Photo by Flickr, CC by 1.0
If you have attended a Premier League match live, you’d know that mascots are a crucial part of the matchday experience. That said, not every mascot manages to strike a chord with the fans.
Using mascots is a football tradition that goes as far back as the 19th century. Teams used to bring in real animals back then to entertain the fans, and in some cases, intimidate the opposition.
The puppet style mascots that we are used to seeing these days did not appear for another 100 years. Nowadays, many clubs design their mascots to reflect local culture and traditions, but the ideas don’t always land.
Here are some of the most ridiculous mascots we have seen in the Premier League:
6. Brighton & Hove Albion – Gully and Sally the Seagull
If you think about it, it makes sense that Brighton & Hove Albion would choose a seagull as their mascot – it’s on their club crest, and the seaside city is notorious for its marauding gulls. But Gully the Seagull isn’t exactly the most appealing sight.
A red-haired seagull with boozy eyes is hardly an inspiring way to represent the Seagulls on the pitch. It comes across more obnoxious than encouraging, more like a reminder of the bag of chips you lost on a seaside holiday in Brighton.
5. Nottingham Forest – Sherwood Bear
Nottingham Forest have been a Premier League regular in recent seasons after a long hiatus between 1999 and 2022. The Sherwood Bear was their mascot when the Tricky Trees got relegated from the English top-flight in 1999.
Now there is nothing too offensive about this mascot, named after Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, but surely it made more sense to base the character on Robin Hood, the legendary outlaw from the area who holds a place in English folklore.
The hierarchy at Forest appeared to agree with that sentiment and replaced Sherwood Bear with Robin Hood in 2007, only to then reverse that decision eight years later.
However, Sherwood Bear’s return thankfully only lasted three years, as he was soon replaced again, with Robin Hood returning to role, hopefully permanently, in 2018.
4. Leeds United – Lucas The Kop Kat
Lucas The Kop Kat has been Leeds’ mascot since 2005, with the club opting for a snow leopard character to pay homage to their white kit.
That appears to be the only link between the West Yorkshire club and snow leopards, with the choice in animal seeming strange given Leeds were historically known as the Peacocks.
Fans often joke that Leeds United are a rare sight in the Premier League these days, just like the snow leopard in the wild. Pretty sure the club did not have that in mind when choosing the mascot, but some stories just write themselves, don’t they?
3. Sheffield United – Captain Blade
A number of clubs opt to base their mascots on their nickname, which from a PR point of view may not have been the best route for Sheffield United to go down given they are known as the Blades.
However, to incorporate that nickname, which also forms part of the club’s badge, Sheff United opted to go with a pirate who carries around two swords.
A sword wielding pirate does not seem to be the friendliest or most child friendly mascot choice, while the use of the character may also appear strange given Sheffield is situated over 60 miles away from the ‘high seas’.
2. Everton – Chang the Elephant
As previously mentioned, the majority of mascots tend to have close links to the club and/or local community, but that wasn’t the case with Everton’s Chang the Elephant, who was named after the club’s sponsor.
The new mascot made little sense when compared to Everton’s previous incumbent, Mr Toffee, who was a reference to the club’s nickname, the roots of which can be traced back to their formation in 1878.
To make matters worse, Chang was ditched when the club’s sponsorship deal came to an end in 2017 and Everton have been operating without a mascot ever since, indeed they are the only current Premier League club not to have one.
1. West Brom – Boiler Man
There was an equal measure of disbelief and hilarity when West Brom introduced their new mascot Boiler Man ahead of the 2018-19 season.
The mascot was designed as a boiler with legs and came about after the Baggies agreed a sponsorship deal with Hull-based company Ideal Boilers.
The decision certainly provided plenty of amusement, but the choice in mascot appeared to go against the principles of the role, as they are supposed to provide supporters, mainly children, with entertainment, rather than to promote the need to get your boiler replaced.
Thankfully Albion have also kept their regular mascot Baggie Bird, but it’s been a while since we have seen them both in the Premier League.
