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Ranking every 2018-19 Championship home kit from worst to best

Planet Football •

The 2018-19 Championship season is finally here, and as always the 24 clubs will all be sporting new kits.

West Brom, Stoke and Swansea have all dipped into the second tier for the first time in 24 collective years, but none have the best kit going into the campaign – not according to us, anyway.

Here at Planet Football HQ, our contingent of four have had their individual say and we’ve averaged it out, ranking the kits from worst to best.

24. Wigan

Far ahead in last place are Wigan, whose tribute to the 1995-98 era has produced what we can only describe as a strikingly poor design.

23. Rotherham

A fairly standard design for Rotherham, but making a sponsor on WordArt is criminal behaviour.

22. Ipswich Town

Another poor sponsor, and the red on the shorts reminds us of turning up on Sunday morning and having a shirt but nothing else handed to you.

21. Bolton

A pretty standard Bolton kit. That is until you notice the badge and Macron logo are wonky. You can’t unsee that sh*t.

20. Bristol City

Bristol City’s kits, which are produced in-house, have generally been decent in recent years, but there’s not a lot to get excited about here. Also the badge thing is weird.

On childrens’ kits, the sponsor’s logo is replaced by the club’s nickname, Robins, which splits our opinions between a great and awful idea.

19. Reading

A pretty standard Reading design, but the sponsor takes over, the sleeves look a bit strange and we’re not at all convinced by the back.

18. Swansea City

One of many strange collars, and the badge is way too high up.

17. Sheffield Wednesday

This looks a lot worse in real life than in the stock image, but it was noticing that the stripes are uneven that saw Wednesday’s effort so low down the list.

16. Brentford

A solid mid-table effort. It’s very Brentford. And there’s really not much else to say.

15. Hull City

Something different with the double stripe but still pretty similar to their design last season which had a slightly thicker single stripe. Still rather smart, though.

14. Preston

This divided opinion in the office, but the phrase “glorified Spurs kit” got thrown about a couple of times. And it’s got a strange collar.

13. Sheffield United

Smart and vibrant. Would be higher if it didn’t come with an all-white back.

12. Stoke City

Our Stoke-supporting Editor wanted this slightly higher, largely because of the striped back and sponsor’s logo which blends in nicely for once. But it’s a decent mid-table effort and nothing more.

11. QPR

Decent red details on the collar, sleeve and shorts, and the width of the hoops matching the sponsor and badge is satisfying.

10. West Brom

A stylish, retro-inspired design with a good, proper collar to boot.

9. Middlesbrough

A nice, old school feel to Middlesbrough and Hummel’s new kit here, and the detail on the shirt is very nice. The collar is not universally popular among us, though.

8. Birmingham City

It’s decent. But then you see the Leicester away kit. And realise you’ve got a stock kit. Adidas gonna Adidas.

7. Nottingham Forest

A really smart, elegant design, with another nice collar as well. Good.

6. Derby

Umbro kits have been decent on the whole this year, with the sleeve design in particular getting us excited. Derby’s two-tone black and white design is very satisfying to look at.

5. Leeds United

Arguably skewed by our two-strong Leeds contingent, Kappa have produced yet another simple and strong kit again this season.

4. Blackburn

Entering into the upper echelons now, Blackburn’s design pays homage to their kit from the 1991-92 season, in which they earned promotion to the newly-formed Premier League. Beautiful.

3. Millwall

Inspired by the 1993-94 season, Millwall’s incredibly smart design marks 25 years at The Den.

2. Aston Villa

Villa received a lot of attention when it was revealed clothing brand Luke 1977 would manufacture their kits this season, and what a result. Both home and away are spectacular.

1. Norwich City

Another tribute to the 1993-94 season is Norwich’s home kit, which was rather garishly covered in the different colours, worn as the club finished a record-high third in the Premier League.

They’ve toned it down and sharpened it significantly for its return, and have a damn impressive away kit to go with it.

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