On today's blog I'm joined by Norwich City fan and avid football shirt collector Zekey. (Twitter: @Knockemdownes, Insta: @freshshirtsuk)
As a Norwich fan, I can be honest and say that we don’t always have the best shirts. From 2005 until 2018 I could probably count on one hand how many good shirts we had. However, in the ’90s, our shirts were incredible. This makes picking my top 5 90’s Norwich shirts very difficult. We have been blessed with all sorts of manufacturers. From Pony to Ribero, and ASICS to Mitre, it’ll be incredibly difficult to decide on a top 5. With that being said, let’s give it a go.
#5 - 94/96 Away Shirt
In fifth place, we have the fantastic 94/96 away shirt. The tartan-like design isn’t one you see very often outside of Scotland, but I think we should see more of it! It’s a relatively simple design but it works so well. Norwich fans aren’t always happy when we release blue shirts, with blue being the colour of our shall-not-be-named rivals, so this isn’t a popular one with the majority of our fanbase. The Norwich badge, Mitre logo, and the local sponsor Norwich and Peterborough are all felt, which gives this shirt an extra little spark.
#4 - 89/92 Away Shirt
When I say the 89/92 away shirt is rare, you best believe it’s like gold dust. The home shirt is rare enough but the away shirt, in a decent size, is incredibly elusive. And if you do find it you will probably have to fork out £200+ to add it to your collection. The white body and sleeves paired up with thick green stripes is a match made in football shirt heaven. We had 4 variations of this shirt, where each time they did something different with it. My favourite version is the one with the felt sponsor and badge. There’s just something about a felt sponsor that makes it that much better than vinyl and embossed.
#3 - 92/94 Away Shirt
In third place, we have the first of 3 of the 93/94 set. Worn in the win against Vitesse Arnhem in the UEFA Cup, it holds a lot of good memories. The shirt, like the home shirt, spanned over two seasons and is a popular one amongst most Norwich fans. White shirts don’t often miss, and it’s no different in this case. The one issue I have with it is that the white is almost grey because of the shiny material used to make it. If I were to rate the feel and quality of the material this shirt would drop down my list. However, I am rating them purely on their looks, and the crazy purple sleeves make this shirt one of our best.
#2 1992-1994 Home Shirt
The second-placed of three Ribero shirts in this list. I couldn’t not have this near the top. If you ask an outsider to name a 90s Norwich shirt, I bet that they would say the 92/94 home shirt. It was worn in our famous run to the UEFA Cup third round, beating Bayern Munich along the way, and becoming the first and only English team to win at the Olympic Stadium. Nicknamed “The Egg and Cress Shirt”, it wasn’t popular with Norwich fans for a long time, and it wasn’t until a few years ago that it started to get the love it truly deserves. Norwich fans were embarrassed by the design, and we got ridiculed nationwide because of its likeness to bird poo. It also doesn’t help that yellow and green is an ugly colour combination. To me, it’s beautiful. And its icon status shouldn’t be in question.
#1 - The Best Norwich City Shirt - 1993/1994 Third Shirt
Probably one of the rarest Norwich shirts. Even though the blue and yellow combination is a little controversial, time has helped this shirt become one of our most sought-after. The shirt itself is the same template and colourway as the iconic Wimbledon shirt, with yellow cuffs and collar, and a wonderful pattern throughout. Compared to the home and away shirts from this 93/94 set, the third shirt’s sponsor is printed but not as a block piece of vinyl, meaning the pattern isn’t being covered up. Not too simple and not too crazy, Ribero did a fantastic job with this shirt. It ticks all the boxes for me and finishes in first place in my top 5.
So, that’s that. I’d be interested to hear what Norwich fans, and even non-Norwich fans, think of this list and whether they would make any changes. Since 2018 our shirts have really improved, and I think it’s likely that we will look back on the 2020’s era with just as much fondness as the ‘90s.