Newcastle United Football Kit History
You’ll have a job to find a club as well supported as Newcastle. The Toon Army, as their fans are known, are some of the most passionate in the land; the black and white of Newcastle’s kit runs through their veins and not even during their turbulent years under owner Mike Ashley, which they’re still in, has made their support wain.
History
Originally, the city was divided by an East and West split – two different teams, East End and West End – but in 1892 they pooled their resource and agreed to become a city united, Newcastle United. In 1893 the were drafted into the second tier of English football along with two other giants of the modern game, Arsenal and Liverpool.
How the colours were chosen
Any football fan will tell you that Newcastle play their home games in black and white stripes – hence the nickname of The Magpies – but this wasn’t their colours in the early days. When United were formed they wore the colours of the old East End side, red and white – the same as the old enemy, Sunderland – but two reasons combined to cause the colour change to materialise. Firstly, despite West End and East End joining forces the colours of one remaining meant fan loyalty was still under challenge and, secondly, there were several others who would pull on a red jersey come Saturday afternoons and therefore kit changes were frequent. The black and white stripes were born and they’ve remained present ever since, although it wasn’t until 1920s that the shorts changed from navy to black.
Present
Fast forward to the current day and the Magpies are still going strong in the Premier League under the guidance of manager Rafa Benitez, who is held in the highest esteem by the Geordie faithful following his loyalty even during their one season stint in the Championship. Many, including neutrals, believe Benitez has Newcastle punching above their weight given the funding, or lack of it, from Ashley. It’s worth noting that despite the low budget – in comparison to other Premier League clubs – Ashley has just broken the transfer record to land South American Miguel Almiron (right) for £21 million and he’s turned in some impressive early performances donning the famous stripes, which now sports the gambling logo of Fun88 in sky blue across the chest. The question on everyone’s lips in the North East is whether Ashley will sell before their better players move on from the stepping stone that is Newcastle; after all, a club like Newcastle should have aspirations higher than survival but it doesn’t seem Ashley has the appetite for the fight.
Best Seasons
Despite being one of the clubs with the most years spent in the top tier of English football they’ve not lifted a major trophy since the 1950s, when they triumphed in the FA Cup in 51, 52 and 55, which took their overall tally to six FA Cup wins. There were three players who were the stalwarts of this period; star striker Jackie Milburn (pictured) and Scottish wide man Bobby Mitchell pulled on the wide black and white stripes with polo neck black collar in all three of the victorious finals and midfielder Joe Harvey skippered them to the first two and was amongst the coaching staff to share in the third success.
In addition to the six FA Cups, Newcastle have also won the First Division four times; three in the first decade of the 1900s, meaning they won them all whilst wearing navy shorts, and the fourth and final win followed in 1927, this time in their now fully traditional kit of black and white tops, black shorts and black and white socks.
The 1995/96 and 1996/97 campaigns go down in the teams history as nearly seasons as they finished second both years. It was perhaps 95/96 that offered the most hope as then manager Kevin Keegan bought in the likes of season top scorer Led Ferdinand and French maestro David Ginola. At the turn of the year the Magpies sat at the top of the tree but the season ended up being remembered for all the wrong reasons – including that infamous Keegan rant – as Manchester United capitalised on a monumental collapse of form to clinch the league. The following season saw another second place finish albeit without ever truly pressuring back to back winners Man United but it does hold two sizeable chapters of history – the arrival of club and Premier League record goal scorer and Geordie boy Alan Shearer (pictured) and the resignation of Keegan.
Newcastle regrouped and went again but the only thing golden were the Adidas stripes on their sleeves as several years of mid-table mediocrity followed before Sir Bobby Robson, a Geordie himself, took them to third and fourth place finishes – and Champions League football – before being relieved of his duties following the 2003/04 season, in which they finished fifth. The improved performances over that period were not bad publicity for respective sponsors NTL, who had their green and purple logo plastered on the shirt, and Northern Rock, who followed NTL, with a wide ranging style of sponsors over an eight year period before the agreement was cancelled early alongside the renaming of their ground, St James' Park, which was the beginning of the slide under Ashley and now they’re a million miles from the heady heights of fifth.
Best Loved Kits
Newcastle United are well known for their stripes and the kit has had only minor tweaks over the years so picking the most memorable is difficult as a lot are similar, however, ask 100 members of the Toon Army and the majority would tell you it’s the mid-nineties kit sponsored by Newcastle Brown Ale that stands out. It’s worth referencing the goalkeeper top from that era too, a colourful number that sported a Newcastle city skyline design (see Hall of Famer Pavel Srnicek right). It was different. It didn’t catch on. Thankfully, it’s not the kit they’re remembered for.
