Newcastle players to get club suits after tuxedo tomfoolery

Some Newcastle United players have recently been showing up to matches in attire more appropriate for a shift waiting on at a plush restaurant than a grueling 90 minutes of Premier League action.

The in-joke began when new signing Chancel Mbemba learned of the pregame suit attire shortly before his debut so, in a mad dash to British high street chain Next, he purchased a tuxedo for the visit of Southampton.

Although the defender ditched the outfit shortly afterwards, Florian Thauvin donned a similar look for the past two home games.

Club legend Alan Shearer was unimpressed with Thauvin, who has been poor since his £12-million move from Marseille, saying the joke has worn thin on the BBC's Match of the Day highlights program.

"He turns up in a tux," Shearer complained. "This is a serious business we're in here. It was funny on the first day of the season, it's not funny any more."

Now, according to the Newcastle Chronicle, each player will be given a club suit supplied by owner Mike Ashley's luxury clothing brand Cruise to mark an end to the tuxedo tomfoolery.

Assistant manager Paul Simpson said earlier in the campaign that the club wanted to introduce a "uniform" so "everyone turns up looking the business."

"I always think it looks good when the whole team turn up and they look smart and I think it's a statement of intent, that's the way we look at it," he added.