2020/2021 Premier League Kit Rankings

2020/2021 Premier League Kit Rankings

James Caughlin

A new Premier League campaign kicks off this weekend which means it’s time for everyone’s favourite form of preseason analysis, kit rankings!

Yes we all know that clubs putting out three new jerseys every year can be the ultimate test of loyalty, especially when they are charging a pretty penny (or 12) for each new shirt.

Plus, a lot of these clubs have longstanding traditions to certain colour schemes for both home and away kit and the pressure on the manufacturers to come up with something new and fresh each season can lead to some rather strange designs.

With all bar one club releasing at least a home and away kit for the coming season (and some having already played the back end of last season in their new outfits) we’re going through the great, the good, the bad and the atrocious for every club in our annual Premier League Kit Rankings!

This is something we in the Neds office take VERY seriously and this list is the product of months of debate and analysis.

Last season’s rankings even saw some screaming matches break out across the room.

You may say there is no rhyme or reason to these rankings and in all fairness, you’re probably right but these are all subjective so if you don’t like them… it really won’t change a thing.

Anyway, read on for our breakdown of the new jerseys.

20 – Burnley

Nobody will accuse Burnley of being the most exciting club in the Premier League and this is one of their worst kit efforts yet.

Something is really off with the shoulders and it looks like they couldn’t decide between three neck designs.

They haven’t announced the away kit yet but if this is anything to go by I can go without seeing it all season.

19 – Liverpool

In case you haven’t heard, Liverpool won their first Premier League title in 30 years last season… and have continued to bang on about it relentlessly.

For their first title defence since the early 1990’s, Nike have produced a pair of kits worthy of… a mid table team at best really.

The green trim around the next is an ode to something but it really does ruin the look of the jersey.

This away one is nothing short of atrocious as well, looking more like a weather radar saying things are about to get really nasty.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CD0gDDyl011/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

18 – West Brom

We’ve got a pair of West Brom kits here… or a two for one deal, we’re just not quite sure with this barcode inspired design.

Apparently even stripes across the jersey are out this year which makes no sense.

On the plus side, each player’s matchday jersey has their contract release clause coded into the barcode if you run them through one of those grocery store self checkouts while they are wearing them.

17 – Manchester City

City might be Premier League favourites but their football will have to be extra pretty this season with these kit offerings.

The home one looks like the footpath on the way to the Etihad stadium and while it has grown on me since it was launched, it still is one of the lesser designs.

In all fairness, the away kit for City looks pretty good and the black with gold trim does look quite classy but all it is doing is bringing up an otherwise very low average score.

Then there’s this monumental turd of a design, where some uni student was apparently allowed to put a discount store vest lining pattern on the kit… what were they thinking?

 

16 – Wolves

There’s something decidedly 80’s about the Wolves home kit and it… kind of works.

The pattern on the front is unique enough to really pop out and on its own I’m even will to go as far as calling it pretty good, despite some of the reactions from Wolves fans.

Then there’s this away one which is… well there’s no other way to put it… rubbish.

When you factor in the sponsor and club badge, there’s about 8 different colours on the shit and nobody wants that.

If the home kit represents the good part of the 80’s, this is definitely in the “John Stamos’s Mullet” territory.

 

15 – Chelsea

Chelsea’s home kit on its own would have ranked much higher on this list but you have to wonder what on earth Nike were thinking with the other two designs.

The blue with black trim looks very sharp and it blends well with the shorts, although the placement of new sponsor 3 seems destined for a lot of memes when Chelsea concedes that many goals in a match.

If you have seen something resembling the away strip in a department store sleepwear section it would not be a surprise at all.

Sam Kerr is excellent but even she can’t make this look decent.

Meanwhile the third kit is nothing short of an atrocity, if Roman Abramovich wanted a club that looks like Crystal Palace… why not just buy Crystal Palace?

14 – Southampton

After having the worst kits in the Premier League last season, Southampton have at least opted for something better this season.

The home and third kits will use the sash style which is a departure from their traditional candy stripes.

Admittedly the design itself isn’t all that bad but… it’s still Southampton and there’s just something intrinsically boring about this club.

Thankfully this away effort is very sharp although you could be forgiven for thinking it’s an homage to fierce south coast rivals Portsmouth which is a bit of a no-go at St Mary’s.

13 – Newcastle

Another club whose home kit is truly elite is Newcastle, from top to bottom this is one of the best.

How can you not love the details here from the silver Puma logo to the stripes on the socks?

https://twitter.com/NUFC/status/1286289565024751617?s=20

Then you have the away and third kits which undo all of that good work.

Apparently the away shirt is in a “fizzy yellow” design while the third strip is described as an “eye-catching ‘prism-violet’ design.”

Why did they have to overdo this?

12 – Manchester United

United’s kits this season aren’t too bad at all, they are just in that tier below the truly elite ones.

If nobody had mentioned this home shirt looked like a bus seat it would have been ranked higher but now I can’t get that image out of my head so it has to come down a notch.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDdb00agerG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Much like the home one, this away kit is somewhere in that twilight zone between good and great.

As for the third kit… this might be the worst effort not just this season but in the last 20 years.

It was very tempting to drop United to 20th just because of this alone.

11 – Tottenham

Another experimental effort from Nike that has backfired badly in this home kit.

Perhaps if the sleeves were all white or all navy it’s a different story but it seems like they’re trying to cram too much into the one design.

Spurs have not won any trophies of note lately but they have put together a case for the “best away kit” with this effort though.

Just about everyone (bar Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham fans) will have to admit this is a pretty combination.

Then there’s the third kit which plenty of road workers will be picking up at the end of the season for a cheap high-vis outfit for summer nights.

10 – Arsenal

In all fairness to the Gunners, they are trying to improve on three almost perfect kits from last season and the two we have seen to date are… somewhat mixed.

For the home jersey, they have gone for a waves pattern that looks a bit like last season’s “bruised banana” effort in the away strip and looks pretty good all things considered.

That away one however… apparently the design is meant to mimic marble but to most it falls somewhere between an axe murderer’s shirt after their rampage, cracked asphalt and a major mishap making a jam donut.

We’re still waiting for the official announcement of the third kit but so far one decent effort and one massive miss.

 

9 – Crystal Palace

Two out of three is not too bad for Palace, who have had some shocking efforts in the past.

The home one is not going to win any awards for creativity but the fact they’ve gone for the same pattern across all three is somewhat notable.

The black away strip on the left looks sharp but the white one just seems to be a bit off.

8 – Leicester

The Foxes have covered all their bases with their three kits for the coming season, they’ve got a mix of colours and… somewhat brutally, quality.

Unfortunately for them, the home shirt that we’ll be seeing a lot of this season is bang average with a strange shoulder pattern and the bulky sleeves which seem to have made their way onto a lot of jerseys this season.

On the positive side the away kit is clean, simple and quite frankly beautiful, even if Jamie Vardy looks a little bit underwhelmed…

Then there’s this maroon third kit which is… certainly something… just not all that great.

So in short, Leicester’s kits this season really do fulfill all of the “good, bad and indifferent” range of emotions.

7 – Aston Villa

One of the Premier League’s three claret and blue colour schemes, the Villains have nailed their two kits so far this season.

This home one follows a simple, classic pattern (even if McGinn looks like he’s holding his stomach in) and looks phenomenal with the vertical stripes.

An all black away kit is always a big winner and Villa’s looks incredible sharp… mostly.

If it wasn’t for the oddly baggy sleeves this would have had a stronger case for the top spot.

6 – Sheffield United

The Blades have not strayed too far from their traditions with this design, opting for a familiar pattern as they look to build on a great season.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDyULDRF5cB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Originally the away shirt was going to drag the total score down but having had some time to look at it a bit more closely, it’s actually decent.

5 – Leeds

Leeds are back in the Premier League, which is something everyone has been hoping for since Marcelo Bielsa took over at Elland Road.

They are back with this phenomenal effort evoking memories of the glory days featuring Kewell and Viduka.

On the away kit, it’s certainly different to the home strip but it would have been much better in a block colour instead of these weirdly similar stripes.

It’s tough to give Leeds a ranking because you have to love that home shirt but the away one just looks a bit… wrong for them.

4 – Fulham

The Cottagers are back in the Premier League after a season in the Championship and they have gone for a classic design ahead of this season.

There’s only so much you can do with a primarily white kit with black trim and they haven’t tried to re-invent the wheel.

An all yellow away kit is certainly… bright and the white trim does get lost but considering some of the other Adidas efforts this one isn’t too bad.

It’s too safe to really be any higher but it’s a pretty good effort for this year.

3 – Everton

Everton made a splash this week signing James Rodriguez from Real Madrid and he will look excellent in all three of Everton’s kits for this season.

The home blue and white kit is a classic and Hummel have opted not to mess with that style which was smart.

The yellow and blue away will certainly stand out, as will the unique green design for the third kit.

2 – West Ham

It’s a shame West Ham seem consigned to another relegation battle this season because they will look excellent in this triumvirate of kits.

Umbro have opted to go back to the “farewell Boleyn Ground” style for the home kit and mercifully, that horrendous onesie look from last season has been ditched with a return to the white shorts.

There’s not a lot to hate about this kit at all.

It’s much the same for the away kit with a classy sky blue style and some claret trim.

Another home run.

Then there is the third kit which might just be the best individual design in the Premier League this season.

It was a tight race but it took something truly special to outrank these kits.

1 – Brighton and Hove Albion

The Seagulls only narrowly escaped relegation last season, but we should all be glad these beauties are gracing the Premier League this coming season.

On the home kit they have ditched the half and half stripes for a primarily blue shirt with white pinstripes and a white collar.

Sometimes when teams go for a different style to what we are used to it backfires and they get plenty of flak but Brighton have nailed it here.

As for the away kit, it follows with Brighton’s traditional plan of having a yellow alternate strip and there’s not a lot to hate about this one either.

If you want to nitpick the neck looks a bit odd but really, if that’s the only issue you can find with it, it says it all doesn’t it?