I Should Have Known That

I posited recently that the Premier League at least looked like it would be a race (At Least It's A Race, 21 December) albeit at the risk of Liverpool winning their first top flight title in 29 years. Yes - and it's only 3 years more since Everton won it.  I ended by asking when male footballers started wearing sports bras, like this Wolves player:

Of course I should have known that this is the StatSports vest fitted with GPS which is how they can tell you how far each player ran, how many sprints they did at what maximum speed etc. The plain vest costs about 25 quid; fitted with the GPS tracker more like £250. There are cheaper competitor products available, but they aren't used by the likes of Man United, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton. Indeed, football and other sports clubs all over the world have of course been using this kit for several years, I just hadn't realised that's what it looked like.

Looking at the StatSports website it's not clear to me whether players have to wear the type that looks like a bra, or whether there are other styles. But it would appear to be a fashion choice as most Premier League players wear base layers, once called "vests" youngsters, in which case the GPS thingy is presumably tucked around a belt - or somewhere else.

Either way, I would have thought it would get a bit warm in hot conditions wearing the bra style. But at least it avoids the risk of jogger's nipple.

With that a happy, safe, prosperous and peaceful New Year to all my readers. After all, what could possibly go wrong in 2019?