Kevin Henning checks out the best and worst fabric that will be gracing/polluting our pitches this season.

6 of the Best

1. West Ham United home

Without any doubt the finest strip in the Premier League this season. A beautiful, traditional effort that wouldn’t age if the Hammers were never to change it.
A kit that screams East End, it may have been designed within the sound of the Bow Bells. If I could get this kit with my Under 7’s club badge in place of the WHUFC crest, I’d be tempted to “’ave a bang on that”! A stunning Adidas creation.

2. Manchester City third
After the popularity of City’s sash away shirt from a few seasons back, Nike have tried to develop the idea by running the double coloured band vertically down the kit and replacing the red and black for traditional City blues. A clean and fresh looking kit that looks set to be a big seller if the reaction of it’s unveiling on the Bluemoon forum is anything to go by.

3. Norwich City home
Another example of a simple design in a club’s traditional colours being more effective than the psychedelic patterns that find their way onto many a shirt.
The Canaries look unique in the Premier League and could cause quite a stir with the calibre of their summer signings.

4. Arsenal away
Arsenal revert back to yellow and blue for their away colours to evoke memories of Charlie George lay completely knackered on the Wembley turf. Arsene Wenger must be hoping that the traditional changed strip will inspire his Gunners to end their trophy drought which has gone on for far too long.

5. Manchester United home
After last season’s embarrassment, Nike have ditched the gingham, tea towel effect to make way for this simple, straight forward effort. The black turnover collar is said to be a nod to Eric Cantona but no gimmicks are needed when suppliers stick to a smart design in a club’s traditional colours.

6. Chelsea home
Evidence that when Adidas put even the tiniest thought into designing a kit, they can get it absolutely spot on. The tagline read “It’s Blue, What Else Matters?” but if it was all so simple, then thinking about the rest of their range could be where it all went wrong.

6 of the Worst


1. Liverpool away
Quite frankly the worst away kit in Premier League history. It looks like a game of Space Invaders has gone horribly wrong. It’s similar to a Christmas pullover knitted by your Auntie while she was tripping. It suggests that the shirt printing machine malfunctioned and Warrior didn’t have the time to start again. It’ll be the must have item for chavs nationwide this season.

2. Liverpool third
Not content with giving Liverpool fans the disgusting away shirt, Warrior repeated last season’s achievement of making the third shirt unpurchasable. It appears that the designers couldn’t choose between three different styles and rather than a game of “Rock, Paper, Scissors” like any normal person would do, they decided to put all three onto one shirt.

3. Stoke City away
Yet another of Adidas’ template shirts, the stand out feature of this shirt is the horrendous colour co-ordination. Where the violent green came from on this black and white bore, only the jester who dreamt it up would know.

4. Manchester United away
Just when it seemed that Nike had realised the error of their ways after last season’s gingham monstrosity, they try to sneak a larger printed version onto this season’s away kit. If the designers happen to see this, or anyone knows the people responsible, please take this on board; It Looks Shite.

5. Fulham & Swansea home / Southampton away
I know I’m squeezing three shirts into one place but Adidas have done exactly the same. An identikit that simply has different badges and sponsors in the case of Fulham and Swansea City with the white and black reversed and called an away kit for Southampton (whose home kit incidentally isn’t anything to be proud of).

6. Cardiff City home
This simply has to be added to the list of bad kits because the owner of Cardiff City should never be allowed to forget that he might own the club but he doesn’t own its soul and as soon as he sells up, the Welsh club will revert to being the Bluebirds.