In their book, Admiral: 50 Years of the Replica Shirt, Adam Bushby and Rob MacDonald write: “Football demands emotional attachment and the ready-made portal that shirts offer to a goal, a game, a season, a year, makes them an easy canvas for our own personal history; memories made solid.”
Few clubs in English football have dominated in terms of performance, and cultural significance, as Manchester United did in the Nineties and Noughties.
Arguably, the Manchester U shirts of that era transcend fandom – can we not all remember a free kick by David Beckham? A Wayne Rooney screamer? A Cristiano Ronaldo strop? Many of these moments are forever associated with a Sharp, Vodafone or AIG logo. Less so, perhaps, with Snapdragon, TeamViewer, or other contemporary sponsors.
The Sharp sponsorship – and amid this 18-year stretch, the Sharp Viewcam sponsorship – became synonymous with the club during this time, and these shirts are modern classics for that as much as the results. One wonders how the brand bigwigs would have felt about some of the more controversial moments that were linked to its name, as well as the six league titles, six FA Cups, one Champions League trophy and more?
A club can never take success for granted, though it must have been difficult not to. It is said by some Manchester United fans who came of age during this time – often in the throes of some sort of puerile online spat with rivals, that Alex Ferguson “ruined the childhoods” of other football fans. They have a point, of course, but one wonders if they would accept that, by contrast, Ferguson may have also ruined their adulthoods too?
We cannot know if United can ever recreate the successes it knew under long-serving managers such as Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson. Certainly, none of the ten (including caretaker managers) that have tried to steady the ship in the decade since the latter’s departure have had much luck.
But we do know that they will try, and if the next kit sponsors are anywhere near as lucky as Sharp were back in the day, perhaps we can expect to see some more classic shirts in the future.
Best Manchester United kits at a glance
- Best for oldies: Manchester United Home 62-69 - £26, Toffs
- Best for retro lovers: Manchester United Away 75-80 - £65, UK Soccer Shop
- Best for fashionistas: Manchester United Third 86-88 - £37.12, eBay
- Best for the triers: Manchester United Away 90-92 - £47.52, eBay
- Best for aspiring Merry Men: Manchester United Third 92-94 - £250, Vintage Football Shirts
- Best for a budding Bruce Lee: Manchester United Away 93-95 - £199.99, UK Soccer Shop
- Best for Lee Sharpe fans: Manchester United Home 94-96 - £124.99, UK Soccer Shop
- Best for those with good eyesight: Manchester United Away 95-96 - £185, Vintage Football Shirts
- Best for glory (glory) hunters: Manchester United Home 98-00 - £175, Vintage Football Shirts
- Best for minimalists and maximalists: Manchester United Home 2007-08 – £149.99, Cult Kits
Manchester United Home 62-69
Best for: oldies
A period of success for the Reds, this classic shirt was worn when they won a couple of league titles, an FA Cup, and a couple of Charity Shields. Oh, and their first European Cup title (that’s what they used to call the Champions League, for the uninitiated) in 1968.
It was also a period in which the club was managed by the great Sir Matt Busby, with a few squad members you might have heard of: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, and George Best, to name but three.
Best joined the club and made his debut in 1963 as a 17-year-old, going on to make 361 appearances until his departure in 1974, and it is the image of him in this simple shirt that we perhaps best know him in.
Buy now £26.00, Toffs
Manchester United Away 75-80
Best for: retro lovers
The ‘70s and ‘80s were a period perhaps not too dissimilar to the lull United are experiencing now, and trophies were few and far between. Made by classic kit makers, Admiral, the away kit during the latter half of the ‘70s had the swagger that might have been missing on the pitch. The graphic stripes down the front of the shirt and on the cuffs and collar are a striking addition. According to Rob McDonald, co-author of Admiral: 50 Years of the Replica Shirt, the away kit was “said to have been revved up a little to reflect [manager Tommy] Docherty’s adventurous style of play. An original will set you back upwards of £450, but fortunately Toffs make this more budget-friendly replica.
Buy now £65.00, UK Soccer Shop
Manchester United Third 86-88
Best for: fashionistas
This third shirt hung around for a couple of seasons, starting with 86-7, the year in which then plain old Alex Ferguson, as he was back then, joined the club as manager. With United in danger of relegation at the time of his arrival, Sir Alex finished his first season in solid mid-table obscurity, at 11th, but romped home to a second place finish the following season. This third kit is a thing of ‘80s splendour. Royal blue with a lighter diagonal stripe and the original Adidas trefoil logo, which is also featured across the shirt as part of the graphic print. A vintage classic.
Buy now £37.12, eBay
Manchester United Away 90-92
Best for: the triers
A pivotal couple of years at the club as Alex Ferguson crept towards further success with United. Though they were unable to retain the FA Cup having won it the previous year, there was some silverware and notable events.
A 17-year-old Ryan Giggs signed a professional contract in November 1990, breaking through into the first team the same season, while Mark Hughes and Lee Sharpe were named PFA player and young player of the year, respectively. They also won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1991 and the UEFA Super Cup, as well as the Football League Cup in 1992.
And what’s more, they did it all in style in this away shirt made by Adidas, featuring the classic three stripes on the arms, and a bold blue graphic print.
Buy now £47.52, eBay
Manchester United Third 92-94
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Best for: aspiring Merry Men
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know what the bosses at Umbro were thinking with the neckline of their first offerings as United’s kit makers.
A sort of “new age fun with a vintage feel,” to quote the Mighty Boosh, the laced-up necks were only “taking retro to its logical conclusion” if its logical conclusion was Sherwood Forest, circa 1200AD.
That said, this particular third kit is considered something of a classic. Half green and half yellow shirt was inspired by the club’s initial badge from when they were initially founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club, in 1878, before rebranding as Manchester United in 1902. They also won some stuff in it – a couple of league titles, an FA Cup etc – but then they used to win stuff, didn’t they?
Buy now £250.00, Vintage Football Shirts
Manchester United Home 94-96
Best for: a budding Bruce Lee
This is one of the home kits you remember from the 90s if you are of a certain vintage. You quite possibly had a poster of Lee Sharpe wearing it (in his final season at the club), on your bedroom wall, which you tore out of a copy of Big! magazine, and it wasn’t because you supported Manchester United.
This home shirt oversaw something of an annus horribilis for the Red Devils in the 94-95 season, losing out on the league title to Blackburn (you heard right – Blackburn) on the last day of the season, as well as losing the FA Cup final to Everton. They managed to bounce back the next year by winning the double, and becoming the first English team to do it twice.
Buy now £124.99, UK Soccer Shop
Manchester United Away 93-95
Best for: Lee Sharpe fans
When we talk about moments in football history, there are few that are less steeped in infamy (and, if we’re honest, an understanding shrug) than this.
In fact, when asked about his greatest achievements as a footballer, scoring 84 goals for the club in five years, as well as winning four league titles and two doubles, Eric Cantona regards his kung-fu kick on a Crystal Palace Fan at Selhurst Park to be his finest moment. Reflecting on the attack, which saw the Frenchman fined, banned from playing for nine months and given 120 hours of community service, Cantona said in 2011: “I think it is like a dream for some people. So, I did it for them – so they are happy.”
Cantona administered his can of whoop-ass on Matthew Simmons who, it was alleged, ran down 11 rows of stairs to shout “F*ck off back to France, you French b*stard!”, wearing this very shirt. Oh dear.
Buy now £199.99, UK Soccer Shop
Manchester United Away 95-96
Best for: those with good eyesight
A contentious shirt at the time, the grey Umbro, so-called “invisible shirt” produced a moment in football history as manager Ferguson had players change during the half-time break of their away defeat by Southampton because, he said, he felt the players weren’t able to see each other properly. They had, after all, not won on any of the five occasions they’d played in it. You perhaps want to reach for the old “a bad workman” adage, but given that they won both the league title and the FA Cup that season, it would seem a tad churlish.
Buy now £185.00, Vintage Football Shirts
Manchester United Home 98-00
Best for: glory (glory) hunters
They say trophies are a bit like buses: you stand around waiting for one for an entire season (97-98) and then three come along at once.
Of course, I’m talking about the treble – that is, the league, a domestic cup, and a Continental trophy – which Man U won during the 98-99 season. At the time, they were only the fifth club to do it, and the first English club. Not only that, they came back from a goal down to beat Bayern Munich injury time after Teddy Sheringham and super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored in the 91st and 93rd minutes.
The shirt itself, the last sponsored by 90s stalwart Sharp, is much like that of 94-96, but with a white collar, and some gratuitous Umbro branding over the shoulders, but it will always be remembered for that night in Barcelona.
Buy now £175.00, Vintage Football Shirts
Manchester United Home 2007-08
Best for: minimalists and maximalists
Nike took over the reins as kit makers back in 2002 and remained so for over a decade and in the 2007-08 season, United gave relatively new shirt sponsors AIG reason to feel confident in their investment.
This pretty basic red shirt with a simple stripe detail was worn by club greats, such as Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Wayne Rooney to name but four. In the league, they only lost four matches to claim the title – the tenth of Fergie’s tenure.
They also bagged a third Champions League, as well as the Charity Shield and the FIFA Club World Cup titles, that season. What the shirt might have lacked in detail, the team more than made up for on the pitch.
Buy now £149.99, Cult Kits
