Liverpool Unveil 2012/13 Home Kit: Shankly Gates Dropped, Liver Bird Returns

Liverpool have unveiled their home kit for the 2012/13 season.

With the present situation looking slightly dim for Liverpool, the club are apparently looking to go back to their glory days with the new kit, by replacing the club crest with a Liver bird badge reminiscent of a very successful time when manager Kenny Dalglish was a player for the Reds.

Kit manufacturers Warrior Sports, who have agreed to pay the Anfield club a British record of £25 million per season, have gone back to the classic Liverpool badge and dumped the current version, which featured an image of the Shankly Gates, the "You'll Never Walk Alone" motto and two Justice flames honouring the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

Though the new kit has a retro feel, many Reds supporters might be disappointed due to the removal of the eternal flame which was added to the crest following the Hillsborough disaster. However, Warrior, who have taken over Liverpool's kit duties from Adidas, have included two small flames on either side of the number "96" on the back of the neck, in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the disaster.

The club's official site also released a gallery of images showing a host of players, including captain Steven Gerrard, goalkeeper Jose Renia, forwards Luiz Suarez and Craig Bellamy and defenders Martin Skrtel and Jose Enrique sporting the new jersey.

The club's publicity campaign for the new kit reads: "It's inspired by greatness. It's modern tradition. It's unapologetically Liverpool FC. It will make you feel 7ft tall."

The manufacturers and the club stated that they expect to sell over 900,000 new jerseys - making Liverpool the fourth biggest kit seller in the footballing world, behind Manchester United and Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Liverpool visit Swansea City on Sunday for the final game of the season. It is highly unlikely that the Reds will wear their new jersey for that match as they would not want to debut their new home kit in an away fixture.

Fans can pre-order the new kit from the official Liverpool FC online store.

Take a look at Liverpool's home kit for the 2012/13 season here: