Can Newcastle United's Adidas deal help it break into game's elite?

Newcastle United's new kit deal with Adidas has rekindled memories of nineties and noughties success, but how important could the partnership be in helping the club break into football's elite level?

"It was typical Newcastle - 100 miles an hour," recalls fan Gavin Haigh of the Magpies' charge towards the Premier League title as 1995 turned into 1996.

"We were battering everybody and it felt like the doldrums pre-Kevin Keegan taking over as manager [in 1992] were light years away.

"It was crazy. We had all these glamorous players and we were wearing Adidas."

The team, dubbed The Entertainers for their swashbuckling style, swept all before them on their way to a 12-point lead at the top of the table.

But stumbles in the final stretch saw them overtaken by Manchester United and led to Keegan's infamous "I would love it if we beat them" interview as the pressure mounted.

Almost 30 years on, that season's home and away strips with their grandad collars and Newcastle Brown Ale sponsorship are as fondly remembered by fans as the marauders who wore them.

"Seeing us associated with Adidas was such a great statement," says Haigh, author of Black and White Stripes: The Greatest Collection of Newcastle United Matchworn Shirts.

"Having their three stripes on the arm felt like we'd arrived. It gave us a coolness. Those shirts are among our best ever.

"The burgundy-and-blue away one is revered, although it was only worn seven or eight times which most people don't realise."

After Puma and Castore tie-ups from 2010 onwards, the club confirmed a new Adidas kit deal last September with the announcement referencing the era when David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and later Alan Shearer had the St James' Park faithful dreaming of trophies.

The first home strip from their renewed partnership has now been unveiled with the manufacturer saying it has opted to take inspiration from the club's 2002/3 campaign when the Magpies clashed with Juventus and Barcelona in the Champions League.

However, former Nike and Puma designer Craig Buglass - who worked with Adidas as an unofficial consultant on the new strip - explains there is much more to the multi-year deal than nostalgia.

"Simply put, it's exposure - hundreds of [Adidas] stores all over the world and massive marketing budgets," says the Geordie, who created strips for Arsenal and Barcelona as well as the one worn by Brazil when the South Americans last lifted the World Cup in 2002.

"As soon as the [Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund] buyout of the club happened in 2021, I knew immediately Castore wouldn't last much longer.

"Castore, as much as it's a great brand, it's not an Adidas or Nike. What you want is a global market. I can see us becoming the envy of clubs on so many levels."

Current manager Eddie Howe saw his men miss out on European qualification for next season after a seventh-place finish in the Premier League, but Buglass believes a combination of the Adidas deal and PIF ownership could see Newcastle "become one of the game's biggest names within the next 10 years".

On top of the standard releases, the Geordie, who now runs the Spark Design Academy for aspiring kit creators, expects a number of lifestyle offerings along similar lines to Adidas's collaboration earlier this year with Manchester United and the Stone Roses.

"They've really tapped into fan bases and partnered with companies that pulse with supporters," he says.

"In my opinion, it's the perfect marriage for Newcastle because the fans love to wear the team colours and gear in general."

Some reports have put the value of the contract as high as £30m or even £40m per year, although the club and manufacturer were both tight-lipped when contacted by the BBC.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes those figures are likely to be over-estimated.

Whatever their accuracy, he argues every pound will be "critical for a club like Newcastle trying to break into the elite level" of the sport as the Premier League trials an alternative financial system next season set to operate like a spending cap.

"A club's revenue total comes from tickets sales, broadcasting deals and commercial deals. Included within the commercial deals, the two biggest tend to be the front-of-shirt deal and the kit-manufacturing deal itself so kit contracts will become increasingly important," he says.

Even so, Maguire has a much more cautious view on the deal's potential impact.

Firstly, he says manufacturers have what are termed Tier 1 partners in each geographic area - big-hitters such as Germany's Bayern Munich, Spain's Real Madrid and Italy's Juventus.

In Premier League terms, that means Manchester United will be Adidas's "flagship brand" with an "impact upon the total amount of money it is willing to pay to Newcastle as a guaranteed sum".

Secondly, he warns the Tyneside club may well find it difficult to attract new fans across the globe even if there is success on the pitch.

"I think there are potential benefits in terms of shirt sales as Adidas is a global company and therefore servicing demand in international markets is easier [than for Castore], but without being negative about Newcastle, they're not Manchester United or Real Madrid. They're not PSG or Bayern Munich.

"If you take a look at Manchester City, who were effectively Newcastle 15 years ago, how many shirts do you see in places across the world other than a few Haaland tops?

"City have won the Premier League six years out of the last seven, they've won the Champions League and numerous other trophies and yet they are still in the growth phase in terms of building a global fan base."

For Haigh, 40 years cheering his side on from the stands has taught him life as a supporter is rarely straightforward.

But his hopes are high that the club's Adidas affiliation will once more herald good times talked about for decades to come.

"The last couple of years since the buyout have been a new beginning," he says excitedly.

"It was depressing under [previous owner Mike] Ashley. There was apathy. We'd given up hope. Now it feels very different.

"[As a Newcastle fan] it often feels like it's all or nothing and we've been on the crest of a wave after taking part in the Champions League last season.

"Sometimes the expectation can get too much, but you've got to keep the faith."

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