1 week Ago By Alex Mitton
Newcastle's kits hold historical significance, with their recognisable black and white stripes. Adidas have produced several stunning jerseys for the club, including their 2024/2025 kit. Newcastle's 1995/1997 home kit is considered the best in club history, known for simplicity and memorable performances.
As a club full of history, Newcastle United have been on a rollercoaster journey through the decades. From winning the First Division and FA Cup early on in the 1900s to not winning a major trophy since 1955, you never know what to expect from the Magpies in the north-east. However, through the good times and the bad, they've always been recognisable — and that's due to their kits.
With the iconic black and white stripes being synonymous with the club, it's easy to see why everyone can appreciate their jerseys, even if they have no personal connection to the club. Kits have changed massively across the course of history, but there's always the ability to compare them. Due to this, we have decided to rank the nine greatest Newcastle kits of all time.
The Magpies have returned to Adidas as their manufacturer from the 2024/2025 campaign onwards, which is a major upgrade from previous shirts created by Castore and Puma. Style - what the kit looks like is the most important thing. Iconic Moments - The most important kits have memorable moments.
Key Players - Kits are more recognisable when they have iconic players like Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan in them. 9 Greatest Newcastle Home Kits Ranking Season Kit Used Manufacturer 1. 1995/1997 Adidas 2.
1980/1983 Umbro 3. 1999/2000 Adidas 4. 1997/1999 Adidas 5.
1983/1986 Umbro 6. 1993/1995 Asics 7. 2003/2005 Adidas 8.
2024/2025 Adidas 9. 2005/2007 Adidas The greatest kits in the Champions League since 1992 will forever be cemented in history. 9 2005/2007 - Adidas To begin, Newcastle's journey in the middle of the 2000s was rocky, to say the least.
One day, they could look world-class, but the next, they acted like a side struggling to stay in the division. However, throughout the highs and the lows, they could always ensure they looked smart at home at St James' Park. Made by Adidas, it unsurprisingly featured the iconic white and black stripes, whilst the gold Northern Rock sponsor stood out nicely against the simple backdrop.
It was the last kit Alan Shearer - their greatest-ever player - wore for the club, so it will always hold a special place in the hearts of many. 8 2024/2025 - Adidas After years of working with Puma or Castore and producing underwhelming - to put it nicely - kits, Newcastle finally returned to Adidas as their kit manufacturer for the 2024/2025 season. The duo go together like two pods.
It feels like cheating if they go with anyone else when you consider the long list of stunning kits the German company have made for the club over the years. For the 2024/2025 season, the home kit took inspiration from the 2002/2003 home jersey. In their words , it "offers a modern twist on a timeless classic, complemented by the Adidas three-stripes detailing on the shoulders up to the collar.
" The classic club crest also made a return on the back of the net to highlight the unity the city had shown during several challenging years. It's a simply stunning shirt as they mastered the blend of nostalgia, creativity and simplicity to perfection. A lot of clubs struggle to do exactly that when designing jerseys, but sometimes less is more.
7 2003/2005 - Adidas From one Adidas jersey to another. Newcastle's 2003/2005 home kit was another simplistic masterclass created by the German company. Across both seasons it was used, they finished fifth and 14th, as Shearer - their best striker of all time - plied his elegant and sophisticated trade in the final third.
Whereas the Northern Rock sponsorship logo was in gold a few years down the line, it was in blue between 2003 and 2005. Rather ironically, the shirt is also famous for its use in the cult football masterpiece, Goal. The film was a major hit in the United Kingdom, so fans will always think about the sight of Santiago Munez lining up in the jersey.
6 1993/1995 - Asics Going back down nostalgia lane, Newcastle have not always partnered with Adidas. From 1993 to 1995, they worked alongside Asics — and they produced a masterpiece. They very rarely go down the football kit avenue, but Asics put all their effort into the north-east for two years, as the white and black stripes, coupled with a classic 90s collar, made it well-loved by everyone.
Alongside this, the blue star logo of Newcastle Brown Ale made up the centrepiece of the kit, while it also included an illustration of the Tyne Bridge within the star itself. Due to the ale's lack of popularity outside of Newcastle, this shirt was only worn at home fixtures, with the more famous McEwan's lager logo placed on the kits worn elsewhere. Stunning nonetheless.
Newcastle have had left-backs, right-backs and centre-backs who have shone in the famous black and white stripes. 5 1983/1986 - Umbro Newcastle's record on the pitch in the 1980s left a lot to be asked. They were struggling in the second tier for the first few years, before finally returning to the top flight in 1984.
During those memorable promotion celebrations, Umbro's jersey can always be seen, with Kevin Keegan - one of their greatest wingers of all time - adorning the stripes in iconic fashion. It was a simple design, with the white and black stripes making up the jersey. A smart collar complemented it, whilst the club opted for a unique badge which is now used for a trip down nostalgia lane in the modern day.
Everything worked to perfection, with the blue star sponsor logo remaining a permanent part of the club's history. 4 1997/1999 - Adidas After narrowly missing out on the title in 1996 and 1997, there was a sense of disappointment in the air for Newcastle before the 1997/1998 season had begun. What they didn't know, though, was that the story got even worse.
They finished 13th and 15th when wearing this kit, whilst they suffered FA Cup final heartbreak in back-to-back seasons. However, through the pain and heartbreak, their stunning home jersey brought back positivity to the club. Evolving the previous jersey, it had a unique round collar and the Newcastle Brown Ale sponsor remains iconic to this day.
Simplicity at its finest. 3 1999/2000 - Adidas There were two positives for Newcastle during the 1999/2000 season — Shearer and their kits. Apart from that, it was a campaign to forget, with the Magpies finishing 11th in the league and crashing out of the FA Cup in the semi-finals.
As they looked to evolve previous jerseys further, Newcastle updated the famous black and white stripes with a jazzy blue trim, as well as the inclusion of a collar, which became common in the early 2000s. It was also the last kit to adopt the iconic Brown Ale logo, which is one of the first things Newcastle fans think about when taking a trip to nostalgia lane. Including Paul Gascoigne and Rob Lee, Newcastle have had a plethora of world-class midfielders over the years.
2 1980/1983 - Umbro Kits can easily be remembered purely due to the players who wore them — and that's the case with the Magpies' 1980 to 1983 jersey. Newcastle spent all three campaigns struggling in the Second Division, but when Keegan arrived with a year to go, he brought new life to the club as they looked to return to the promised land. With the kit specifically, though, it featured diamond-esque patterns on the sleeves and on the shorts, as well as including a classic collar which made anyone look fashionable if they wore it.
You would never get that in the modern-day. 1 1995/1997 - Adidas Finally, Newcastle's 1995/1997 home kit has been ranked as the best in the club's history. Through a mixture of beauty, simplicity and success on the pitch, it will always hold a place in the hearts of Magpies fans around the world.
When we mentioned success, it was not about bringing home tangible success, but more about showing a belief the team had lacked so much over the past few decades. Under Keegan, the Magpies were nicknamed the 'Entertainers'. They were the face of the newly-founded Premier League .
In the 1995/1996 season, they blew a 12-point lead to Manchester United to finish second in the table, whilst - a year later - they finished second again, seven points behind the Red Devils. However, despite the disappointment, it brings back positive memories for the club. The kit itself was simple, using the iconic white and black stripes alongside the stunning Brown Ale sponsor.
As the likes of Peter Beardsley, David Ginola, and Les Ferdinand produced breathtaking displays, Adidas' jersey will never be forgotten..
