Let’s be clear from the outset – it is possible for a team wearing striped shirts to have an alternative strip in one of the stripe colours.
On the occasions that this happens, there is often outcry, but a team never has to play itself – the only clashes they have to worry about are with their opponents.
To that end, a black Newcastle United away kit makes perfect sense to us – with no team in the Premier League having a black home kit, it’s an ideal way to avoid a clash while retaining your club’s colours. Take their 2011-12 third kit, for instance – no hint of confusion but still proudly black and white.
However, when the Toon have white change kits, it’s a different matter as they provide less functionality.
In the week leading up to the 1999 FA Cup final, Newcastle revealed their new strips for the coming season, with the home set to be worn against Manchester United at Wembley.
The new away was in a similar style to the home, white trimmed in green and black (for what it’s worth, we’d have used blue rather than green as this would have allowed interchangeability rather than two similar pairs of white shorts and socks).
The blue and yellow change kit from 1998-99 wasn’t retained as a third kit – that practice hadn’t really come in yet – and the shortcomings of their options were illustrated away to Tottenham Hotspur in the second game of the season.
The white away would be used at the sky-blue-clad Coventry City in October but it was to be its only outing, perhaps not helped by a 4-1 loss. The game at Wimbledon would have seemed like a perfect chance to use the white but instead, as at Spurs, they wore change shorts and the white socks (these had stated the season as first choice thanks to Ruud Gullit’s influence but black was restored as default at some stage).
An FA Cup game at Tranmere Rovers that season also provde troublesome and for 2000-01 Newcastle introduced a black away, which saw more game-time.
The 2007-08 campaign saw another white strip, this time the third option behind a sky-blue away trimmed in black.
With no clashes against Inter Milan, Club Brugge or Athlone Town to worry about, the white wasn’t needed but a league cup game at Arsenal in September was chosen to premiere the shirt.
However, as the Gunners have white shorts and socks, the away sets had to be deployed.
Newcastle lost 2-0 and the shirt wasn’t seen again.
In 2010-11, now having moved to Puma, they would again have a white third – a reversal of the blue away – and it looked like the game at Wolves would prove to be its only outing but it avoided the one-hit wonder status as it was also used away to Liverpool on May 1.
Another ideal opportunity to use the white kit came at Sheffield Wednesday, who despite having white stripes, had a plain blue back on the shirt (note this was a few years before UEFA’s war on striped shirts)…… so the white kit would have provided enough contrast.
However, for some odd reason, Newcastle decided to wear the home shirt, with white change shorts. Terrible clash in my opinion……
https://ssl.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000qURKiSLWFwY/s/750/750/TS4-Sheffield-Wednesday-v-Newcastle.jpg
For the record… in the return fixture at Newcastle, Wednesday wore their amber away kit, and got thumped 8-0.
The 07/08 third shirt was as superfluous as it got….
And as for the 10/11 third shirt, even that wouldn’t have resolved many kit clashing issues either…. in fact when Newcastle played a pre-season friendly in this kit against Deportivo La Coruña there was a really bad clash (given Depor’s kit that season was mainly white with narrow blue stripes).
Newcastle vs Wednesday has always been one of those odd fixtures where its been unsure what kits will be worn (fairly sure their is a post about it somewhere), especially after we made our primary shorts black in the late 90s (had previously been blue for a few years)
but just an FYI, the trim on that first Newcastle away kit from 2000 was more of a Teal colour than the bright green you have illustrated …at least in my opinion
tit for tat i know, but i dont ever remember it being that bright is my point, on the EPL 2000 sticker album it looks more blue than green
Cheers Tony, I’ll amend that, was one I struggled with
Good article. It all comes down to the old question ‘what constitutes a clash?’
If Newcastle at Spurs in August 99 is not a clash then Newcastle just need white away shirts. If it is a clash then they need a colour.
I like the idea of black but if the Newcastle Spurs games is a clash then black would be no good at Notts Co in the cup for example. Would a white kit with black/white shorts/socks be ok in that one?
Historically Newcastle’s kits rarely changed pre Premier League. Aside from the silver kit in the mid 80s they had royal blue from 67 to 1980! And yellow and green overlapped from 1973 right through to 1993 (aside from the few years in grey)!
Do perhaps Newcastle should always have a royal blue lit and a yellow and green one?
I just wish they had a ‘go to’ kit like AC Milan and Arsenal do. Many fans like the maroon and blue hoops but that was first worn in 95/96 so its hardly traditional.
As for the shirts in the article, the 99 white one was mint!