Premier League Preview Part II

[Weekend Editor’s Note: The 2024-25 PL season has started, so to bring you previews of all the kits, our own Jamie Rathjen and Anthony Emerson each tackled half the league. Jamie had Part I yesterday, and Anthony has Part II  for you today. Enjoy! — JV]

 

I hope you’re ready for some nostalgia, because the back half of our Premier League preview features a few teams drawing heavily from their past. We’ve also got some of the biggest names in the league.

Leicester City

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After a brief sojourn down in the second tier, the Foxes are back in the top flight with what I would describe as a pretty standard Leicester City kit. I think the jersey they wore in Championship last year was more interesting, and the wave motif on the side panels doesn’t do it any favors, but there’s not too much to complain about here.

Away

My first thought was that the colors reminded me of when my sister vomited up Frankenberry cereal when we were kids. I do like how the spray motif carves out a nice space for that big ad to slot perfectly into — can’t be taking away too much space from *squints* Bitcoin Pac-Man?

Liverpool

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From most TV angles and the stands, the “YNWA” motif will look like pinstripes. The design is meant to evoke the pinstriped shirts Liverpool wore in the 1984 European Cup final, one of the club’s most famous victories. I think it might’ve been simpler just to bring back the 1984 kit almost completely.

Away

This feels very generic. Like they designed it under a very strict deadline. The teal (or turquoise?) feels like it was splashed on there to give it some color. Maybe it would’ve been better had it been all black.

Manchester City

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If you’re wondering what the design on the sleeve cuffs and collar is, it’s a stylized “0161” which is Manchester’s area code (or dialing code, as they’re known in the UK). It’s more clear in this image. It looks more like the Tigrinya script.

Away

Before Manchester City were one of the biggest and most successful teams in the world, they were once in the third tier and struggling against lowly Gillingham in the 1999 Football League Second Division playoff final. Down 2-0 in the 89th minute, the Cityzens miraculously scored twice to force extra time, and ended up achieving promotion to the second tier after penalties. All while wearing this kit (more or less). It was the first big step towards becoming what they are now. And say what you will about the colors, I think this is one of the best jerseys in the PL this year.

Third

A classy maroon third kit rounds out City’s offerings this year. The sublimated design is supposed to be the ship from the team’s crest, although I can’t quite make it out. The club has a history with maroon kits, as the team had a maroon away kit for the 2012-13 season.

Manchester United

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At first glance it’s fine enough. And then you realize, that’s not a shadow on Scott McTominay’s belly. That’s a gradient. A gradient that looks horrific when the jersey is wet. Coupled with the truly bonkers back design that Adidas is shoehorning into every kit this year and we have United’s worst primary kit since…well, the last time they tried something like this.

Away

United frequently adopt blue away kits, and this year’s outing isn’t anything to write home about. There is a sublimated starburst design that the in-game pictures don’t really pick up, and then on a second viewing you realize it’s actually the letter “M”. Always love when a design element is so unreadable you have to study it twice.

Third

This, on the other hand…this is going to go down as an all-time classic kit for the club. Inspired by the red, white and black flags displayed by United fans, this is possibly my favorite United kit of all time. The minimalist crest, featuring only the devil, is perfect. There’s nothing superfluous or unnecessary here. It’s complete. It’s perfect.

Newcastle United

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Newcastle is one of two teams in this half of the list to have dropped Castore as their manufacturer, and the Magpies are back with Adidas, who outfitted them from 1995 until 2010. The jersey design is inspired by the 2002-03 kit, and is basically exactly what a child would draw when asked to draw a Newcastle kit. Hard not to think Adidas knocked it out of the park.

Away

This, I love. Inspired by Adidas’s first Newcastle away kit from 1995-96, this is a modern take on one of Newcastle’s most iconic jerseys. They’ve brightened up the colors a bit (in retrospect the 1995-96 shades of maroon and blue were kind of drab), gone with a scoop collar rather than a buttoned collar (something I’m sure the players appreciate), and have added the Adidas sleeve stripes, which were absent on the 1995-96 kit. Two out of three improvements ain’t bad.

Third

More nostalgia for the Magpies, as their third kit brings back their 1980s crest and places it on a jersey inspired by the team’s 1999-2000 away kit. Ever since the Saudi sovereign wealth fund purchased the club in 2021, the club has had green away or third kits. The only time before the Saudi takeover that the Magpies wore green was that 1999-2000 kit. After being called out, it appears the club are still incorporating green but trying to move in a more club-history sort of way.

Nottingham Forest

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The sublimated design on Forest’s kit is allegedly two overlapping stars, taken from the two stars on the club’s crest which represent the two European Cups the club has won. As usual with these sorts of things, I can’t really make it out. It looks cool from a distance, at least.

Away

This is exactly what I expect from an away kit. Some bright colors, a couple of random patterns, and we’re good to go. If they were a bit more adventurous, I’m sure we’d be seeing this on the “Worst Kits of the 2020s” lists, but it’s hardly out-of-the-box enough to even be remembered for those lists.

Southampton

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I hope the money “Rollbit” is throwing at Southampton is worth it because having a bright yellow ad on your chest is the best way to ruin an otherwise very nice kit. This the Saints’ first kit with Puma is very solid and would be one of the better ones this season if it weren’t for that ad.

Away

Don’t worry, the “Rollbit” ad is on the men’s kit. I suppose the Saints are hoping highlighter yellow will simply sear the eyes of their opponents next year, and maybe confuse them at the same time with a design that appears to evoke dazzle camouflage.

Third

 

Do any of my fellow millennials remember Hubba Bubba bubblegum? I probably hadn’t thought about it in like 20 years until I saw this kit and it instantly popped into my mind. I like this more than the yellow away kit, because this is at least unique. However, I’m not wild at the two different shades of yellow — one for the ad and one for the crest and maker’s mark.

Tottenham Hotspur

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Spurs’ colors are navy and white. But for the past decade, their advertiser has been in bright red on their home kits. Like so many times before, AIA ruins an otherwise sterling kit for Spurs. It’d be one thing if AIA insisted that their logo always be red on every kit. But no! They’re more than happy to see their logo in more congruent colors on away and third jerseys. Aside from the ad, I love everything that’s going on here — the striped sleeve cuffs, the classy scooped neck, the contrasting sleeves. It all fits together nicely.

Away

See what I mean about AIA? Totally fine for a navy logo here. Regardless, I initially got Argentina vibes from this, which isn’t a bad thing. I love the gold, white and navy stripes on the sleeve cuffs. The overall design is a modern take on the blue stripes of the club’s 1980s away kit.

West Ham United

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Not even the world’s most obnoxious sleeve ad can dampen this beauty. Umbro are probably my favorite kit manufacturer, because they’re almost always producing beauties like this. Not sure I dig what’s going on with West Ham’s crest, but I can say that this color switch does make the actual hammers on the crest stick out a bit more. The collar and sleeve cuff striping is top notch.

Away

Umbro is calling this “the Cockney Kit” and it features a nigh-invisible sublimated design of St. Mary-le-Bow church in Central London, about four-and-a-half miles from West Ham’s stadium. I wish the claret on the sleeve cuffs went all the way around, but overall a solid outing.

Third

Oh man. Another Umbro classic. Put a black-and-white filter on this picture and photoshop out the ads and you could convince me this is from the 1960s. I love, love, love the collar, the big cuffs, the colors — everything. I wonder if I can order one without the sleeve ad.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

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After Castore’s implosion during last season, Wolves have signed on with upstart Chinese brand Sudu. Sudu is backed by the Chinese conglomerate Fosun, which also owns the club, although the club insists Fosun is only providing investment to Sudu and is otherwise uninvolved in the running of the brand. As for the kits themselves, they could certainly be worse. I dig the collar and sleeve cuff design, and Wolves are one of those teams that just look right with a centrally-oriented team crest.

Away

Depending on your view, this is either the dorkiest or most badass kit on this list. I’m leaning towards badass, myself. If a bigger, more marquee team had done something similar, I probably wouldn’t like it. But Wolves are plucky underdogs. So yeah, go ahead and put a giant snarling wolf on your chest.