Football Crest design

I was approached by the coach of a local football team, Saxons FC, to design a new club crest for them due to their recent success last season doing the treble after only being established that same season. 

A specific request was to include a Saxons cross somewhere. Obviously for the Anglo Saxons link but I wanted to retain that ideology throughout. After plenty of research in to the Anglo Saxons I came across some of their defense ‘weaponry’ and amongst the axes and swords was a shield with a Saxons cross on it spread across the entire surface area. Almost putting the shield in the quarterly categories. After further research it seemed a fair few of their shields had quarterly designs (and hazard-like shapes, in to thirds, designs too) using this it was the foundation of my design. Whilst I was tempted to go for the circular badge to replicate the shield I also didn’t want the crest to feel outdated and even more importantly, generic. I went for a more modern shape with the curves of the badge still replicated the circular shield whilst the underlying shape of the crest replicated a more modern shield. 

The cross in the middle is ‘Bewcastles cross’ which is known as one of “Anglo Saxons greatest achievements of their date in Europe” –   Nikolaus Pevsner, along with the ruthwell cross. Both crosses are considered the largest and most elaborately decorated Anglo-Saxon crosses to have survived mostly intact and both are often if not always discussed together. The Bewcastles cross is still located in its original position in Cumbria, although heavily damaged with its ‘head’ missing. 
The dragon image is my design based off of the ‘white dragon’. Which is a symbol knowingly associated in Welsh mythology with the Anglo-saxons. Legend has it that the white dragon was just one of the two dragons represented in battle during the ongoing disputes between the Welsh and the English. The welsh dragon being the well known ‘red dragon’ that we know and still see today. The White Dragon was also seemingly flown by Harold II, when he destroyed the Norse army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066 according to the history booksx and it was the banner under which he and his warriors fought to the death for.