Ranking Everton's 10 Best Home Kits of All Time
By Robbie Walls
Despite the shortage of silverware in recent times, Everton remain an iconic part of English football.
The club enjoyed a period success in the 1960s and then again more famously in the 1980s under the great Howard Kendall, and remain one of only a handful of sides not to be relegated from the Premier League.
While often in the shadows of rivals Liverpool, few can argue that the Blues haven't won the batlle of the kits in Merseyside - even if some of them have included an Angry Birds logo!
Trying to decide upon a top ten of Everton home kits of all time is no easy task, yet at 90min we look to challenge ourselves. Here's a look then at our selections...
10. Dixie Dean Era (1930-1931)
Just Imagine that it's blue!
This kit, modelled by the Messi/Ronaldo of his day - Dixie Dean - is a true classic. Its simple design is in stark contrast to the complicated mess of modern Premier League shirts, and harps back to a simpler era of football.
In the early 1930s, the Toffees enjoyed a dramatic revival after being relegated to the second tier, winning the Second Division title, the First Division title and then the FA Cup in three consecutive seasons.
9. Fan Inspired Umbro (2018/19)
Angry Birds logo aside, this is a lovely fan inspired kit as Umbro pull it out of the bag once again. While results on the pitch were underwhelming under Marco Silva after a busy summer of recruitment in 2018, at least they looked nice while playing.
With the designer's logo incorporated into the sleeves as a nod to the club's memorable 1970s kits, the club perhaps tried to revive memories of a better time for Evertonians, rather than reminding them of their mid-table struggles of late.
8. Puma (2002-2003)
Rooney. 2002. Everton. Need I say more?
Okay, it may be largely iconic for the man above, but this kit is memorable for more than just Everton fans. Few players have made an impression on the Premier League at such a young age like Wazza did, with the 16-year-old rampaging across the pitch like a boy on the playground, a refreshing sight in the often rigid nature of the modern game.
The kit itself includes a funky logo as the centre piece, as well as some rather bizarre lines that run along the sleeves, making it stand out from previous incarnations of the shirt.
7. Le Coq Sportif (1983-1985)
While Le Coq Sportif tried and failed to replicate this masterpiece in the 2009/10 season, their original design was rather exceptional.
The Blues would wear this shirt on the way to their 1984 FA Cup triumph as well as the 1985 First Division title, as they ended the dominance of their merseyside neighbours.
The kit includes a neat white v around the neck as well as some somewhat hidden vertical lines running through the blue shirt. as well as simple but effective horizontal blues lines around the white socks.
6. Umbro (1978-79)
You certainly wouldn't have messed with Bob Latchford!
Another simple yet beautiful jersey, the 1978/79 season provided Everton fans with everything you could possibly want in a football kit - collar, short shorts and no logo in the way.
The final Everton kit to not feature a brand name on the front, it raises the question of why we have them anyway? The absence of logo on the shirt gives the kit a more clean-cut look , while the white sleeve trim also serves to enhance that famous blue colour.
5. Umbro (2016/17)
Although the current Everton shirt looks more like a bus seat than a football jersey, the 2016/17 edition was an impressive piece of design.
The inside of the round neck collar features the co-ordinates to Goodison Park, as well as the criss-cross signature of Archibald Leitch, the designer of the Bullens Road stand at Goodison Park.
The added dash of yellow may not be to everyone's taste, but it provides a slight move away from the rigid blue and white of past Everton shirts.
4. Nike (2012-13)
What a kit this was!
As David Moyes Everton reign reached its conclusion, the club somewhat lost its identity after the 2012/13 season, as the club's plethora of Premier League classic players began to move on.
The side of the likes of Fellaini, Neville, Pienaar, Osman etc. were a threat for any side, as Everton ended the season in a respectable sixth place in the league, which they have only bettered once since.
This kit itself only slightly deviated from ones of the past - to great effect - with the introduction of white bands on the sleeves.
3. Umbro (2008/09)
While most of the mid-2000s Everton kits would be worth an inclusion on this list, this shirt just edges it, and is another that conjures great memories for Toffees fans.
Moyes and his men fought their way to the FA Cup final, where they ultimately lost 2-1 to Guus Hiddink's Chelsea side, despite taking an early lead.
2. Umbro (1991-1993)
Howard Kendall had just arrived back at the club, while Tony Cottee continued to hammer home the goals, and hope was renewed at Everton.
While the side of the early 90s failed truly ignite, entering the newly formed Premier League with a mid-table finish, the 1991-93 kit has remained iconic.
Another shirt to include the old favourite - the collar - as well as a shinier blue material for the jersey, this Umbro design epitomises glossy 90s football shirts. Bring them back!
1. Le Coq Sportif (1985-86)
Some may hate it, but the 1985/86 shirt must surely be Everton's most memorable and iconic kit to date and deserves its place at the top of this list.
As styled by England legend Gary Lineker above, the designers deviated from the norm with a half blue, half white, jersey that is both striking yet silky.
The new kit coincided with Lineker's arrival, and the former Leicester man went on to score 40 goals in all competitions in his solitary season at the club, before moving on to Barcelona after his Golden Boot at Mexico '86.
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