The good, the bad and the ugly: A closer look at the best and worst kits across the Premier League

Alongside transfer speculation, injury concerns, and the appointment of new managers, the Premier League kit releases arguably provide some of the most exciting moments of preseason.

With the first Premier League kick-off looming, we thought it would be an opportune moment to take a closer look at the good, the bad, and the outright atrocious. Fancy finding out what your favourite players will be sporting throughout the 22/23 campaign? By the end of this quick read, you may wish you hadn’t!

Splash your cash: The top 3 kits in the Premier League

We’ll try not to dampen the mood straight away. In this first section, we take a look at the clubs who seemed to have hired a design team that knew exactly what they were doing. Below, we take you from third to first, highlighting the best kits in the Premier League. Drum roll, please…

Manchester United - Away

We can’t deny it’s a controversial start. Yes - we know it’s extremely plain but you have to look at the details! The white, black and red is a classic United look that has been donned by many greats, including the likes of Scholes, CR7, and who remembers that Giggs goal against Arsenal? You can see the quality of the shirt in the pictures alone; although, at £70, that should come as standard. The only amendment we would make is to get rid of the unnecessary black shield behind the United logo itself.

West Ham - Home

Just missing out on the top spot is West Ham. Now, we could have chosen their away kit, too; however, we didn’t want to choose two fairly plain kits back-to-back. Although primarily claret and blue, the white helps to bring the home kit all together, as well as making sponsors, Umbro and Betway, standout. The shoulder markings and fit help to level-up against claret and blue rivals, Villa; although, we aren’t 100% sold on those collars.

Crystal Palace - Alternative

Truth be told, Palace could have had a clean sweep in this section. Home, away, and third kit are all beautifully designed. We’ve opted for the third kit for obvious reasons - it’s clean, stylish, unique, and the diagonal sash bears those synonymous Crystal Palace colours. Our only gripe is that it’s an alternative kit, so we suspect this glorious black number will be seen in the stands far more frequently than on the pitch! UK online bookmakers may not be backing Palace to secure the top spot in the Premier League this season; however, there is no doubt they are deserving winners in this year’s battle of the kits.

Save your pennies: The top 3 worst kits in the Premier League

Nowadays, you can expect to spend around £60-70 for a Premier League shirt. For United, West Ham, and Palace fans, we’d say that’s money well spent. For the three noted below, we’d say that’s £60-70 that would have been better off spent on half-time pies. Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at these diabolical kits, shall we?

Everton - Away

How much can we say on this one, really? The pink is actually quite nice; however, the accompanying blue diamond pattern is questionable to say the least. Everton’s design team have really let themselves down here; although, in fairness, Hummel should have stepped up and said they aren’t allowing them to go to print! The latest betting odds suggest Everton could be in the relegation battle this year, too - talk about adding insult to injury! 

Nottingham Forest - Away

To be completely honest, this may well be the worst kit in the Premier League this season - it was simply too close to call. Again, the primary colour itself is actually quite nice, but what is going on with the sleeves? Is it partial camouflage? No, it’s just a massive mistake. The use of the design has been added to the shorts, too, meaning it’s not just the bright yellow shirt that’s horrendous, it’s the whole kit. Come on Forest, 23 years and this is what you come up with!

Southampton - Away

Is it a Year 4 art project that’s gone wrong? Quite possibly. However, it’s also the Southampton away kit for the 22/23 season. The biggest concern we have is that other ideas were rejected before this one - how bad were they? Moving on, the bulk of the problem comes from the colour scheme itself (turquoise, blue and gold) - it clashes with the Southampton badge, makes the wave design look too bold, and why have we got gold added in at all?

Notable Mentions: Liverpool, Manchester City, and Brighton

In honesty, the Premier League has a solid mix of good and bad kits this season; however, the majority seem to veer closer to ugly. So much so, in fact, that we had to create a notable mentions section.

Liverpool’s away kit is another shocker that closely missed out on a top three worst kits appearance. The white and black is ideal if you’re looking to hypnotise the opponents, give the crowd a migraine, or offer up one of the worst kits in the league.

Manchester City have also been getting stick for creating a poor variation of AC Milan’s home kit and, on closer inspection, we have to agree. Thankfully, titles aren’t won based on your away kit and the latest football betting odds still view City as the outright favourites.

Brighton and Hove Albion have managed to turn their blue and white stripes into a big H. Does the H represent Hove? No, we think it represents a howler. In fairness, the kit itself is quite nice, but once you see the H, you can’t unsee it!

Disagree with our rankings and ratings? Let us know what you think in the comments!