White boots are the most popular in the Premier League

Black boots worn by just 15 per cent of players

(PA)

White boots are now by far the most common among top-flight footballers, with almost 48 per cent of players favouring that colour in the last round of Premier League action.

White boots were once an indication of a special player - or at least a player who thought he was special. For those less gifted, the old Henry Ford adage used to apply: "You can have any colour you like, as long as it's black."

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But now, judging from the colours on display in top-flight games played between December 13 and 15, it seems it's over three times more likely for a player to wear white boots than the traditional black - just 15 per cent of players wore that colour. Green - in its various shades - was also more popular than black on 16.4 per cent.

Diego Costa sported a pink and blue pair (PA)

PA reporters were asked to make a note of the base colour of boots worn by all 220 players in Premier League starting line-ups. Our survey found 17 different varieties - in some cases there were two colours that had to be classed as the base.

Hull were found to be the most 'old school' team with six pairs of black boots, but even in these cases the toes were a different, brighter colour.

Stoke, Chelsea, Leicester and Everton steered clear of black boots altogether, while Manchester United, West Ham and West Brom sported the greatest range with six different colours worn by their starting XIs.

Phil Jones' black boots were splashed with orange on the toe (PA)

Diego Costa had his shooting boots on as he notched his 12th of the season in the 2-0 win over Hull - and what boots they were. The Spain striker's footwear was an assault on the eyes of pink and blue, with pink just about 'shading' it.

PA

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TEAM-BY-TEAM FINDINGS

Arsenal: White 6, black 2, green 1, blue 1, sky blue 1.

Aston Villa: White 8, black 1, green & white 1, green 1.

Burnley: White 6, green 3, orange 1, black 1.

Chelsea: White 5, green 2, green & blue 2, pink 1, turquoise 1.

Crystal Palace: White 5, green 2, black 2, yellow 2.

Everton: White 6, green 3, orange 1, yellow 1.

Hull: Black 6, white 4, green & blue 1.

Leicester: White 9, green 1, orange/black 1.

Liverpool: White 6, green 4, black 1.

Manchester City: White 3, black 3, green 2, sky blue 2, yellow/orange 1.

Manchester United: White 3, green 3, black 2, orange 1, yellow 1, orange/blue 1.

Newcastle: White 6, orange & blue 3, orange 1, black 1.

QPR: White 5, green 4, black 2.

Southampton: White 7, green 2, black 2.

Stoke City: White 5, orange 4, yellow 2.

Sunderland: White 5, black 3, blue 1, pink 1, luminous yellow/green 1,

Swansea: White 4, black 3, green 2, blue 1, silver 1.

Tottenham: White 5, green 3, yellow 1, black 1, red 1.

West Brom: White 5, black 2, green & blue 1, green 1, yellow 1, orange/yellow 1.

West Ham: Pink 2, white 2, green 2, orange 2, luminous yellow/green 2, black 1.

Research from PA