Newcastle United 2026/27 Kits: A Barcode, a Castle, and a Pair of PJs Walk into a Bar, Part 2

Three talking point Newcastle United kits.

(Part 1 of this series is here, now we move on to Part 2)

adidas gave us a shirt that broke 132 years of tradition, one that’s a reminder United is not a template nor part of one, and a third that… well, “toon” in for Part 3 of this series coming soon.

Three completely different kits with very different interpretations of what Newcastle United is.

No wonder supporters are so full of angst.

Solely based on kits, the club has an identity crisis.

And all of this topped by the unveiling on Thursday, October 1, of the club’s new crest.

Let’s take a look at the away strip…

AWAY STRIP: Our Castle

Let’s get it out of the way. I like this kit very much. Absolutely better than the home strip.

It’s clean. The navy base pairs nicely with the sky blue, officially dubbed “Vista blue.”

The entire design is built around the castle for which Newcastle-upon-Tyne is named.

It’s obvious on the shirt’s crest, the badge from the ‘70s and 80s but in monotone.

Then there’s the subtle tonal brickwork design that honours the castle woven into the navy.

On the surface, this away strip is a banger. It’s the only shirt of this season’s trio that I’ll buy.

Yet…

Our De Facto Away Strip Colour?

For the 4th time since the ‘16-’17 campaign, navy blue is the base colour for the away strip.

And the 3rd time in four years.

That dampens my enthusiasm.

Taken from our badge alone (yes, the new one…), a number of colours are candidates to be the base of the away strip:

Black
Grey
Light Blue
Gold
Red

The grey could be substituted with silver…

While the light blue, gold, and/or red with another shade… Like royal blue, yellow, or burgundy.

Unlike most United supporters, I think red would be a great base for an away strip.

Yes, I get the connection to the unwashed over on Wearside.

So what? Theirs is not solid red. It’s red and white stripes.

And I ‘m sure I don’t have to remind you that when United were formed through the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End in 1892, the team played in plain red shirts and white shorts for two years.

Like it or not, it’s part of our history.

But even if not a shade of red resembling the Mackems’ version, why not a burgundy base?

There is precedent, though it was during the Ashley years in ‘12-’13, so it’s easy to block it out.

Plus, it had that ridiculous black right upper-chest/shoulder stripe with the Puma logo very much featured.

One of the most iconic jerseys in at least modern Newcastle United history is the famous burgundy and navy hoops from ‘95-’96.

It’s been repeated several times since, including two seasons ago in ‘24-’25.

So I see no reason for red/claret/burgundy/whatever-shade-as-long -as-not-pink as a base for the away kit.

For whatever reason, the club have strayed away from colours that supporters have taken to over the years, including versions that were yellow or light blue.

Light blue is in the club’s badge. So why is it so underused as an away kit base?

Especially when one of the best away jerseys United’s ever worn was the ‘95-’96 sky blue-that-looked-denim blue with the horizontal black and white stripes across the middle of the chest.

There was a light blue away kit in ‘17-’18 in a nod to Newcastle East End FC prior to the merger that begot Newcastle United.

To be fair, on aesthetics alone, it was a banger of a kit, as it was paired with navy shorts and sky blue socks.

But it was during the Ashley era. And featuring a sponsor showing off Chinese characters.

So better served in the bin.

Then there’s yellow. In fact, it was popular in the ‘80s and ‘90s for United away kits. There was a striped yellow in ’09-’10 followed by a bright yellow in ‘20-21.

So why do the creative team at United and adidas keep rehashing navy?

On top of the similarities to recent away kits, there’s something else about the navy that disappoints:

Our Away Kit Looks too Much Like Scotland’s And, Especially, Germany’s

When United’s navy away kits were launched, the first thought was “Scotland”.

Not a bad shirt to mimic. Navy based paired with minimally invasive accent colours is usually a good look, especially with white shorts.

But then Germany’s away kits featured in the ‘26 World Cup.

It’s nearly identical to ours. Even the trim features white and a shade of light blue.

And, just like on the Newcastle United away shirt, it features a nod to history:

A subtle, all-over geometric, interlocking diagonal chevron pattern inspired by Germany’s classic diagonal stripe design on their home shirts.

So, again, as with the ‘26-’27 home shirt, a template:

Solid colour base (navy)
Minimal accents featuring white and shade of light blue
Subtle historical design and inspiration

All the marketing fertiliser wordspeak about “castle” this and “castle” that they drowned us with?

Substitute “chevron” for “castle” and it’s no different from the marketing fertiliser wordspeak the German Football Federation and adidas put out at their away kit launch.

So all Malik Thiaw has to really do for NUFC away matches is just pull on the Germany away strip.

But I digress.

Finally, the Magpie on the back of the collar…

I said it in Part 1, but it’s worth mentioning again: why is that logo the same for all three kits?

Why not diversify? Since this kit is an homage to the “castle” in Newcastle, why not a Castle?

I mean, it’s the lead graphic as the start of the video made for the away kit launch.

Every crest has a story. Ours is forged by our city’s history, fuelled by our ambition, and drives us into our future.

We are proud to introduce the new club crest chosen by our supporters to represent Newcastle United.

The new crest will be used from today and will be put in place progressively across physical signage and digital and broadcast platforms over the coming months. It will be in place on our kits for the 2027/28 season.

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) October 1, 2026

Just another example of the obvious getting overlooked, even though it’s often the most genius.

Away Strip Verdict: 7.5

I get why navy has been featured as away kits so much in the past decade. It works for us, always has.

And the brickwork graphic plus clean design takes it from “safe” to “handsome”.

Just on colour, castle, and crispness, if you only get one shirt this season, it isn’t close: this is the one.

But I can’t give it the 9 or 10 it might otherwise have earned.

Navy is overdone as our away kit. We shouldn’t have a de facto away kit colour or design.

There’s plenty to choose from on the club crest if the creative team is looking for colours.

And there’s plenty of landmarks and other locally beloved features in and around the city that can be used as an away kit base colour and design.

But it’s the similarity to Germany’s away kit that drops this score.

Newcastle United are not a template. It’s a unique club with a unique fanbase who have a well-known and -respected reputation.

Thus, we as supporters have earned a better shirt. Unique. Relevant to the club, the city, the history.

Not templatised.

*Find Part 1: The Barcode here and stay “tooned” soon for Part 3: The PJs.

NOTES TO READERS:
1 – Renderings above generated with AI via the author’s imagination and instructions.
2 This is about away strips only. Some colours mentioned below have also featured as 3rd strip colours, but that’s for the upcoming Part 3 of this series.

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