The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Friday, April 26

Hi, all!

It’s time to bring back the color investigations.

Ramble of the Day

A few months ago, I had stumbled upon a question: Do the Wolverhampton Wanderers wear gold or orange? I investigated, and the results were inconclusive, and though I don’t have an answer on that, it might be time to open up another investigation. Per a suggestion on that day, I’ve decided it is time to look into three of England’s claret and blue teams: West Ham, Burnley, and Aston Villa.

Up for debate, as things stand, isn’t blue; there are a lot of ways to define that color. What I’m more interested in is the specificity that deeming something claret requires. A quick Google search tells me claret is defined by the hex color code #7f1734, though before I go into this, I think it’s probably fair to be a shade or two different and still call a color claret. Additionally, the color picker I’m using registers that shade as brown, which should add more drama! Anyway, let’s start with Aston Villa.

Additionally, I will define characteristics in the colors as slightly different, which means they’re one shade off when broken down into primary colors. Anything else will be described as significant.

The first test I like to check is a kit, and I like to take the image straight from the team’s kit launch. For today’s investigation, I will be using 2018-19 home kits, and in this instance, I’m using the color picker on the darker of the two tones. The hex color code is #9c334b and described as brown by the color picker, but it is probably best to compare the actual codes. If using the CYMK color model, the kit uses significantly lighter shade of cyan and a deeper magenta.

Another test is to go straight to the crest. The color picker describes the border here as maroon, and gives the hex code of #7b0037. From the way the letters and numbers are grouped, you can tell this is pretty close to the description I got at the start of the process. A comparison proves it: only the level of magenta differs slightly, with the crest having a stronger magenta than the standard claret.

It’s possible the lighting altered the way the claret looks on the kit in that image, but the crest seems to actually meet the requirement. Consider the test passed, Aston Villa. Burnley, you’re next!

Let’s jump right in. My color picker describes the main kit color as maroon, and recognizes the color with the hex code of #661d2f. This is much closer to our definition of claret than the Villa kit; the cyan and yellow are slightly off. Decent claim to claret, though.

I think it’s pretty interesting that the claret shade isn’t particularly prominent in either the Villa or Burnley crest, but it is a little bit tougher to find in the Burnley crest. Regardless, the color picker deems this maroon with the code of #630730. It’s pretty close to the shade of the jersey itself, and also isn’t too far from our claret definition. While the cyan and yellow were different above, here it’s the cyan and magenta that slightly differ. Burnley seems to achieved a consistency, so they, too, can be given a passing grade. They might rank above Villa, too. West Ham, you’re up.

West Ham, like Villa, got a brown label out of my color picker, but obviously a different code: #8a2d3f. It turns out that this is pretty similar to claret, though; this kit has a slightly lighter cyan and magenta than our defined claret.

Now, for the final evaluation. Another brown description comes, this time with the code #7d2838. Again, you can guess that it is similar to the definition, but when broken down, it turns out that this is the closest to claret that we’ve gotten. Only the magenta is off slightly, while the cyan and yellow match perfectly. West Ham definitely pass the test, but rank above the rest.

Job well done to all of the claret and blue teams; you’ve not strayed from your claims, and perhaps best of all, there is not an identity crisis in sight.

Consider the comments a suggestion box for another color investigation, if you have them.

tl;dr: The clarets are mostly claret.

Links of the Day

AC Milan’s Tiémoué Bakayoko was racially abused by Lazio fans, who also performed other discriminatory actions, during a Coppa Italia match on Wednesday.

The European Club Association has invited more than 200 clubs to discuss “a Pan European League System” in June.

Today’s longer read: The Guardian asked readers about racism they’ve observed and sometimes experienced at football matches across England

Moderator’s note:

Avengers Endgame came out last night. Standard spoiler rules apply: Use spoiler bars for any discussion regarding it, just like Game of Thrones. I know everyone is usually good about it, but it’s just a friendly reminder.