Why I am keeping an open mind over Peterborough United's plans for a new club crest

I went into yesterday’s briefing as a sceptic and to an extent, I still am.

Generally, I don’t like change. I’m used to the current badge and I do like it. The second I heard about plans for a ‘brand evolution’ I was quick to say, no, what is this nonsense? Why are we doing this, what is wrong with the current badge?

With time and with engaging with the club, my stance has mellowed. I’m not sold either way but I now understand how this process will work and would quite like the see the results, for better or worse.

I don’t believe that now is the time to be talking about for and against. It’s a time for open minds.

Right now, how can I say which side I am on when I simply don’t know what I am for or against?

I of course have concerns about change. The reason the current crest means to much to fans is its imagery that has a deep connection to the history of club and the city as a whole.

It may have been thrown together one afternoon in an office in 2008 to meet a kit printing deadline, with little to no consultation, but the reason the transition was relatively smooth is that it recognised the importance of the iconography and history that the old previous crest depicted and stuck close to those.

I would like to see a similar thought and care go into the design process of the new badge.

Even so, I may still hate it and be inclined to vote against changing it. I may love it and be inclined to vote for it.

Nothing ever changes though unless someone is daring to take the plunge. Sometimes it’s a good idea and sometimes it’s bad but we are not at that stage of the project yet.

I’m no marketing expert, and by no means does that mean only those that are can have an opinion, but the club have genuine concerns. I won’t go into the details of those here but for those that say ‘don’t fix what isn’t broken’ the club clearly do feel something is broken to even suggest this.

SEE: Peterborough United new crest: All you need to know about why the club is exploring a rebrand

So, I’m at least willing to hear them out before I make up my mind.

It’s not my job to convince anyone one way or another. Every fan has the right to their opinion but the one thing I do think is really important is to make sure that it is an informed one.

I completely understand that there will be many people for whom their reaction to this will be a flat out no and that is your right but I would strongly encourage everyone to take the time to engage with the club, attend or watch back the fans forum, chat to Clive and Chris at events, and understand why this is being put forward.

Your mind might be changed, it might not but that’s not important. The more informed opinions that can be fed back to the club to be considered in the design process, the better.

Saying a flat out no ‘leave the badge alone’ at this stage doesn’t help anyone. There is time for that down the line if you still feel that way.

One thing is clear, this process is going to happen. It may not be implemented but it will happen so it is certainly in the best interests of the club that the options for change presented are the best they can be. If they are still not better than the club has now, then it will not get sign off from the fans or from the directors and most importantly the owner.

The club are not immune from criticism for the way this was first communicated. The publication of the timeline to project delivery days after saying that feedback was valued was not good optics but all of the latest signs are that the they have learnt from this and are prioritising given fans a say right along the way.

The exact mechanism for this has not been decided but promises have been made. I certainly hope it will take the form of some sort of vote.

We are lucky in a way that the club is willing to involve fans, some to have gone through this have just told fans what will happen, while others have made them a genuine part of the decision.

To take an example from Chris Payne’s previous work; he designed two alternative crests for Bradford City in 2022 but the fans voted in favour of no change in and that is what happened.

I get it, it is not a good time for the club right now. It does seems hard to care when, on the pitch, the club is still far from certain of even retaining its place in League One next season but sadly, the new crest or marketing department can not play centre-back.

I see no reason all other areas of the club should go into hibernation until we start winning again. The decision over sign-off is expected to be made in October; a new season, maybe the club will be flying again at that point? Who knows but whether or not Emmanuel Fernandez can prove himself good enough to marshall a League One promotion-winning defence is not something I will be basing my opinion on a new crest on.

I’m no accountant either but I can’t foresee a circumstance where we are can’t bring in a Kwame Poku replacement because we’ve blown the budget on a rebrand. I’ll let the bean counters worry about the numbers.

I am prepared to allow the club to do what it feels is right, investigate this project, put some designs in front of us, the fans, and then come to a firm yes or no when I can see what exactly I’m choosing between.