bluebirds' away shirt that year received a markedly more generous reception from supporters.

This time around, however, it has not gone down quite so well and one City fan cheekily implied on X that the shirt is unlikely to receive too many sales.

Another supporter is happy that Cardiff are, at least, good to watch on the pitch.

Barry-Murphy's aggressive and hyper-possession-based brand of football is proving an instant and entertaining hit — as opposed to the club's kits this term, of course, all of which have received mixed reaction from the fanbase.

This fan, meanwhile, held little back as he labelled Cardiff's third shirt as potentially being among the worst ever.

Cardiff City fans make Hull City comparison with third kit reveal

There are obvious and unavoidable parallels with Hull City's home kit, which has invariably consisted of orange and black stripes.

These patterns, however, are much more unorthodox for the Bluebirds, with supporters namechecking the Tigers - whose nickname is befitting of their home colours, of course - in rather honest assessments of the club's third kit.

But Cardiff fans have also taken the opportunity to poke some fun at both the kit itself and at Hull's infamous chant — "you're getting mauled by the Tigers" — jokingly asking whether the Bluebirds can now sing that themselves given their strong start to the season and similar third-shirt colourway.