Ranking The Five Best Premier League Kits In 2022/23

This summer has seen 39 new Premier League kits unveiled, with only Brentford bucking the trend, retaining their home shirt from last season. Kudos to the Bees for that.

Of the 39, some appal, some impress, while many others divide opinion such is the way with fashion. Five though do stand out. Five are absolutely lovely.

We hope the designers of these beauties treated themselves to a chippy tea on putting the finishing touches to their creations. Because they truly did nail their brief.

5 - Brighton (home)

Not only did the Seagulls beat Manchester United on the opening day but they did so while wearing this stylish number, that could go down in years to come as a club classic.

Brighton’s famous blue and white stripes have been seriously chunkified, a trend that is increasing in modern-day kit design, with a broad swoosh of blue on the shoulders accentuating the expansion.

This is off-set by gold trim on both the collar and cuffs giving an overall affect that looks the business on the pitch, in the stands and down the pub.

Their burnt orange away isn’t half bad either...

4 - Arsenal (home)

The lightning affect that runs down the collar may not be to everyone’s taste but so closely does this shirt otherwise adhere to classic lines that perhaps it benefits from a bit of pizzazz.

Adidas have long aced it with Gunners gear and once again they have done the Emirates faithful proud with a shirt that recognizes the strengths of its brand.

Arsenal play in red, with white sleeves. Why stray from a winning recipe?

Imagine Thierry Henry and the rest of the Invincibles adorned in this during their record-breaking season. They would have looked magnifique.

3 - Crystal Palace (home)

Palace’s kit manufacturer Macron took an enormous risk in playing with the club’s familiar template. Thankfully, it’s a gamble that has paid off handsomely.

Sure, the crayoned shading is far removed from the linear stripes of yesteryear, that evokes images of Ian Wright or the greatest one-season wonder in Premier League history, Andy Johnson running off in celebration after bagging yet another goal.

But kept in check by solid white trim it avoids the trap of looking too busy. Instead, it’s a clever reworking of a design classic.

2 - Southampton (away)

Hummel can usually be relied on to come up with the goods and for the Saints’ away shirt this season they’ve been inspired by the club’s maritime heritage and the nearby Solent.

The end result is a bold and beautiful masterpiece that comes alive via an array of swirling waves, tinted with gold.

Almost paisley in its design it dares the onlooker to either fall hopelessly in love or actively hate it and in a marketplace that too often plays it safe, is that a bad thing?

Most Premier League predictions have Southampton down as relegation strugglers this term. This shirt deserves better than that.

1 - Manchester City (home)

City have had some stinkers in recent years and included in that assessment are previous collaborations with Puma. Remember that fruit salad silliness from 2019/20? Good grief.

Here though, the German giants have knocked it out of the park, digging down into the club’s illustrious past to offer up a homage to the days of ‘King’ Colin Bell and a full-to-overflowing Maine Road.

The maroon trim is gorgeous and keeping the sky blue free from any frills is smart because it then sings.  Then there’s the centralised badge and Puma symbol. Oh boy.

The latest Premier League odds price City as strong favourites to win their fifth league title in six years. Kevin de Bruyne and co and going to look like dons lifting the trophy while wearing this.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 10th August 2022

August 10, 2022
Premier League

By Stephen Tudor

Ste Tudor
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    Stephen Tudor is a freelance football writer and sports enthusiast who only knows slightly less about the beautiful game than you do.

    A contributor to FourFourTwo and Forbes, he is a Manchester City fan who was taken to Maine Road as a child because his grandad predicted they would one day be good.

    Stephen Tudor

    Tony Incenzo On Being A QPR Supporter For 50 Years

    IT is a huge personal milestone for me as I have now started my 50th season of devotedly going to watch Queens Park Rangers - or QPR.

    I can still vividly remember my first football match as a primary school kid. It came amidst some tragic personal circumstances.

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    The date was Saturday 28th April 1973. My family spent the morning at University College Hospital in Central London where my lovely aunty Doreen was being treated in the latter stages of terminal cancer. She only had a few weeks left to live.  

    As a small boy, I was absolutely traumatised. So for a special treat, my mum suggested we all go down to Loftus Road that afternoon to see QPR play Fulham in Division Two.

    I will never forget my excited first glimpse of the pitch after we climbed the stairs of the Ellerslie Road Stand. The grass was just so green and we were really close to the action. 

    Quite simply, I immediately fell in love with those magical blue and white hoops. I watched in awe as Rangers won the game 2-0 by virtue of goals by Dave Clement and Stanley Bowles. 

    It was the final home match of that 1972/73 season and QPR had already been promoted to the top flight. So thousands of excited fans spilled on to the pitch in celebration at the final whistle.

    I was one of them and I recall wandering over to the six yard box at the Loftus Road End so that I could inspect the goal posts. As I clasped my fingers around the right hand post, a very tall policeman came over and sarcastically said to tiny 10 year old me: 

    “Do you think you’re going to pull the goal down or something?” 

    So I replied in nerdy fashion: 

    “No, I was just checking that the goal posts here are elliptical-shaped. Do you know that the posts at Hampden Park in Glasgow are square?” 

    The copper walked off in a state of bemusement! 

    Anyway, there was a season ticket application form in the match programme that day and all my family decided to buy season tickets for 1973/74. 

    And now I have reached 50 seasons as a supporter. It has been a real rollercoaster ride. In all of my time going to Loftus Road, we have won no national trophies. 

    But I don’t care about that. I am just so proud to support my local team from where I grew up in London NW11. 

    Queens Park Rangers carry out fantastic work in the surrounding community, I've made lifelong friends and I feel part of a big family. Three of my favourite past R’s players came to my wedding – Gerry Francis, Kevin Gallen and Rufus Brevett.

    Gerry Francis QPR legend at Tony Incenzo wedding


    Therefore I wouldn’t change anything about my half century as a QPR fan. I believe you should support your football club through thick and thin.  

    You will win some games and lose some games but true supporters stay loyal no matter how bad things become.

    I think back to the gut-wrenching feeling of total devastation when we lost at home to Non-League minnows Vauxhall Motors in an FA Cup replay 20 years ago. It was by far the worst night of my life.  

    But my mantra is to stick with it. And one day you might get your reward when your beloved team scores a last minute winner at Wembley Stadium.  

    I did when Bobby Zamora blasted into the net right in front of me to clinch promotion for QPR in the 2014 Championship Play-Off Final.  

    My utter elation at that precise moment cannot be described!

    *Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

     

    FIRST PUBLISHED: 10th August 2022

    August 10, 2022
    Football

    By Tony Incenzo

    Tony Incenzo
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    Tony is an experienced football broadcaster who has worked for Clubcall, Capital Gold, IRN Sport, talkSPORT Radio and Sky TV. 

    His devotion to Queens Park Rangers saw him reach 50 years without missing a home game in April 2023.

    Tony is also a Non-League football expert having visited more than 2,500 different football grounds in his matchday groundhopping.

    You can follow Tony on Twitter at @TonyIncenzo.

    Tony Incenzo

    Ranking The Five Worst Premier League Kits In 2022/23

    Each summer an array of Premier League kits are unleashed on the public, some sensational in their design, others less so. 

    The constant churn-rate of new shirts has drew some criticism in recent years, it being a major bug-bear of cash-strapped parents. They’re not exactly cheap either.

    These five monstrosities though are not just an assault on our wallets. They assault our senses.

    5 - Aston Villa (home)

    At first glance, Villa’s home shirt for 2022/23 is a refreshingly straightforward affair, it’s block design best showcasing the famous claret and blue. It has a simplicity that is a welcome throw-back to yesteryear while looking modern and stylish too.

    This is a tricky balance to get right but Castore – an up-and-coming sportswear brand who also represent Wolves and Andy Murray – have done it here.

    Only for some bizarre reason they then decided to add chevrons. Chevrons that point downwards. Is this a prophesy of Villa’s season or should it be taken literally? If it’s the latter, arrows direct the eyeline to where we go pee-pee.

    4 - Chelsea (home)

    Chelsea’s kit sponsor ‘3’ makes each shirt look like a left-back has put it on back to front and while this is unfortunate, at least the jagged lines inside the large number is something of interest.

    Because elsewhere there is really nothing to see with this one. The club clearly have intended to go back to basics, creating a heritage shirt that evokes their previous heyday in the Fifties and while this is entirely laudable, they perhaps have gone too far.

    It’s boring, a shirt that could empty a party should it grow a mouth and speak.

    We’re tipping the Blues to be front and centre of a gripping top four battle this term. They may succeed too if opponents are lulled to a stupor by this bland top.

    3 - Leeds (away)

    What can we expect from Leeds United this season as they embark on their post-Bielsa era?

    Plenty of new signings intrigue, while the jury is still out on Jesse Marsch in the dug-out. Frankly, it could go either way.

    What we know for sure at this point is that they will thunder into challenges at Elland Road wearing a home shirt that is pared-back and classy. It’s a lovely bit of kit.

    On their travels however, the players will reluctantly adorn a tie-dye misstep from Adidas that regrettably resembles a series of large ink stains. It looks like a biro has been left in the wash.

    2 - Tottenham (away)

    Manchester City rightfully copped a load of flak last season for their third kit that too closely resembled a training top. Nike evidently watched this all fold then said, ‘hold my beer’.

    Even the training top analogy does this clumsy combination of colours a disservice. It’s as if one of the world’s biggest sportswear brands have allowed a small child loose on Photoshop then ran with it.

    Tottenham’s Premier League odds for this season prices them as viable title contenders. They deserve to take on the steep trajectory of history in something a lot more sophisticated.

    1 - Everton (away)

    The Premier League relegation betting places the Toffees in danger of going down for the first time since 1951.

    If that means this atrocious transgression is forever considered cursed then at least that would be some slight consolation.

    It hurts the eyes. There is much more that could be said about it but surely, for a shirt that is supposed to be bought and worn in public, that is the most damning aspect of all. It hurts the eyes.

     

    FIRST PUBLISHED: 10th August 2022

    August 10, 2022
    Premier League

    By Stephen Tudor

    Ste Tudor
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    Stephen Tudor is a freelance football writer and sports enthusiast who only knows slightly less about the beautiful game than you do.

    A contributor to FourFourTwo and Forbes, he is a Manchester City fan who was taken to Maine Road as a child because his grandad predicted they would one day be good.

    Stephen Tudor
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    Ripon Racecourse: An Interview With Jonathan Mullin Ahead Of Great St Wilfrid Day

    Just days before Ripon Racecourse’s biggest raceday of the season – Great St Wilfrid Day, I caught up with Operations and Marketing Executive, Jonathan Mullin and Clerk Of The Course, James Hutchinson, to pose to them a few questions about the beautiful North Yorkshire track.

    The hot topic of conversation at the moment is the UK fixture list and racing’s current funding model.

    How are Ripon dealing with the current economic climate and what kind of impact would it have on your racecourse if you were unfortunate enough to lose any fixtures?

    JM: I think it is clear to see that there is too much racing but a wholesale slashing of the fixture list would have major short term consequences not just on racecourses but also on smaller trainers and owners and consequently on stable staff.

    Six races per card as standard with potential for one race to divide to create a seven race card could be a happy medium and no fixtures would be lost.

    We have to be flexible but it’s difficult to say exactly what impact losing a fixture would have without knowing which fixture but we have to be prepared for all scenarios.

    You’re famous for being “Yorkshire’s Garden Racecourse” but how do all those fantastic blooms and legions of hanging baskets all come together in such a synchronised manner?

    You must have a big team of green fingered horticulturalists working there?

    JM: Incredibly we don’t have a big team at all, we have a small team of four full time groundsmen, one of whom is responsible for gardening duties.

    We grow most of the flowers ourselves and the team do a great job of making sure the racecourse looks as bright and beautiful as possible through the summer months.

    Not so many people are aware that there is a small lake in the middle of the racecourse that is brimming with carp? I believe there is a fishing club too. I take it they don’t fish during racing?

    JM: It’s a reasonably big lake, about 3½ furlongs in length and we have Ripon Piscatorial Society members use it for fishing, not during racing of course.

    The lake is also used by swimmers and jet ski club members and is home to an array of wildlife with a nature reserve sitting just behind the racecourse.

    What is the name of the oldest race still held at Ripon and how long has it been going?

    JM: The Great St Wilfrid is our oldest race, albeit the race hasn’t always been the 6f cavalry charge it is now.

    It has been run over a variety of trips but it’s now fairly well established as a 6f handicap.

    Great St Wilfrid Day is of course your feature raceday and the busiest Saturday in August for online horse racing betting.

    What has been the average crowd size on that particular Saturday over the years? Do any of the other fixtures even come close to it?

    JM: Great St Wilfrid Day (August) and Go Racing in Yorkshire Saturday in July would be our two busiest days.

    Both have exceeded 10,000 in the past but pre Covid the usual was somewhere between 9k and 10k, depending on a number of factors including weather and which football teams are playing at home on the day!

    I’ve seen the odd overseas jockey ride at Ripon, for example Vincent Ho from Hong Kong, but are you aware of any others?

    On a similar theme, has there ever been any overseas horse’s racing at Ripon, say from other horse racing jurisdictions such as France or Germany for example?

    JM: Yuga Kawada won a race here in 2018 on a horse called Off Piste, trained by Tim Easterby. I think that’s all since I’ve been here, unless the likes of Silvestre De Sousa and Gianluca Sanna count?

    James and I have racked our brains and we can’t think of any overseas representatives but we’d be very happy to hear otherwise!

    In your opinion where is the best place to eat on the racecourse and why?

    JM: A difficult one for me to answer as I’m always so busy on racedays I don’t have time to eat.

    Our Club Restaurant always gets rave reviews but equally I like the relaxed vibe of the Fountains Café which also serves some excellent dishes. The fish and chip shop isn’t too bad either!

    How many horses in total can the racecourse stable and is there any overnight accommodation available for the staff if required?

    JM: Our stabling capacity is 100 and we do have some stable staff accommodation.

    It’s not a hotel like staff might be used to elsewhere and it’s only really in use a couple of nights a year but we try to be as accommodating as we can with overnight requests when we do get them.

    Who is the most famous person you are aware of, past or present, to have graced the Ripon paddock or grandstands? 

    JM: Well Sir Henry Cecil had his first winner here and was partial to a visit. Mike Ashley (former Newcastle United owner) was here earlier this season and Bez from the Happy Mondays paid us a visit last year.

    There are probably lots of others but to be honest unless a ‘famous’ person was famous because of racing or football I’m likely to walk past them without a clue who they are!

    In a brief sentence or two, complete the following “You should come and visit us at Ripon Racecourse because ...”

    JM: You should come and visit us at Ripon Racecourse because we’re reasonably priced, it’s a nice relaxed atmosphere to enjoy racing and if you have little ones our Family Days are superb value.

    If this interview has whetted your appetite for having a punt on the horse racing at Ripon, or you’d still much rather have a bet on Cheltenham, then please check out all our early 888sport betting odds here.

    *Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Steve Mullington*

     

    August 11, 2022
    Racecourse Guides

    By Steve Mullington

    Steve Mullington
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    Steven is a sports and horse racing enthusiast and is a member of the Horseracing Writers and Photographers Association (HWPA) in the United Kingdom.

    He is a regular visitor to Paris Longchamp for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and a lifelong fan of the Aintree Grand National, a subject he writes about 52 weeks of the year. Last year he reached the impressive milestone of attending the last 30 renewals of the Grand National.

    Steven graduated from the University Of Lancaster in 1996 with a B.A (Hons) in Urban Policy & Race Relations (major) with Contemporary Religions & Belief Systems (minor) and still wonders if any of these help him find the winners?

    He writes for a number of websites and online publications and you can sometimes hear him at the weekend discussing racing on a number of local radio stations. 

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    Fabrizio Romano: How Chelsea Lost Jules Koundé To Barcelona

    Jules Koundé at Barcelona is finally a completed and official deal, but it was one of the most incredible sagas of the transfer market.

    A story that even began in July 2021; a year ago, Chelsea opened the first contacts with Sevilla for Jules Koundé as priority signing.

    Fabrizio Romano articles

    The deal was very close to being completed last summer but collapsed in late July as Chelsea wanted to include one or two players in the negotiation: Emerson Palmieri and Kurt Zouma were offered to Sevilla but no deal was reached.

    First step in a story that continued a few weeks later, when Chelsea close to Deadline Day contacted the Spanish club with a new proposal of over € 50m turned down by Sevilla.

    No intention of accepting an offer a few hours before the end of the transfer market for a key player like Koundé, the answer was clear: release clause or nothing, it means €80m fee. Impossible, see you in 2022.

    This year Chelsea have taken action well in advance in order to sign Koundé; in February, the Blues resumed contact with their agents and discussed a possible five-year contract in view of June 2022.

    But everything was blocked due to Roman Abramovich's situation which paralyzed Chelsea; sanctions prevented negotiations from proceeding, the club was revolutionized and the departure of Marina Granovskaia and Petr Cech significantly penalized Chelsea in this story, because they had accumulated an advantage that was dispersed in a few weeks.

    Koundé remained a top Chelsea target, but before completing that deal the new owner Todd Boehly and Thomas Tuchel signed Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli for € 40m add-ons included and tried to sign Nathan Aké from Manchester City, a deal very close but which then collapsed.

    Furthermore, a negotiation was opened with Paris Saint-Germain for Presnel Kimpembé without reaching an agreement in early July given the cost of €65 /70m.

    That's why Chelsea have decided to return to Koundé as a priority target.

    Jules Koundé


    But in the meantime Barcelona had already entered the scene, slower in timing due to the sale of TV rights which then allowed the recent new signings but much more convinced in the negotiations with Koundé and his agents.

    On Wednesday 20 July, Chelsea submitted a £ 55m proposal to Sevilla convinced it was the right bid to complete the negotiation after so many direct meetings.

    But once again, Sevilla's sport director Monchi proved to be one of the toughest negotiators in the world in the interests of his club.

    Sevilla waited without accepting Chelsea's proposal for two days, a green light that never came and that made the English club nervous; but at the same time, the green light of Jules Koundé did not arrive, despite the French defender having discussed the personal terms with Chelsea.

    The player was a key factor in this story, which underwent a total change in the night between Friday and Saturday.

    Why in the night? Barcelona were in the United States for the pre-season tour and Xavi Hernandez once again contacted Koundé directly.

    Yet another convincing call in which the player was asked to wait a few days because Barça would have submitted a proposal and completed the deal, as already happened with Raphinha a few weeks ago.

    The promise of making him one of the top center-backs in the world alongside Araujo tempted Koundé, while Chelsea were looking for other defenders in early July ... and the player didn't like this.

    Small details that change the transfer market stories and change entire negotiations. Sevilla waited because Koundé did not give the green light to Chelsea, Barça in the meantime with Jordi Cruyff and Mateu Alemany prepared the official proposal.

    The strategy was once again successful: Barcelona did not match Chelsea's proposal, but proposed a different structure without including Sergino Dest or Memphis Depay at any time despite rumours.

    €50m guaranteed plus add-ons, a historic sale for Sevilla once again with the signature of director Monchi, known within European football as a legend in player sales management.

    Barcelona have completed a deal that seemed almost impossible a week before: "Koundé has signed with Chelsea ...", Laporta told a fan in Las Vegas just 7 days earlier.

    Instead, the signatures never arrived and Barça got another top target thanks to the skills of Xavi Hernandez.

    Chelsea will need new center backs for Tuchel, but this Koundé story has been unlucky since July 2021: fate has always been adverse between Jules and the Blues.

     

    August 10, 2022
    Fabrizio
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    Fabrizio Romano is an Italian sports journalist. He was born in 1993, he lives in Milan and has over 30 million followers in total on the major social networks.

     

    He collaborates with 888sport, CBS Sports, Sky Sport, The Guardian and has been a transfer market expert since 2011. He will take care of a column dedicated to some "Behind the Scenes" of transfers.

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    Pascal Chimbonda: An Underrated Premier League Cult Hero

    Something of a Premier League journeyman, playing for Tottenham, Sunderland, Wigan and Blackburn in the topflight, Pascal Chimbonda earned cult status.

    An honour usually associated with mercurial talents, Chimbonda was not the flashiest of Premier League players, but he captured the imagination of fans even in an unfashionable right-back role.

    Part of the lure of Chimbonda is not just how he helped his teams in Premier League odds, but the heart with which he played.

    Martin Jol noted how the Frenchman played through a pretty severe knee injury soon after arriving at the club, and he made a miraculous recovery to play a role as Spurs won the League Cup just a couple of years later.

    Now running his own football academy in Manchester, Chimbonda’s time as an elite Premier League player was short-lived (perhaps because of his desire to play through pain).

    He had a brief stay with Doncaster in 2011-12 before joining non-league side Market Drayton. Returning to the professional game with Carlisle, Chimbonda turned out for Arles-Avignon, Washington and Ashton Town prior to hanging up his boots.

    His love of the game was evident in his peak, and in how he stuck with the sport even when having to drop down the pyramid.

    There are players who shifted football odds more considerably. There are full backs who pull off more eye-catching crosses and long shots, but Chimbonda brought personality to his teams in a way that only a handful can do.

    Wigan fans rewarded him with the ‘What's that coming over the hill, Pascal Chimbonda, Pascal Chimbondaaaaa!’ song, which has featured on many a list of the best football chants.

    The process of becoming a cult hero isn’t straight-forward, nor is it predictable. Some players are tailormade for cult status, but for others it is more surprising.

    Chimbonda somehow booked a spot in the memories of many a follower of Premier League predictions.

    Since calling time on his playing career in 2019, Chimbonda has remained a presence in the Premier League sphere with occasional interviews and television appearances, including on Soccer AM alongside Jimmy Bullard.

    He has also been vocal about the racist abuse he suffered at Bastia, and spoken about the racism issues football faces.

    There is universal admiration for elite footballers who continue to play the game after retirement. Chimbonda has been an extreme example of this, a former France international sticking in the depths of non-league football well after his pomp.

    While the stars of Tottenham betting tips are enjoying a first-class new stadium, Chimbonda has persevered for the love of the sport, keeping his name in the social media spotlight and enhancing his reputation among football fans nationwide.

    Of course, it would be remiss to discuss Chimbonda’s career without mentioning the infamous transfer request while still wearing his Wigan kit.

    He eventually moved to Tottenham later that summer, but the Frenchman has spoken openly about his regret with that move and believes it may have scuppered a move to Manchester United.

    That’s just part of the Chimbonda story, though it is unfortunately one of those tales that will be recounted for years to come.

    *Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

     

    August 10, 2022
    Premier League
    Body

    Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

    He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

    Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

    Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

    Sam Cox