Premier League Kit Review 2017-18 (Part I)

[Editor’s Note: Paul is on his annual August break from site. Deputy editor Phil Hecken is in charge from now through Aug. 25, although Paul is still on the clock over at ESPN and may be popping up here occasionally.]

By Phil Hecken, with Kyle Evans & CJ Fleck
Follow @PhilHecken

I’m back, once again, with Kyle Evans and CJ Fleck, who have combined on here several times to bring you the kits (aka uniforms) of various leagues, and earlier this month, Kyle flew solo to bring you a nice look-back at the All Star Game uniforms of MLS. With the Premier League kicking off last week, Kyle & CJ will now take you through the first half of the new uniforms (kits) of the EPL for 2017-18. If you’re not familiar with their ratings, Kyle goes on a 0-5 star scale, while CJ is in the “good” or “stupid” camp. You can click any photos to enlarge. Take it away, lads…

• • •

Thanks Phil! We’re happy to be back with our next set of uniform rundowns and this time we’ll take a look at all the new kits for this season’s Premier League which kicked off on Friday. Before we go through all the kits, there’s two notable league-wide jersey changes to be aware of – first, the standardized font used for names and numbers of all jerseys in the league has been modified from previous seasons and the colors of the names and numbers will all be one of the five options below. Second, teams are now allowed an advertiser on the left sleeve in addition to the advertiser on the front of the jersey and as a result, the Premier League logo patch will now appear on the right sleeve. If you have any interest in a list of the new sleeve ads, the league has a list here.

And now here are each of the primary, secondary, and in some cases third kits that will be worn this season, accompanied by our ratings as usual.

. . .

Arsenal

Kyle: The Gunners retain their classic primary design, this season with a slightly darker shade of red, and add a light blue to navy gradient as their secondary kit and a dark gray, black, and pink third kit. For me, the primary looks fantastic as usual, I don’t entirely hate this particular gradient but I’m used to Arsenal’s secondary kit involving yellow, and the third isn’t that bad either (I think I would love it if the pink was replaced with red). Rating: 5 stars primary, 3 stars secondary, 3 stars third

CJ: I’m not an Arsenal fan, but I do get particular about their classic design. Red shirt, contrasting white sleeves. Apparently, Puma thinks this means the sleeves go to the shoulders. I think this look is an affront to the Arsenal aesthetic, but I’d still call it good. As for the secondary, what is it with gradients? I hate this trend, as I’ve stated on the blog before. What about the usual yellow? Stupid. Pink on black/slate/shale/whatever (I’m not a color expert, don’t kill me) works for the third but I’m calling it stupid for the barely distinct shoulder thing Puma is doing here.

. . .

Bournemouth

Kyle: Bournemouth have an updated version of their classic red and black vertical stripes primary jersey, and a light blue over navy secondary kit as well as a black third with neon green shoulder/sleeve panels complete with “Umbro diamonds”. Great primary look, and the color combination of this secondary kit has become increasingly popular and while this particular uniform is quite a nice look, it does feel more generic than in the past. Don’t get me started on the ridiculous third kit. Rating: 5 stars primary, 4 stars secondary, 1 star third

CJ: Give me stripes! Love the touch of red on the socks. Good. I like the combination of light and dark blue, as well. Good, again. As for the third”¦.do I even have to say it? Stupid.

. . .

Brighton & Hove Albion

Kyle: Newly promoted Brighton will wear their usual blue and white vertical stripes as their primary jersey, an all-yellow with Nike template shoulders as their secondary, and they will carry over an all-black with neon green accents from last season as their third kit. Lovely vertical stripes, I’m tired of that Nike template, and the look is generic but I actually don’t mind neon at all as long as it’s used in small and supporting amounts exactly as in this third kit. Rating: 5 stars primary, 1 star secondary, 3 stars third

CJ: Stripes again, but the socks being a different color continues to bug me. If you’ve been a reader of our reviews, you know that’s a pet peeve of mine. Overall good on the primary, though. The secondary looks like Australia, I’m sorry. The contrasted badge doesn’t help. Stupid. The third is nice, not too offensive, though neon isn’t my favorite. Perhaps a push.

. . .

Burnley

Kyle: The Clarets have their traditional claret and blue primary look, but this time with a dot gradient design on the shoulder and shorts stripes, and an all-white secondary that features horizontal stripes which actually consist of the word “Clarets” repeated over and over. This color combination has always been one of my favorite looks, but Burnley have dampened my view this season with the dot gradient and the “words as stripes” designs – unless you’re super close you can’t read the words and it just looks like jagged stripes! Rating: 3 stars primary, 2 stars secondary

CJ: GRADIENTS, GO AWAY. Ruining a good thing here. Again. Why. Also, I actually like the “words as stripes” thing, even if the two most known precedents recently are Conor McGregor (known bloviator) and Hosni Mubarak (overthrown President of Egypt). Good.

. . .

Chelsea

Kyle: Chelsea moves to Nike this season, and brings a simple all-blue primary, an almost white but actually a very light blue-ish gray secondary, and although not officially released yet, their third jersey has been leaked which is a newer Nike template in black with a somewhat subtle camo pattern. In my eyes, “no design” is a design and I think it works well here with Chelsea, although I’m not sure what I think of that unique hue on the secondary kit yet. And somewhat subtle sure, but ehh to that “camo” template. Rating: 5 stars primary, 4 stars secondary, 2 stars third

CJ: There’s almost nothing to critique on the primary kit, so that’s a reluctant good. The secondary almost looks like Manchester City if you squint hard enough, so that gets a stupid from me. As for the third, if that camo is easily visible, absolutely stupid.

. . .

Crystal Palace

Kyle: Palace have gone through a few different designs for their primary jersey in recent years, and now return to red and blue vertical stripes with a dash of yellow trim, and also introduce an all-black secondary with a red and blue horizontal stripe. Love the vertical stripes, and I at least like the use of team colors on the black jersey. Rating: 5 stars primary, 3 stars secondary

CJ: Boy that primary is a thing of beauty. The touch of yellow isn’t my thing, but I know it’s a Crystal Palace thing, so I’ll give it a pass. Good. The secondary also rates a good with the incorporation of team colors, as Kyle states. I like the sock design, as well.

. . .

Everton

Kyle: Everton drop the yellow from last year’s kits and return to a blue over white primary, this time including navy armpit panels and a shoulder stripe made up of “Umbro diamonds”, and will also wear a secondary kit consisting of greater than one, and less than fifty, shades of gray. I’m not sure which of the those two designs on the primary is more egregious (I understand the parallel of using these diamonds to the Adidas “3 stripes” but somehow this feels/looks worse), and the various grays do nothing for me. After initially writing this up, Everton also released a third jersey with dark navy and purple vertical stripes and yellow accents. I have to admit that my immediate reaction was of disgust, but it’s quickly growing on me. It’s definitely unique and probably the best look of the three, which isn’t saying much at all, but still. Rating: 1 star primary, 1 star secondary, 3 stars third

CJ: Yes, it’s great when players look like a sweaty mess all the time. Umbro, what are you doing? Stupid. I can’t even handle the gray monstrosity that is the secondary. It’s like someone washed an all white kit incorrectly in different loads of laundry. Stupid. The third is…something else. I don’t know what to say about it, actually. Need to see it on the field. Let’s say push.

. . .

Huddersfield Town

Kyle: Huddersfield is also newly promoted to the Premier League and will wear a primary jersey including light blue and white vertical stripes with the Puma dot gradient design, a secondary jersey with a unique ”˜flash stripe’ pattern which is actually a modern remake of a fan favorite kit from the early 90’s, and a dark navy kit with pink pinstripes and accents. I actually love the ”˜flash’ design, for some reason it just really works for me and I like the idea of remaking a historical kit for their fans. As for the other kits, I’m not a fan of those dot gradients as a part of the vertical stripes, and the pink pinstripes are a solid look. Rating: 2 stars primary, 5+ stars secondary, 4 stars third

CJ: So close to perfection on that primary, but gradients remain the bane of my existence. Begrudging good, if only because the secondary is catastrophic. We need to leave the 90s in the 90s, in my opinion. It was fun, everyone temporarily lost their minds, but we came back to Earth. Stupid. It really says a lot about a kit when pink on black pinstripes is actually an improvement, which is why I call the third good.

. . .

Leicester City

Kyle: Now over a year removed from their improbable title, Leicester have an all-blue and all-black kit, each using the same design of shoulder stripes made up of small gold dots. Their third kit is all-white and also features the same design, but using small blue dots instead of gold. More often than not, I prefer the consistency across multiple kits for the same team and I like the use of gold as a secondary color on the blue and black, now only if we can figure out who at Puma likes dot-based designs so much…Rating: 4 stars primary, 4 stars secondary, 4 stars third

CJ: Leicester are apparently wearing epaulettes like a soldier on parade. This is a weird choice on the primary, but I strangely like it on the secondary. Gold and black go together a bit better, I suppose. Good for all three.

. . .

Liverpool

Kyle: Liverpool is celebrating its 125th anniversary as a club and each of its kits this season are modern remakes of kits worn in previous years to celebrate the team’s history. The primary all-red is darker than the red worn in recent years and is in line with jerseys from the 1970’s, the white secondary jersey features green pinstripes in opposite quarters and was inspired by a 1996 jersey, and the all-neon orange third was drawn from a similar kit worn in the early 2000’s. The primary is beautiful with a nice anniversary logo as well, the original secondary from the 90’s featured solid quarters and I much prefer that to the pinstripes here, and the all-neon is way too much for me and let’s hope this isn’t a trend as Liverpool had an even worse all-neon yellow as their third kit last season. Rating: 5 stars primary, 2 stars secondary, 1 star third

CJ: Hoo boy that primary is a thing of beauty, badge included. Timeless. Good. I think I’ve already stated my feelings on the decade of grunge and wild design, so let’s just say stupid for the secondary. As for the third, I was unaware the Netherlands played in the Premier League. Stupid.

• • •

Thanks lads. Great stuff — and we’ll have Part II of the EPL kits shortly!

More NBA Unis…

Nike and the NBA seem to have (thankfully) taken a break from unveiling new uniforms this week, but there are still a few teams who haven’t yet dropped (officially anyway) their new duds. Below are some of the as-yet-not-officially-released unis:

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CELTICS

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HAWKS:

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HEAT:

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KNICKS:

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MAGIC:

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RAPTORS:

. . .

You can see many more photos from the NBA Rookie Photo Shoot.

H/T to Josh Frederick for the NBA Rookie Shoot site.

Some Notes from Jerry Reuss

I received a couple e-mails from our pal Jerry Reuss yesterday, one of which relates to yesterday’s lede detailing the Pittsburgh Pirates debuting of their new “bumblebee” uniforms sets at the beginning of the 1977 season.

First was this:

Hi Phil,

Hope this note finds you in good spirits!

Recently, I came across this brief film clip from This Week In Baseball. I pitched and won the suspended game from the day before and started the scheduled game and won”¦two wins in one day! I only won four games in my career at Wrigley”¦the last two on August 18, 1982”¦thirty-five years ago on Friday.

If you feel it’s Uni-Worthy, feel free to add it.

My best,

Jerry Reuss

How great is that? Two wins in a single day — I don’t have a copy of Baseball Reference handy, but I’d venture there weren’t too many pitchers who recorded two wins in one day (and I’d further wager that most of those who did were relievers who ‘lucked’ into the wins). If anyone wants to dig that info up, that’d be great.

After Jerry sent me that note (I didn’t know if he’d seen yesterday’s post or not), I mentioned he was quoted and discussed in it, and he followed up with this:

Just read today’s post featuring Jerry W.’s commentary. As I read it, I remembered a picture that a fan gave me years ago from Opening Day of 1977. If I remember correctly, this was the first pitch of the season. Lou Brock was the Cardinals hitter, Duffy Dyer the catcher, Omar Moreno the CF and Ed Sudol was the HP umpire. According to retrosheet.org, the Bucs and the new uniforms had a rather shaky debut.

CARDINALS 1ST:
Brock grounded out (third to first);
Templeton reached on an error by Stennett [Templeton to first];
McBride reached on an error by Reuss [Templeton to third, McBride to first];
Cruz forced McBride (third to second) [Templeton scored (unearned)];
Simmons singled to third [Cruz to second];
Hernandez reached on an error by Stargell [Cruz scored (unearned) (no RBI), Simmons to third, Hernandez to second];
Reitz doubled to right [Simmons scored (unearned), Hernandez scored (unearned)];
Tyson flied out to center;
4 R (0 ER), 2 H, 3 E, 1 LOB. Cardinals 4, Pirates 0.

He also sent along this photo (you can click to enlarge):

That’s from Opening Day, 1977.

Thanks Jerry!

The Ticker
By Alex Hider

Baseball News:  The Braves will wear 1974 throwback jerseys on Friday and Saturday for Hank Aaron Heritage Weekend. Looks like they’re going all out, including batting helmets. … The Dodgers gave away Gil Hodges bobbleheads (in Brooklyn unis) during last night’s game. Oohh, that blousing (from BSmile). …  The White Sox are holding a fan contest to design a T-shirt that will be given away at a game later this season (from  Ryan Lindemann). … Eduardo Nunez was traded from the Giants to the Red Sox last month. Since then, he’s continued to wear the orange and back elbow protector he wore with the Giants (from Cory Casden). … The Giants will be wearing an orange cap with a black brim next weekend for “Players Weekend.” But one Lids ad shows an all-orange Giants cap (from @chcknskrtch). … Anyone else remember Dandy, the Yankees’ old mascot? Here he is on the cover of the Yankees’ 1981 scorebook (from Stephen Santangelo). …  It looks like Turner Field’s transformation into Georgia State’s football stadium is complete (from  Bo Childers). …  WWE wrestlers Braun Stroman, Alexia Bliss, and Big Cass visited Yankee Stadium yesterday and got  customized jerseys  ”” with NOB (from David Firestone). … Jeepneys are the most popular form of transportation in the  Philippines.  MBDChicago’s mother has one that is  decked out in Cubs logos.

NFL News:  Have you ever wanted to get a Los Angeles Chargers  tattoo? Now’s your chance to get one for free (from  Mike). … The Falcons have a poster in their new locker room describing uniform violations (from Matt Shevin). … Passengers flying Alaska Airlines at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport can get early boarding access if they wear a Russell Wilson Seahawks jersey. …   Monday was the 49th Anniversary of the first CFL game. This is what the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Edmonton Eskimos wore (from  Pro Football Journal).

College/High School Football News:  Ohio State QB JT Barrett will be going with  Roman Numeral OB this season (from  Jon Star). … ICYMI from the baseball section:It looks like Turner Field’s transformation into Georgia State’s football stadium is complete (from  Bo Childers). …  Ewing High School in New Jersey put together a uniform history page for its football team (from  Phil Hayes).

Soccer News: Fresno FC, a team that will join USL in 2018, is  seeking advice on Twitter as to what to do with their kits (from  Aaron Wiens). … Good graphic that shows what some teams Premier League teams were wearing during the league’s first season 25 years ago (from  Ted Arnold). … A man was protesting President Trump in front of the Lincoln Memorial yesterday while wearing a USMNT jersey (from  James Gilbert).

Grab Bag: South Burlington (Vermont) High School announced earlier this year that it would no longer call itself the  Rebels. Now, they’ve unveiled their new nickname ”” the Wolves (from  Jay Pritchard). …New unis for Moorhead High School (Minnesota) Spuds (from  Greg Enkers). …  Rand Martin found this  eclectic mix of pennants  at a pizzeria in Olympia, Washington. … NASCAR driver  John Hunter Nemechek has a picture of Hulk Hogan on his helmet (from  David Firestone). … Where dine-in Pizza Huts used to be a small-town staple, they’re becoming harder and harder to find. So what’s become of the distinctively-shaped buildings? One photographer is trying to find out (also from  David Firestone). … With President Trump making his first visit to Trump Tower since Inauguration Day, officials went the extra mile to remove some Trump Organization branding  as to avoid conflicts of interest.

That’s it for today — thanks to Kyle & CJ for Part I of their review of the EPL kits

Tomorrow we will have the first round of Griffins Fauxback Jersey voting (with a new polling system — more on that tomorrow), so be sure to check back then. I had close to 120 submissions this year, so we’ll be voting in blocks of 30ish. Some great submissions this time around too!

Peace.