2022/2023 Premier League Kit Rankings

2022/2023 Premier League Kit Rankings

The best part of preseason in football isn’t the transfer window, nor is it the litany of friendlies that tend to have the energy of a Sunday league training session, but rather the clubs releasing their kits for the upcoming season.

It puts plenty of pressure on the designers to keep things fresh every season and there are always some hits and misses.

As we do every season (2019, 2020, 2021), we here at Neds have spent hours pouring over the images, debating vigorously over the good, the bad and the stupid to come up with the definitive, ultimate, indisputable Premier League kit rankings for the upcoming season.

So without further ado, here’s what we have come up with.

20 – Chelsea

Under new ownership, Chelsea has gone for a much more conservative design than last year’s eyesore.

This blue ensemble is much more conservative but it’s also nothing special either and that odd collar-less collar design counts against it.

In all fairness to the Blues, this is not the worst kit of the season but they have to come in this low because they only have one out and it’s not great.

19 – Crystal Palace

It’s always tough to crush a club for trying something different, after all, there are only so many designs that someone can come up with…

However in the case of Crystal Palace, they deserve every bit of criticism they receive for these efforts which I can only assume were drawn up on MS Paint, with a mouse.

Could they not afford a subscription to an actual design suite?

Was this submitted by a relative of James Tomkins on a piece of paper in crayon perhaps?

The less said about the away kit the better.

But this is alright for a third kit, as long as we only see it two or three times.

18 – Newcastle

There’s nothing overly special about Newcastle’s efforts this year, there’s nothing actively bad about any of the three kits but there’s nitpicks about all of them.

Starting with the black and white home kit which comes emblazoned with a gigantic blue sponsor’s logo in the middle.

They’ve at least returned to their normal black & white stripes but in an era where plenty of companies are adjusting their colour scheme to better blend with the jersey, could they not have done the same here?

Just like they did on the away shirt below?

Again, there isn’t anything actively bad about this shirt, but it’s also just not that great either.

Then there’s the third shirt for the Saudi Arabian national team…

Whatever your feelings on the cashed up group funding the Magpies now, we can all agree that this is hopefully not the start of a new trend where clubs adopt a third shirt in the colours of their owner’s national team.

Especially because we would wind up with half the Premier League running around in American national team jerseys.

17 – West Ham

Retro is not always better.

West Ham’s home kit has been a real hit and miss over the last few years and we’re looking at back to back stinkers from the Irons.

Just because they have had weird shoulder stripes in the past doesn’t mean they need to bring it back just for nostalgia’s sake.

Get rid of those and this is getting graded much higher.

Take a look at this superb away shirt for an example of what it could have been.

It’s clean with just a little bit of detail and an overall good effort.

16 – Leicester

Don’t you need to be good to justify a gold logo on a shirt?

Leicester is going to be in for a rough season with their squad set to see a number of departures and the gold logo just looks out of place.

Otherwise it’s a half decent shirt.

If only we could say that about the away one.

Find a player who is the right shade of pasty and it will look like they have some weird shoulder pads on.

15 – Fulham

The last club to release any sort of detail on their home shirt and this one was worth the wait.

It’s another clean, simple effort that won’t win any design awards but is also inoffensive on the eyes.

Which is not the way you would describe this away shirt, which apparently has a been modelled on a brick motif.

Considering many teams could be walking over Fulham this season, maybe they should call it a footpath style instead.

14 – Tottenham

Just like Fulham, Spurs have gone for a clean, simple and inoffensive design.

There’s not a lot to hate and we know what we are getting from Tottenham.

On the plus side, this will look good on those Champions League nights when paired with white shorts (even if they will be a pain to wash).

What does not look good is this weird, laser tag style away kit.

It’s not quite Crystal Palace level bad but it’s not far off.

The only good thing about it is the crest, logo and sponsor being centred on the shirt.

13 – Everton

Everton’s home shirt is not actively good or bad, it’s just another Everton shirt and that’s about all you can really say with any confidence.

While the subtle pattern on the shirt is cool, are you really going to notice it when they are shipping goal after goal time and time again?

But it is better than the away shirt.

The base shade of pink is decent, but what’s with the weird pattern?

Actually it’s probably better to leave that question unanswered and move on.

12 – Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton have earned a few bonus points in the rankings for one of the more creative and nostalgic kit reveals, calling on local DJ and mega fan Fatboy Slim to help them launch this season’s effort.

And after far more thought than should go into any new kit, I still have no clue what to make of the random yellow stripes throughout the shirt.

They are certainly striking but it’s tough to evaluate if they are good or not.

If you were ever wondering what a Nike designed Brisbane Roar jersey would look like, Brighton have given us an answer.

Orange and black and not half bad either.

11 – Bournemouth

It’s the joke that writes itself at this time of year.

Bournemouth have opted for a lightning bolt on their home kit because their stint in the Premier League will be as quick as a flash before being relegated again.

That’s probably a bit harsh, but why did they need to abandon the red and black stripes that worked so well in the past?

On the plus side, the other two kits are some of the better efforts in the away and third strips.

I love the palm trees on the away shirt.

Not to mention the all black third kit with a tinge of gold is also superb.

Just a shame they probably won’t be around for a secondary effort next season.

10 – Wolves

Just like their actual Premier League team, Wolves can settle into mid-table mediocrity with these kits.

The home shirt is very much a “what you see is what you get” safe choice and this away shirt does look good in the photos.

It does come in first in the, “might look good in the promo photos but will actually look rubbish in a match” stakes though.

9 – Nottingham Forest

As they prepare for their first Premier League season in what feels like an eternity, Forest haven’t taken any chances with this red home shirt.

Yeah it’s simple and verging on boring but as we have already seen on this list, if you try something wacky, it can backfire in a massive way.

Then there’s the away shirt which is certainly bright and kind of looks like it comes with a weird Christmas themed tattoo sleeve.

You won’t miss them in this one.

8 – Leeds

It’s a good thing Leeds only have released one kit to date, because this is an excellent effort and a subpar away jersey could pull down their overall score.

It’s the perfect example of knowing a club’s identity and sticking to it.

7 – Southampton

It’s a rare occasion of a club trying something different with their kits in a season and it actually working!

Some may not like what they have done with their home jersey but (aside from an awkwardly placed/sized sponsor) it’s a pretty solid effort overall.

Then there’s this wild and wavy away ensemble that is another big winner.

Not bad for a club that has been accused of being boring on occasion in the past.

6 – Liverpool

Maybe it’s a bit bland and boring, but this is far and away Nike’s best effort for the Reds.

After all, it’s a red kit with no fuss or unnecessary extra decoration, just the way it should be.

Where they have been a bit creative is this away shirt that admittedly on first glance caused a double take.

But having seen it up close on a hangar, it looks a lot better in person and has definitely grown on me.

5 – Brentford

Had Brentford repeated their design choice with their home shirt across all three kits they would have been the unquestioned number one.

If it looks familiar, it’s because it is.

It’s the same kit they wore last season with the club opting to use it again in the current campaign rather than asking fans to shell out for another new shirt.

And they should have done the same with their away jersey because this one is a big downgrade on last season.

But still, it’s a commendable effort overall.

4 – Aston Villa

At this point in the list we really are splitting hairs because there is not a lot between our top four.

Starting off with the only time Villa will appear in the top four of any Premier League list.

Unlike West Ham, they have stuck with the simple claret and blue design and the subtle chevrons just make this one of the best home jerseys you will find.

There’s not a lot to dislike about this away jersey either with a blue and claret colour scheme.

But when you look at it up close, you are left wondering if the claret could have been a different colour that blends better.

3 – Manchester United

While Manchester United are ushering a new era under Erik ten Haag, they will be hoping this Adidas retro-inspired effort will bring back the glory days at Old Trafford.

It won’t make a lick of difference if they are still relying on Harry Maguire at the back however, but at least he will look sharp as opposing strikers are running by him muttering “£80m? How?”

When they are away from Old Trafford they will look equally sharp in this effort which debuted on their preseason tour of Australia.

Maybe avoid getting “Ronaldo – 7” printed on the back for the time being however.

2 – Manchester City

The Premier League title favourites will have to settle for second place on this list but they have the best home kit of the season with this one.

Having everything centred on the front of the shirt is a trend that really needs to catch on across more teams.

Then there’s the red and black away kit that follows a colour scheme we have seen many times in the past.

It’s another solid, likable effort but just not enough to reach the top spot.

1 – Arsenal

That top spot goes to the Gunners and before you have a chance to say it, it is the only trophy they will win this season.

While the discussions went down to the wire, they had the edge because they were one of four teams to date to release three jerseys and all three are nothing short of excellent.

It’s tough to fault the home jersey after praising the design in Manchester United colours, not a great moment of creativity from the Adidas team there.

But it shouldn’t detract from another excellent overall offering for Mikel Arteta’s men.

If not for that one awkwardly placed button it would have shared honours with Man City for the best home kit.

What the Gunners have put forward so far though, is the best away kit in the Premier League with this black number.

The gold logos look good and not out of place (take notes Leicester), we’ll just have to wait and see if the team can avoid another late season fade out.

Then there’s the pink third kit and for some reason, Adidas just has a knack for the pink kits.

Be honest, there really was only one choice for top spot.