Image Courtesy of Free-ers/Flickr
It’s always exciting when clubs unveil their new jerseys for the start of a campaign. Some are designed to perfection, while others cause you to scratch your temple in confusion. With the 2015-16 Barclays Premier League season upon us, BMF Sports takes a look at some of the best and worst kits that will be worn by the 20 clubs involved, and rate them out of five-stars.
AFC Bournemouth (JD)
We’ll go easy on the newcomers! It is AFC Bournemouth’s first ever season in the top flight, and so we won’t criticize their Sunday league looking kits too much. The home kit features a black background with red stripes running midway down the shirt. The JD sponsored badges on the sleeves replace Carbrini ones last season. The club’s away kit is unchanged, but their third kit is pink in honor of breast cancer. It isn’t too bad compared to the home kit, but only in comparison to the home kit!
Home kit (1/5) – Third kit (3/5)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Arsenal (Puma)
The Gunners will be aiming for the title this season, after an impressive preseason. Their home kit is a traditional red with white sleeves and shoulders. The sleeves include a thin red trim and a one-button style collar. The away kit is gold with a diamond design. The sleeves are a dark grey with gold trim. The slim fitting jerseys may expose some of the players’ beer bellies, though.
Home kit (3.5/5) – Away kit (4/5)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Image Courtesy of Arsenal FC
Aston Villa (Macron)
Villa’s motto after their kit launch: “The players have a duty, a responsibility. This is a big club”. After escaping relegation last season, the Villains will be hoping to finish in the top half of the season. Their new kit is a traditional claret color with a hoop design, sky blue sleeves, and a polo style collar. The away kit is yellow with a two-button collar, featuring black trim on the sleeves and collar.
Home kit (4/5) – Away kit (4.5/5)
Image Courtesy of Aston Villa FC
Image Courtesy of Aston Villa FC
Chelsea (Adidas)
Last season’s Premier League champions have a new sponsor on their shirt, switching from Samsung to Yokohama Tyres. The home kit is a familiar royal blue with red, white, and blue trim on the sleeves and collar. Their away kit is white with red, white, and blue stripes on the sleeve similar to the French flag, or Russian flag in honour of their Billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.
Home kit (4/5) – Away kit (4/5)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Crystal Palace (Macron)
Such an exciting team, but their new home kit is just so plain. It features the traditional red and blue stripes. The sleeves are opposite colors, and there is a weird discoloration on the bottom trim of the shirt as well as the sleeves. The white away shirt is a bit better, and features a red and blue combo stripe running down the center of the shirt. I suppose if they continue where they left off last season, nobody will really notice their poorly designed kits.
Home kit (2/5) – Away kit (2.5/5)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Image Courtesy of Crystal Palace FC
Everton (Umbro)
The Toffees stay with their regular simple blue shirts. There is a white trim on the collar of the home jersey that gives it the illusion of a V-neck. The away kit is white with grey hooped designs on both sleeves and the bottom portion of the shirt. Like the home jersey, the Umbro logo appears on the both sleeves, with barely room for the Premier League badge.
Home kit (4/5) – Away kit (3.5/5)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Leicester City (Puma)
The Foxes managed to heroically avoid relegation last season, after being bottom of the pile for months, and will be hoping they don’t have to do the same this season. Their new home kit is blue with blue panels running down the front of the shirt for the first time since the 2008/09 season. The shirt is reminiscent of the Italian national team jersey. The club crest appears to be too high, and the V-neck collar is wide and loose. Their away shirt is black with a diamond-panel design on the front. There are white stripes on the shoulders that continue on the sleeves, and like the home kit, the collar is a loose fitting V-neck.
Home kit (2.5/5) – Away kit (3/5)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Image Courtesy of Leicester City FC
Liverpool (New Balance)
The Merseyside club stick with a traditional red for the home kit with a faded checkered design on the front of the shirt inspired by the famous Kop. Below the collar, on the back of the shirt, the “96” Hillsborough tribute is embroidered. The away kit is all white with red trim on the sleeves and collar. A huge improvement from last season’s horrendous kits, let’s home the team improves as well.
Home kit (4.5/5) – Away kit (4.5/5)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Image Courtesy of Liverpool FC
Manchester City (Nike)
The Sky Blues of Manchester will be hoping to stomp their dominance once more, and will play most of their matches in a traditional sky-blue shirt. This season’s home jersey features a one-button polo collar and includes white stripes on the sleeves. The away kit is a dark blue with a sky pattern on either sleeve. There is a strip of sky-blue that runs down either side of the shirt, as well as the collar and sleeves. Simple, and almost doubles as a New York City FC kit.
Home kit (5/5) – Away kit (4.5/5)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Manchester United (Adidas)
The Red Devils have switched shirt manufacturers and are now with Adidas, after their deal with Nike expired. The home kit is a traditional red with trims on the ends of the sleeves, and a V-neck collar. There is a dotted hoop design that runs on the front of the shirt, and the trademark Adidas three stripes on either shoulder. The club has yet to release an away kit.
Home kit (4/5) – Away kit (N/A)
Image Courtesy of footballshirtculture.com
Newcastle United (Puma)
The Tyneside club stick to their traditional black and white strip for their home jersey. This season’s shirt features three large black stripes down the front, and a fading hoop design running across the stripes. The sky-blue trim around the V-neck collar, sleeves, and bottom portion of the back add a very nice touch. The away kit is a creamy white with a diamond water-mark design on the front. It also includes a sky-blue trim around the collar and on the armpits. Not the best looking kits, and as a result, an average rating.
Home kit (3/5) – Away kit (3/5)
Image Courtesy of Newcastle United
Image Courtesy of Newcastle United
Norwich City (Errea)
The Canaries are back in the Premier League, and will be hoping their football gets people’s attention and not their horrible kit. The home jersey feature a polo style shirt with a two-color block design: yellow on the right with green sleeve, and green on the left with yellow sleeve. The sponsor block on the front of the shirt is too large, and ruins the shirts already struggling appeal. The green away kit looks a bit better in regards to sponsor placement, featuring yellow stripes on the front and back. The trim on the sleeves are a combination of yellow and white.
Home kit (2/5) – Away kit (3/5)
Image Courtesy of Norwich City FC
Southampton (Adidas)
The Saints new Adidas shirt features a combination of red and white stripes with the Adidas logo placed underneath the collar. It also has the traditional three stripes associated with most Adidas shirts running down the shoulders. The away kit features a different sponsor than the home kit (Veho on the home, and Muuvi on the away). It’s green with a thick navy slash diagonally across the shirt with a knitted design on the collar and sleeves.
Home kit (3.5/5) – Away kit (3/5)
Image Courtesy of Southampton FC
Image Courtesy of Southampton FC
Stoke City (New Balance)
The Potters stay with their normal red and white stripe design for the home kit. The shirt contains a crew-neck collar, but the white detail in the middle gives it an illusion of a V-neck. The away shirt is black with a green dash running diagonally across the front. There is also green trim around the collar and shirt sleeves.
Home kit (3/5) – Away kit (3/5)
Image Courtesy of Stoke City FC
Image Courtesy of Stoke City FC
Sunderland (Adidas)
The Black Cats don’t change much on their home kit aside from their shirt sponsor, now Dafabet. The traditional red and white stripes remain with burgundy and red trim on the sleeves and V-neck collar, plus the bottom of the shirt. The away kit, on the other hand, is a hot contender for Worst Kit of the Season! The swamp-green shirt features a yellow knitted hoop design on the sleeves, collar, and bottom of the shirt. The faded style hoop design on the front of the shirt does it no justice. Perhaps the designers thought that if they wear this shirt they won’t be invited to the relegation party. Clever.
Home kit (3.5/5) – Away kit (1/5)
Image Courtesy of Sunderland AFC
Image Courtesy of Sunderland AFC
Swansea City (Adidas)
The Welsh-based club stick with their swan-white shirt with copper stripes on the shoulders and a copper colour block on the inside of arm sleeves. The colour is inspired by the copper mining industry in the city. The away kit is neon green with navy hoops and a knitted design on the collar, shirt sleeves, and bottom trim.
Home kit (4/5) – Away kit (2.5/5)
Image Courtesy of Swansea City FC
Image Courtesy of Swansea City FC
Tottenham Hotspur (Under Armour)
The Spurs will play their home matches in their normal white kits, but this season will feature disconnected lines running diagonally across the shirt. The shirt also includes navy blue trim on the sleeves and collar. The away kit is navy with a sky blue background and has a faded hoop design. The sleeves have a navy trim. Not the best kit Tottenham has played in.
Home kit (2.5/5) – Away kit (3/5)
Image Courtesy of Tottenham Hotspur
Image Courtesy of Tottenham Hotspur
Watford (Puma)
Newly promoted Watford’s yellow and black home kit is another contender for worst of the season, featuring a faded hoop design on the front of the shirt with a very deep V-neck. Deeper than Drake running through the six with his woes after a difficult break-up. The away shirt also has a deep V-neck, and is black with one thick white stripe on either shoulder plus the sleeves.
Home kit (1/5) – Away kit (1.5/5)
Image Courtesy of Watford FC
Image Courtesy of Watford FC
West Bromwich Albion (Adidas)
The Baggies will have three navy stripes on the front of their shirt with the Adidas logo, similar to Southampton, underneath a V-neck collar. The red knitted trim on the sleeves, collar, and bottom of the shirt look to be synonymous with the Adidas kits this year. The away kit is red with thin black stripes running down the shirt. West Brom have decided to stick with their old crest, with the acronym W.B.A, instead of their current club crest. Not a bad kit at all.
Home kit (4/5) – Away kit (4/5)
Image Courtesy of West Bromwich Albion FC
Image Courtesy of West Bromwich FC
West Ham United (Umbro)
The Hammers will be leaving their Boleyn ground stadium after this season, and as a result have decided to pay tribute to their time there through their new season shirts. The home kit is the traditional claret with sky blue sleeves and hoop around the neck. There is also a commemorative crest with the years spent at the stadium. The away kit is sky blue with a thick claret hoop across the chest, and has claret sleeves. It contains the same Boleyn tribute as the home kit. This one is by far one of the most aesthetically appealing kits of the season.
Home kit (5/5) – Away kit (5/5)
Image Courtesy of West Ham United FC
Image Courtesy of West Ham United FC
Do you agree with our rankings? Leave a comment below, and let us know which one you think is the best, and worst.
Written by Karzan Sulaivany in collaboration with Ciaran Finn.