The green and gold Newton Heath kit is one of the more evocative getups in football. Its dramatic appearance in the early 90s was unforgettable, and the legend of the colours has only grown in the years since becoming a symbol for the anti-Glazer movement surrounding Manchester United.
Despite the prominent role it has played in kit culture its true history is shrouded in a degree of mystery. Though most agree that the colours have some connection, the exact connection is debated. Here’s what we know.
All aboard
Manchester United trace their origins back to Newton Heath LYR F.C., a railway works team founded in 1878. The team were formed from a group of workers at a Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) depot, and their early days saw them primarily face off against other depots from LYR and other railway companies. Little did they know that a behemoth would one day rise from these humble beginnings.
Given the aforementioned 1992 third shirt most people assume that Newton Heath played in a green and gold halved kit, but this is where we must bust our first myth. Newton Heath were actually first noted as wearing white shirts with a blue cord. There is some debate as to what exactly was meant by a blue cord, with the prevailing theories ranging anywhere from blue drawstrings to a thin blue sash.
Regardless of the exact nature of their first kits, The Heathens would experiment like many teams with all sorts of kit styles. Some of these changes were born out of necessity, though some specific looks began to be favoured more often than not as the years went on.
The first photo of a Newton Heath from 1885 depicts a player in a half and half shirt. Again, one could draw natural lines towards the green and gold affair of the 90s and assume that the player in the photo was wearing a similar kit, but the shirt is instead thought to be red and white even though it would be years before the formation of Manchester United and the adoption of red as the team’s primary colour.
Green and gold - the truth
With Newton Heath seemingly wearing anything but green and gold, it would be easy to think the colour combination was completely fabricated by United and/or Umbro. There is however a more credible link back to the past, though again we have to wade through some murky waters.
Legend has it that green and gold was first used by Newton Heath a little more than two years after the original railway works team was established (1880), but there is no evidence to support this. The first mention of green and gold would come several years later in 1892 at a time when the club would undergo a significant identity change. Newton Heath LYR F.C. dropped the “LYR” from their name, becoming independent from the company they had formed from.
Naturally it was time for a kit change, and newspapers at the time made mention of The Heathen’s “showy” and “pretty” green and gold kits. However, information from the time suggests the shirts were striped rather than the assumed half and half. There is also photo evidence of a solid green shirt with gold trim used in the 1890s. So, the use of green and gold was clear even if the exact way the colours were used on the kits was not.
As the 1890s progressed, Newton Heath decided to go back to their kit roots reverting back to white shirts in 1896. White shirts would remain the default look for the club until the formation of Manchester United in 1902. It was at this juncture that the newly consecrated team decided to choose red as their home shirt colour; a move which has stuck in the decades since.
A legend returns
90 years after the original green and gold shirts, Manchester nodded to their origins with a half and half green and gold top complete with a laced collar. If the meaning behind design wasn’t clear at first sight, the launch photoshoot for the kit told the story with staff and players outfitted with moustaches and old school attire. United were sending a clear message: this is our history and we’re not afraid to embrace it.
Whether or not the team actually wore a green and gold half and half shirt was secondary; the kit was a strong statement from manufacturer Umbro who were something of a dominant force during the early 90s. Officially operating as a third shirt, the design would play second fiddle to the blue 1992 away and the infamous black 1993 away of Cantona kung fu kick fame. As a result the Newton Heath shirt was only used a handful of times, but its punchy aesthetic didn’t need much screen time to leave an impression.
Towards the end of its life cycle on the pitch the Newton Heath kit would get its moment in the sun as United sported the design for the 1994 Coca-Cola Cup Final. Though the Red Devils more than met their match, with opponents Aston Villa rising to the occasion to claim their fourth League Cup in a 3-1 victory, it was a suitably high-profile farewell for a shirt whose legend would grow exponentially the following years.
Symbol of the resistance
Despite the recognition of the green and gold of their past, Manchester would fail to return to the well for subsequent alternate kits. The team would regularly include yellow or green goalkeeper kits in their rotation, but a follow-up Newton Heath outfield shirt would fail to materialise.
Cast your eye over Old Trafford though and it would be impossible not to see green and gold kits, scarves and hats. The colours have become synonymous with a Manchester United matchday, and the evocative combo’s proliferation is largely down to its adoption by the anti-Glazer movement.
In the wake of spiralling debts in the late 2000s, supporters were encouraged to wear green and gold as part of a “Love United Hate Glazer” campaign which had begun just weeks after the initial takeover in 2005. One notable moment saw David Beckham (then playing for AC Milan) wearing a green and gold scarf during the aftermath of a Champions League match. Beckham would later clarify that he was not making a comment on the running of the club but rather showing more general support for Manchester United.
Green and gold today
As a general rule of thumb, the more outlandish a 90s kit the more sought after it will be by collectors. United’s Newton Heath kit falls squarely in this bucket, and its distinct look coupled with the fact that the club have avoided the colours since has only grown its aura. Retro remake companies have released shirts which claim to be reimaginings of a classic Newton Heath shirt, but the majority of designs opt for an ahistorical half and half aesthetic in line with the 1992 third.
Precious little recognition from the club themselves, undoubtedly impacted by the use of green and gold as colours of protest, has only added to the appeal of the 1992/94 third. A future official green and gold kit would likely be extremely popular, but we would likely have to be in a truly post-Glazer era to see that come true.
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