MANUFACTURER: Sells Goalkeeper Products
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom
DATE FOUNDED: November 2001
HISTORY: Founded by goalkeeper coach Adam Sells (after he had already co-founded Selsport) and Chris Tyler. Sells made their first major public appearance when Dean Kiely wore a pair of Sells gloves in Charlton’s televised game against Middlesborough in February 2002. The brand has grown incredibly quickly since then, with Robert Douglas of Celtic lifting the Scottish League Championship in a pair of Sells before the first range of gloves had even been publicly launched. Sells has a number of top keepers as shareholders, including Robert Green, Andy Marshall and Dean Kiely, and quickly secured sponsorship deals with a selection of high profile keepers, such as Mark Schwarzer, Antti Niemi and Jersey Dudek. By August 2004 Sells were able to claim that 30% of the English Premier League, 50% of the Coca Cola Championship and 50% of the Scottish Premier League keepers began the 2004/5 season in Sells gloves. “In as little as 3 years, Sells Goalkeeper Products became the most popular brand amongst UK professional keepers”.
Sells have continued to go from strength to strength, with Dudek lifting the Champions League trophy for Liverpool in May 2005 wearing Sells, and the addition of a large portion of the current pick of British goalkeepers - Craig Gordon, Ben Foster, Robert Green – as well as a whole host of other goalkeepers, particularly in the UK.
Sells secured a major publicity victory at the beginning of the 2008/09 season, when Paul Robinson left Nike and began trialling a variety of the top goalkeeper glove brands on the market. Robinson appeared in Premiership games for Blackburn Rovers wearing gloves made by adidas and a number of others, before deciding to wear gloves custom made by Sells. A great advert for Sells Goalkeeper Products and the quality of the gloves and their service to their professional endorsees. Today, alongside Robinson, Sells’ most high profile keeper is arguably Ben Foster of Manchester United, who has been turning out outstanding performances in Sells gloves for several seasons now. Foster looks soon to be about to take the England and Manchester United #1 jerseys – it may not even be too long before we see Sells gloves around the FIFA World Cup...
KEY ENDORSEES: Craig Gordon, Ben Foster, Robert Green, Ali Al Habsi, Antti Niemi, Maik Taylor, Stephen Bywater
LIST OF ENDORSEES 2007/08 SEASON*:
*Note: list not fully updated for 2008/09
ENGLAND:
Stephen Bywater Derby County
Jason Brown Blackburn Rovers
Colin Doyle Birmingham City & Republic of Ireland
Ben Foster Manchester United & England
Craig Gordon Sunderland & Scotland
Robert Green West Ham United & England
Tim Krul Newcastle
Antti Niemi Fulham
Carlo Nash Wigan Athletic
Mike Pollitt Wigan Athletic
Graham Stack Reading
Stuart Taylor Aston Villa
Maik Taylor Birmingham City & Northern Ireland
Jimmy Walker West Ham United
Darren Ward Sunderland
Tony Warner Fulham
Bartosz Bialkowski Southampton
Lee Camp QPR
Kelvin Davis Southampton
Scott Flinders Crystal Palace
Dean Gerken Colchester
Lee Grant Sheffield Wednesday
Brian Jensen Burnley
Gabor Kiraly Burnley
Dean Kiely West Bromwich Albion
Richard Lee Watford
Conrad Logan Leicester City
Kyle Letheren Barnsley
Andy Marshall Coventry City
David Marshall Norwich City & Scotland
Heinz Mueller Barnsley
Michael Oakes Cardiff City
Steve Simonsen Stoke City
Julian Speroni Crystal Palace
SCOTLAND:
Steve Banks Heart of Midlothian
Anthony Basso Heart of Midlothian
Mark Brown Celtic
Michael Fraser Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Greg Fleming Gretna
David Grof Hibernian & Hungary U19
Mark Howard St Mirren
Zibi Malkowski Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Jamie Macdonald Heart of Midlothian & Scotland U21
Andrew McNeil Hibernian
Colin Meldrum Motherwell
Derek Soutar Aberdeen
Grzegorz Szamotulski Dundee United
ALBANIA:
Arian Beqaj Albanian international
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND:
Melissa Barbeiri Quantas Matildas & Australia
Liam Reddy Queensland Roar
Michael Theoklitos Melbourne Victory
Robert Bajic Adelaide United
Glen Moss Wellington Phoenix & New Zealand
Andrew Redmayne Central Coast Mariners
Scott Higgins Adelaide United
Jacob Spoonley Wellington Phoenix & New Zealand
Griffin McMaster Queensland Roar
Danny Milosevic Perth Glory
AUSTRIA:
Szabolcs Safar Austria Magna Wien
BELGIUM:
Cedric Bertholin Mons
CZECH REPUBLIC:
Michael Spit Jabolenc
DENMARK:
Kim Christensen FC Nordsjaelland
Stig Olsen Vejle BK
FAROE ISLANDS:
Jakup Mikkelsen Faroe Islands international
GERMANY:
Dominik Poremba FC Koln
David Thiel Bayer Leverkusen
Bjorn Bussman FC Koln
Hisa Takada FSV Oggersheim
HOLLAND:
Khalid Sinouh AZ Alkmaar & Morocco
HUNGARY:
Gabor Nemeth Vasas
Ivan Toth Honved
Turi Geza Faroe Islands
Tamas Takacs Sopron
Attila Kovacs SE Paks
Miski Zoltan Honved
Sebok Zsolt Fehervar
RUSSIA:
Aleksandrs Kolinko Rubin & Latvia
Alexey Polyakov Lokomotiv Moscow
Maxim Kabanov Torpedo Moscow
Sergey Ryzshykov Lokomotiv Moscow
Roman Gerus LuchVladivostok
Georgyi Lomaiya Luch Vladivostok
Valeryi Chizshov Saturn Mosk.Oblast
SWEDEN & NORWAY:
Johan Wiland Elsborg
Nicklas Svenssen Ljungskile
Stojan Lukic Landskrona
Lee Baxter Landskrona
Ludwig Begstrom Enkoping
Peter Karlsson Sylvia
Magnus Jonsson IFK Norrkoping
Espen Jonsen Rosenborg
USA&CANADA:
Zach Wells Houston Dynamo
Doug Warren New England Revolution
Greg Sutton Toronto
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS AND TECHNOLOGY:
PALMS:
Sells states that it takes a “palm first” approach to glove design, based on the principle that “grip is everything”. A variety of latex types are used:
- ‘Adhesion Ultra Latex’ – Sells’ top level specialised latex used on leading gloves for “strong grip and absorbent cushioning”.
- ‘Dual Adhesion Plus Latex’ – includes an internal layer of latex enabling the goalkeeper to grip better on the inside of the goalkeeper gloves.
- ‘Durasoft’ and ‘Permagrip’ latex – more durable latex varieties.
GLOVE CUTS:
1. Roll
The Roll Finger cut is by a long way Sells’ glove cut of choice. The palm latex wraps fully around the fingers, aiming to improve on traditional flat cuts and ensure that however you handle the ball there will always be latex-to-ball contact.
2. Roll Index
Roll Index style palm - a combination of a Flat and Roll Finger glove. The Roll Index cut gives the traditional feel of the Flat Palm but the latex surrounding the index finger provides extra traction around this key area when receiving and distributing the ball.
3. Surround Cut
The one-piece Surround cut palm envelops the outer hand, forming the backhand of the glove. The seamless design aims to provide better comfort and the embossed contours of the glove improve flexibility, forming an improved and more natural punching zone.
4. Flat Cut
Flat Palm with perimeter seaming: traditional fit
5. Negative Cut
The Negative cut has the seams of the glove on the inside of the fingers, aiming to provide a more snug fitting glove. Latex is also used on the gussets (i.e. in between the fingers) to ensure – as with the Roll Finger cut - latex-to-ball contact at all times.