The Forgotten Bangers: 5 Premier League Kits That Still Hit The Back Of The Net
Football shirts aren’t just a way to wear your club’s colours. They’re time capsules - stained with Bovril, soaked in nostalgia, and stitched into folklore. What once looked garish or overdesigned becomes iconic with time. What we laughed at in 1996 is now turning up in vintage markets for a small fortune.
In truth, the shirt you wear says as much about the era as it does the team - back when the Premier League was chaotic and charming, players were actual characters, and you could still afford the latest strip without remortgaging your nan’s house.
So here it is: a celebration of five rare and underrated classics from the Premier League archives. These aren’t just shirts. They’re statements.
5. Newcastle United 1995/96 Home Shirt
Black and white stripes. Sounds simple, right? But this shirt is football elegance. Adidas nailed it with a weighty fabric, four-button collar, and one of the most local sponsors in football history: Newcastle Brown Ale. You can practically hear “Fog on the Tyne” playing when you look at it.
That season was peak entertainment: Keegan’s entertainers, Ginola’s hair, Ferdinand’s goals… but no one wore this shirt quite like Faustino Asprilla. Nostalgia personified. The only thing missing? A cheeky Byker Grove sleeve sponsor.
4. Coventry City 1993/94 Away Shirt
Bright orange-red with snowy white speckles and a big 90s style white collar - this was a migraine in fabric form, but what a belter. Coventry might have been mid-table regulars, but they were top-tier when it came to kit audacity.
34 seasons in the top flight before their 2001 relegation. Let that sink in. In today’s world of parachute payments and oil money, that kind of longevity feels almost mythical. Like the shirt, their stay was bold, bright, and ended far too soon.
3. Sheffield Wednesday 1994/95 Home and Away
Double trouble. Both of Wednesday’s kits from this season are stone-cold classics. The home: blue and white stripes that feel as familiar as Match of the Day’s theme tune. The away: a bold yellow base with sharp navy pinstripes that wouldn’t look out of place on a Britpop album cover.
Add in the criminally underrated abstract owl badge and the Sanderson sponsor (no, we don’t know what they did either), and you’ve got a pair of kits that live rent-free in our design-loving brains.
2. Manchester United 1995/96 Grey Away Kit
Famously pulled at half-time during a 3–1 loss to Southampton because, as Sir Alex said, “the players couldn’t see each other.” Cue conspiracy theories and laughter across the country.
Still, this muted grey number is quietly brilliant. It’s crisp, clean, and looks like it was made for underground rave flyers rather than Premier League away days. Apparently, the British Army now uses it for urban camouflage.
1. Oldham Athletic 1992/93 Away Shirt
Yes, Oldham were once a Premier League team. No, we’re not joking.
This away kit is so rare it’s practically mythical. A fading green base, zigzag white chevron, and—yes—another glorious collar. It’s so bold it borders on abstract art. Bonus points for the sponsor: Bovis, which we briefly assumed was a bread brand but turns out to be a historic building firm. (They're back in business now. Maybe Oldham will be too, one day?)
Final Whistle
Football kits are memories you can wear. They're stitched with stories, soaked in nostalgia, and sometimes—like a Cantona kung fu kick or a Wednesday away trip—they're just too good to forget.
Got a favourite forgotten kit? One that never gets the love it deserves?
Drop us a comment or tag us in your retro grails on Instagram [@fabricofthegame].
And if you’re after football-inspired gear that celebrates the game’s cultural moments, not just the scores, check out our first collection [here].
Because football isn’t just a game. It’s the fabric of who we are.