Liverpool to Man City: Premier League's best and worst kits

With the new Premier League season looming fashion-conscious fans are looking forward to one of the most important rituals of the year – settling down in front of Match of the Day to scoff at the new kits on display.

With shirt sales now so important for clubs, the array of new-look tops in the Premier League is dizzying, and in some cases dazzling.

But fortunately the fashion police have been running the rule over the new kits to determine who will be challenging for top honours this season and who faces relegation to the bargain bin at Sports Direct.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Losers

Liverpool: Warrior Sport have blotted their copybook with their latest effort. The home and away efforts, featuring a wavy stripe across the chest, look "cheap, tacky and wouldn't be out of place on the back of a kids' team", laments Metro. But it is the third kit that steals the show. "What was Warrior thinking?" asks Fox Sport of the black and red number that has been compared to a magic eye picture. "On this season's evidence Liverpool and Warrior need to part ways," says FTB Pro. Worst still, it was modelled by Luis Suarez.

Newcastle United:It could be another season of disappointment at St James's Park if the kits are anything to go by. The home kit has an unpopular black chest panel and the away kit is, well, grey. This time it’s the Daily Telegraph that asks the manufacturer, Puma: "What were you thinking?"

Manchester United: The new Chevrolet-sponsored tops get the thumbs up in some quarters, but not all. The main reason appears to be the size of the new sponsor's logo. "The kit itself isn’t too bad, certainly not compared with Nike’s recent efforts. But the Chevrolet sponsorship just looks tacky and garish," says Metro. Unfortunately the internet has also noted a resemblance to Matt Lucas's Little Britain character Daffyd Thomas, aka "the only gay in the village".

Honourable mentions: Burnley (all black number that "looks like a knock-off"), West Brom (old stripes replaced by Sunday league pinstripes).

Winners

Manchester City:In truth the Man City and Man United kits, both manufactured by Nike, are similar, but the light blue effort works much better. "Sleek, simple and so streamlined that it may as well be from the future, the champions will certainly look the part this season," purrs the Telegraph. "Clean, smart and simple," gushes Metro. The dark blue away kit has also won plaudits.

Chelsea:The blue Adidas home shirt features horizontal stripes in different shades of blue that have won over Metro after some initial misgivings. The third kit has a "sound wave" pattern. But the yellow away number is an "eye-catching" upgrade on last year's effort, says What Culture blog. Adidas have "nailed it" with the away effort, adds Fox.

Everton:The Umbro logo is back in the Premier League and the well-received Everton kits mark a "rebirth" for the sportswear brand since being offloaded by Nike, says SB Nation. Everton have donned some "questionable designs" in recent years, but this time they have "pulled it out of the bag". The Telegraph also likes the black away kit, which it gets "largely right".

Honourable mentions: Arsenal (new spray-on Puma design), West Ham (1980s retro chic)