I think the reason we're going with this kit is because when we played them at home, with both teams in their home kit, it was 3pm in September. This time it's 5.30pm in winter, in the north of England, so it'll be dark, probably overcast/raining/snowing, with the match being played under floodlights, so the white stripes will stand out a lot more than the red/black ones.
Also possibly something to do with Newcastle losing 4-0 last time, and have complained about the kits and blamed those?