Shirt No.29

Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2021/22 Home Kit

Now this kit does not really link in with my goal of having a kit from each of the teams in the Scottish Premiership but I have to buy a kit when I visit a football stadium especially if I do not have a kit for that football team yet. Now for me Inverness Caley Thistle was a team that I grew up with watching Celtic challenging the elements of the Highland coastline against Inverness at the Caledonian Stadium.

ICT (Inverness Caley Thistle) were a major fixture of the Scottish Premiership during my younger years of a season ticket holder. Inverness Caley Thistle were able to stay in the top flight of Scottish Premiership from 2004 until 2009 when they were relegated. From starting off in 1994 in the Highland League and achieving consectuive promtions and achieved promotion to Scottish First Division in 1999 where they stayed until relegation to Scottish Championship in 2004. They were able to keep pushing and progression as a team to acheieve promotion back to the Scottish Premiership in 2010 and remained their until 2017 before being relegated again. They even managed to gain some experience in the UEFA Europa League 2nd Qualifying Round through a Scottish Cup win during this time. Inverness remain in the Scottish Champsionship and continue to be in the top half of the table coming close to promotion but just not quite reaching the levels that they need.

Inverness have achieved a lot in their short amount of time as a football club. They achieved the unimaginable to go on and win the Scottish Cup in 2015. The beat Cowdenbeath, Brechin City, Queen of the South and Hibernian to reach the final and then beat Falkirk 2-1 with ten men to achieve this heroic achievement. The managed to be runners-up in the Scottish League Cup of 2014 but were beat by Aberdeen on penalties. Inverness managed their highest standing in the Scottish Premiership in the season of 2014/15 season when they came 3rd in the league finishing 13 points behind second place Aberdeen and finishing 21 points behind league winners Celtic Football Club.

For those who are aware of Inverness Caledonian Thistle they will know the clubs colours of red and blue with white accents. They adopted these colours for their home kits from 1995 onwards until now. The football kit that I have is the 2021/22 Home Kit features the iconic red and blue striped design. This kit features thinner downwards stripes as not seen before with plain blue sleeves and back to the kit. This was a bold design move by Puma and unfortunately I do not feel it worked, maybe the thickness of stripes effects the judgement or the plain back but either way have fond memories of Inverness Caledonian Thistle and my visit to the beautiful yet small stadium on the Inverness coastline.

Shirt No.30

Livingston 2018/19 Home Kit

For many teams in the Scottish Premiership will know Livingstone and how difficult it can be to play at the Tony Maccaroni Stadium on the astroturf pitch. This for many teams is a difficult challange to face.

Over the last ten years Livingston has went from strength to strength winning promotion to the Scottish Premiership on 2001 and even gained experience in the UEFA Cup when they finished third in the league in their maiden season in the league. Only finishing behind Celtic and Rangers in 2001/02 season. They went on to win the Scottish League Cup in 2004 beating teams such as Queen’s Park, Dundee United, Aberdeen, Dundee and finally beating Hiberian 2-0 to win the Scottish League Cup. They entered administration just a few weeks before this cup final win. The financial problems continued for the club becomign worse in 2004 and 2006 leading to relegation to the Scottish Championship. In 2009 it all came to head and Livingston were hit with liquidation in 2009 which lead to demotion to the Scottish Third Division. It took them 8 years but they kept on fighting and got back to Scottish Premiership.

The kit I have chosen for my collection was from their first season back in the Scottish Premiership after gaining promotion. The colours of Livingston are iconic amber and black. This kit celebrates their return to the Scottish Premiership with a the classic plain design from Amber with Black accents. This kit was made by a relatively unknown football kit maker FBT. FBT stands for Football Thai Factory Sporting Goods Co Ltd that is a Thai sports equipment that exports to 40 countries worldwide. For me I do not feel this kit is up to the same product standards as other makes as Joma, Nike and Adidas but it makes an achievement in Livingston’s history. Of course the amber kit with a collar and two buttons at the next of the collar. The Tony Macaroni sponsor just sets the design off.

Shirt No.31

St Johnstone 2016/17 Away Kit

The St Johnstone 2016/17 Away kit is for me a beaut of a kit from the overall poor selection of St Johnstone’s away kits through the years. This kit features the colours of white and blue. The white base with blue pinstripes downwards through the kit with a plain blue collar and sleeves. The kit was made by well known football kit make Joma. This kit maker was founded in 1965 in Spain and have worldwide distrubution. For me their is a few downfalls. One could be the badge that was changed to this design in 2009 which for me was a poor choice and I was glad to see the badge being changed back in the following year to this kit 2018/19. The placement of the Joma logo was off centre unusually high in the left side of the football kit.

St Johnstone have are known to many as a club that will continually go between the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Championship. They had been absent from the Scottish top league for 7 years before gaining further promotion in 2009/10. They have achieved their longest run in the league just narrowly avoiding relegation in 2021/22 season.

St Johnstone have had cup sucesses during their 130 years history. They have lost at the semi final stage on numerous occasions and two finals of the Scottish League Cup in 1990s however they achieved an amazing success winning their first ever Scottish League Cup in 2020/21 where they beat Livingston 1-0. In the Scottish Cup they have had more success with the Scottish Cup winning their first Scottish cup in 2014 beating Dundee United 2-0 in the final. But in 2020/21 they won the historic cup double becoming the only fourth team to achieve this. They defeated Hibs 1-on in the final. In this season they managed the cup double and achieved 5th place in the Scottish Premiership and qualified for UEFA Europa League qualifying round.

Shirt No.32

St Mirren 1962/63 Home Kit (Remake)

St Mirren are a paisley based club that has been in the Scottish Premiership for as long as I can remember. This team has been a main feature for my away days as a younger ghirl. Of course their stadium is known to Celtic fans as Love Street and one of our iconic football kits have been named after this street. It is formally known as St Mirren Park. The have been relegated to the Scottish Championship twice in 2000/01 and 2014/15. They famously won the Scottish League Cup in 2013 beating Hearts 3-2.

The clubs has a great youth development system and have had several players progress through the system and have achieved great success in Football. For me the greatest of all of their achievements has to be John McGinn. Or as he has been come to know in recent years Super John McGinn. What a player McGinn has become, he is the captain of Aston Villa and one of the first names on the list for Scotland’s starting eleven in any game.

The football kit that I have is a remake of the 1962/62 football kit. This kit marks the end of the plain white design of the St Mirren kit. From their creation in 1880 the majority if not all football kits are the iconic black and white downward stripes on their home kit. The plain white home kit came into play in the 1958 season until 1962 when they returned back to the tradition and this continues to be the home kit design until current times. The kit that I own is the copa remake in a cotton blend with black v neck collar with a beautifully stitched St Mirren badge.

Shirt No.33

Aberdeen 2009/10 Away Kit

Over the years Aberdeen’s away football kits have been hit and miss but this kit is iconic. Their home kits are always red and this is their colour and has been their home kit colour since 1939. The home kit from this season was a simple but effective design of red shirt with pin striped white hoops around the kit. The kit that I have I feel is a great design and combination of colours for the club. This kit is a black shirt with gold pin striped hoops around the kit. They have added white accents to the away kit which attracts the attention to the Nike logo, sponsorship and the Aberdeen badge.

Aberdeen have never been relegated from the Scottish Premiership. Throughout their history they have won four Scottish league titles, seven Scottish cups and six Scottish league cups. Unbelieably they have won two European Cups. They won the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the European Super Cup in 1983.

Pittodrie is a famous Scottish stadium sitting in the East coast of Scotland. Any team that has to visit Pittodrie in a cold winter day are in a challenge with just the weather and elements that they will have to face. Aberdeen as due to move to a new stadium in the upcoming years. The most recent honours for the football club have been the Scottish League Cup in 2013/14 season. On the road to the final they beat Alloa, Falkirk, Motherwell and beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle 4-2 in penalties.

Of course I can’t talk about Aberdeen without talking about Alex Ferguson. One of the greatest managers of all time. He was appointed as Aberdeen manager in 1978 but his success at the club truly began in the 1982/83 season were they had qualfied for European Cup Winner’s Cup where he lead the Aberdeen team to beat Real Madrid in the final with a 2-1 result. Aberdeen became only the third Scottish football team to win a European Cup. In the same season Ferguson achieved Scottish Cup success beating Rangers 1-0 in the final. He went on to win the Scottish Premier League and retain the Scottish Cup with Aberdeen in the 1983/84 season. In this year Ferguson was awarded a OBE and was highly sought after. He retained the league title in the 1984/85 season. He then left the club to become Manchester United manager in which he thrived and remained manager for almost 27 years. This is unheard of and their will not be another manager like Ferguson.

Shirt No.149

Ross County 2014/15 Away Shirt

This shirt was to complete my Scottish Premiership football kit collection, I have or had at least one shirt from each team (apart from 1) in the top tier of Scottish football. Ross County are a club from the Scottish highlands in a small town called Dingwall. Ross County or The Staggies, as their fans know them as. They were formed 95 years ago in 1929 and they played football at Victoria Park that has a capacity of 6,541. I liked this shirt because it was made by Carbrini. Carbrini was not well known for creating football shirts but they were mainly focused on activewear. They attempted to break into the football kit market for a brief period in the early 2010s. This shirt was for one of the Scottish clubs that I really love having in the top tier, they do jump in and out at times but the away trip to the wee town of Dingwall tells you the story of football away days. Ross County finished 9th in the Scottish Premiership this season with dropouts of the League cup in the 3rd round and the Scottish cup in the fourth round. This shirt follows the usual red away colours of the Staggies. Carbrini attempted to break up the base red with subtle strips of two different shades of red. The sponsor unfortunately takes over the shirt but the sewn manufacturer logo and large Ross County badge that features a stag. I like the simple collar design added with bold black accents and white fabric as the collar base. As my collection adapts I try to achieve a shirt from each team and complete that collection before selling them on to make way for other shirts from other clubs all around the world. This was part of my Scottish collection. 

Shirt No.150

Celtic 1989/91 Home Shirt (Remake)

Unfortunately this shirt is a manufacturer’s remake but I love it just the same, it represents a challenging time in Celtic Football Clubs history. Our club experienced a financial slump in the early 1990s and were ultimately saved by Fergus McCan in 1994 allowing the club to grow and become the club that we know and love today. This shirt was worn during the 1989/90 and the 1990/91 seasons in the Scottish Premier Division. The 1989/90 season was one to forget with Celtic finishing 5th in the Scottish Premier Division behind Rangers (1st), Aberdeen (2nd), Hearts (3rd) and Dundee United (4th). Our manager during the tumultuous times was none other than the Celtic legend Billy McNeil. Billy McNeil will be known by Celtic fans the world over, we call him Cesar. He is Celtic’s most decorated captain and was the captain of the Lisbon Lions who won Celtic’s one and only European Cup. He has been decorated with a statue depicting his European Cup trophy lift outside Celtic Park. The 1990/91 season showed improvement under McNeill with Celtic finishing 3rd in the Scottish Premier Division behind Rangers (1st) and Aberdeen (2nd). This shirt follows the classic Umbro template of the time. They had to have a collar on their shirts or it was not made by Umbro. This shirt features the iconic embroidered club badge and the fabric collar. What was even better with this shirt is the popping buttons both at the neck of the shirt and to keep the collar down when not in use. This has patterned green hoops paired with the white that is Celtic Football Club. Then of course the class plain, simple, embossed sponsor of CR Smith along the front. This shirt may not be from the golden generation of Celtic FC but these challenging times are important to remember and to look back on to see how far we have come as a club, as a team and as a community. This will continue to be worn to matches and to make other fans think back to those challenging times of Celtic Football Club.

Shirt No.151

Hibernian 2010/11 Home Shirt ‘Sodje #18 Nameset’

This shirt was another to achieve my full Scottish Premiership collection. This shirt follows the classic green and white of Hibernian Football Club. They are an Edinburgh based football club whose rivals are Hearts of Midlothian. Hibernian FC was founded 148 years ago in 1875. They play their football at Easter Road in  Leith, Edinburgh with a capacity of 20,421. They were founded by the Irish community building within Edinburgh at the time. This shirt is from the 2010/11 season, the club finished 10 in the Scottish Premier League, were knocked out in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup and 3rd round of the League Cup. This shirt has the nameset of ‘Sodje #18’. Akpo Sodje was an English striker who joined Hibernian on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic. He spent two seasons at Hibernian before moving on to the Chinese Super League. Sodje was a cult favourite amongst the Hibernian fans making 31 appearances for the Hibees only scoring 7 goals during this time. This shirt has a block green body with white sleeves, there is a darker green strip under the arms before the white of the sleeve begins. The Puma manufacturers logo and sponsor were both printed on in white and then finally finished off with an embroidered Hibernian FC badge. The nameset is the official SPFL for the time and is in brilliant condition for its age. This shirt failed with the printed sponsor due to the smudge and ageing due to the type of sponsor that was used during the early 2010. This shirt is due to be sold on as I finished my Scottish Premiership clubs and shirts collection.

Shirt No.152

Celtic 2007/08 Away Shirt

Celtic Football Club had their football kits made by Umbro from 1964 to 2005. This is unheard of in the modern game, 41 years are unheard of with football kits being big business and teams jumping from manufacturer to manufacturer. By the 2007/08 season Celitc were 3 years into their 10 year partnership with Nike. For me I love the Nike Celtic shirts as I was becoming more and more of a fan and beginning to understand football more during these times. Plus Nike kits just hit differently especially for Celtic and to celebrate 125 years of the club. But this shirt is a beauty. This shirt is part of the 40th celebration of the Lisbon Lions European Cup win in 1967. This shirt features classy embroidery around the Celtic FC badge to commemorate this anniversary. The embroidery above the badge says ‘25 Maio 1967’ and underneath the badge is ‘Leoes De Lisboa – 40o Aniversario’. This embroidery hits differently as it is written in Portuguese. This shirt follows the same bottle green used in the 2004/05 Umbro away shirt. This shirt is a modern classic with a bold silver collar, silver embroidered Nike swoosh, silver embroidered club badge and the classic embossed ‘Carling’ sponsor across the front of the shirt. This shirt commemorates a piece of Celtic history and is a stunning kit in its simplicity and will remain part of my Celtic collection for years to come.

Shirt No.153

Celtic 2013/14 Away Shirt

The partnership between Celtic produced some absolute belters and this kit has to be up there. I don’t think this was appreciated at the time but looking back at it now as a ‘retro’ shirt…it is a belter. It has the stunning Celtic yellow/gold as the simple base colour. The Celtic green on the v neck collar, the green cuffs, the green Nike manufactures logo, the embroidered Celtic badge and the 7 slim Celtic green hoops across the middle of the shirt. Why is there only 7 hoops across the middle? I actually don’t know but maybe because the number 7 is special to Celtic fans. If you go back to the Lisbon Lions of Jimmy Johnstone, Paolo Di Canio, Henrik Larsson, Scott McDonald and Robbie Keane. This shirt is simple in its design but works so well. Not to mention the classic, brilliant and bold front shirt sponsor of ‘Magners’. It just works so well with the Celtic shirts. The 2013-14 season was not as successful as you would hope as a Celtic fan. They managed to come away as Scottish Champions winning the league 29 points ahead of Motherwell. Neil Lennon did not manage to lead his team to cup success. Lennon’s side were knocked out in the 5th round of the Scottish Cup after a 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen. But the biggest shock was to be knocked out of the Scottish League cup in the 3rd round after a 1-0 defeat to Greenock Morton. This result was a shock to Scottish football but shows the glory that cup competitions can bring. Celtic’s top scorer for this season was Englishman Kris Commons with 32 goals in all competitions. Celtic were in the Champions League during the 2013/14 season but were knocked out in the Group Stage. They were placed in a group with AC Milan, Barcelona and Ajax so it was always going to be a hard task. They finished 4th in the group with 3 points. Barcelona were 1st with 13 points. AC Milan 2nd with 9 points and Ajax 3rd with 8. Celtic’s only points came from a 2-1 win against Ajax at Celtic Park where James Forrest scored a penalty and Beram Kayal scored the winner. Other notable players for Celtic during this season have to be Virgil Van Dijk, Fraser Forster and Georgios Samaras. These were the times were the crowd were the 12th man and the roar at the Champions League anthem bellows across the Glasgow skyline.

Shirt No.154

Celtic 2019/20 Third Shirt ‘McGregor #42’

This shirt can be marmite for many Celtic fans but for me I think it is an absolute belter. This shirt was to be the last shirt released from Celtic’s New Balance era. This shirt was worn as Celtic’s third shirt in New Balance’s last year as Celtic’s kit manufacturer. The 2019/20 trio of football shirts from New Balance I think we’re all belters. The home shirt with a bold folded collar (although missing hoops at the top of the shirt). The away shirt of a gold/yellow with green tartan shoulders works so well. Then finally this shirt of simple light grey with a bold highlighter pink chevron below the Dafabet sponsorship. The badge was always a simplified highlighter pink transfer as well as the New Balance logo and sponsorship. This shirt just works so well for me, the colour combination and simplified bold design just worked. The use of pink was a bold move from New Balance before this shirt pink had only appeared on one other Celtic shirt for the 2016/17 Third shirt which was also from New Balance. This shirt was worn by players such as Scott Brown, James Forrest, Odsonne Edouard and Tom Rogic. This season was a triumph for Celtic with a Treble winning season under Neil Lennon. Lennon led his teams third consecutive treble and to their 9th league title in a row which matched our rivals consecutive league title achievements. This shirt has my favourite player on the back. I have always been Calmac’s biggest fan, the way he can see the game and every pass goes through him. His Celtic story shows how much he truly loves the club and there was no better choice in leader following Scott Brown’s departure. Calmac has decided to continue his full professional career with #42 on his back. He was given this shirt number on his first game for Celtic and like Jamesy Forrest he has kept this ever since. Calmac’s first professional appearance for Celtic came when McGregor made his first team debut for Celtic against KR Reykjavik on 15 July 2014 in a Champions League qualifier and he scored the only goal of the game. As everyone knows in the world COVID-19 had taken over and this caused disruption to the footballing season. Calmac’s contribution during the 2019/20 season was another important season as he started all 30 matches of the curtailed Premiership campaign (being off the field for just 26 minutes in total), all four of the Scottish League Cup fixtures and four of the five Scottish Cup matches – including two that were delayed until the end of the calendar year – as a fourth treble was secured. Along with continental (14) and international appearances (6), he was again among Europe’s most active footballers. Calmac has always been a powerhouse in the middle of Celtic’s midfield and continues to lead our team to success. 

Shirt No.155

Celtic 2010/12 L/S Shirt

Another Celtic shirt and another belter. I have to say I miss the Nike Celtic shirts. I personally prefer a patterned Celtic hoop as I feel it pops really well against the white. The patterned green hoops and black accents just work on a Celtic shirt. This shirt has a simple v neck design with a black outline leading into a small classy fabric white collar. This shirt features a stunning embroidered Celtic badge with black accents and a bold black star above the badge to represent Celtic’s European Cup win. The brilliant long sleeve cuff design works really well but wasn’t worn much by our players. I have two versions of this shirt, both the long and short sleeves. The short sleeve I was lucky enough to get my favourite number on the back in the stunning Scottish Premiership shirt font. At the time I didn’t like who ever had the #17 shirts and I didn’t want my own surname on the back so just the number suited me just fine. This season’s kit features a brilliant sponsor..I would say better than Carling or Magners…a simplified Tennents sponsorship design with white test and bold black outline to match the black accents throughout the shirt. This shirt was Celtic’s home shirt for two years, I believe this is the way clubs should use their shirts now, especially the Away, Third and Fourth shirts. Celtic wore this Home shirt for two seasons from 2010 to 2012. Neil Lennon was our manager throughout both seasons. The 2010/11 season was not a successful one for Celtic as they finished 2nd behind our Glasgow Rivals. Celtic only managed to come away with the Scottish Cup from this season. The 2011/12 season was slightly better for Celtic with a Scottish Premiership win after our Glasgow rivals faced bankruptcy and were dissolved so Motherwell finished 2nd in the league. Celtic’s team was lead by captain Scott Brown with players such as Victor Wanyama, Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley and Gary Hooper. Hooper finished the season as Celtic’s top scorer with 29 goals in all competitions with 24 of those goals in the league.

Shirt No.156

Celtic 2014/15 L/S Shirt

For me as a football shirt collector I love a long sleeved shirt. Of course my collection is largely focused on my team. Celtic have been a huge part of my life like it is for many people throughout Scotland, the UK and even the world. There is a large following throughout the world for Celtic. This could be because of the club’s history, Celtic was a club created by Irish immigrants in the East End of Glasgow. This shirt features a quote on the inside of the collar, this is something Nike as a manufacturer does really well and is something I love to see in Celtic shirts. This quote says ‘This Celtic Football Club is much more than a football club to a lot of people, it’s a way of life’ from Sir Robert Kelly. This shirt was another Nike kit but they chose a bold twist on the hoops by creating smaller banded hoops within the overall green and white hoops design. This shirt was one that split fans’ opinions with some who loved it and some who didn’t. This design worked well as a long sleeved shirt with the design continuing down the sleeve. This shirt features the bold embroidered Celtic badge, star above the badge and Nike swoosh. This shirt features the classic bold mono-tone Magners sponsorship logo. This shirt was worn during the 2014/15 season where Ronny Delia was the manager of Celtic following the sacking of Neil Lennon. Celtic won the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup but were knocked out in the semifinals of the Scottish Cup. This shirt was worn by captain Scott Brown and players such as Leigh Griffithis, Virgil van Dijk, Kris Commons and Anthony Stokes. Griffiths finished the season as Celtic’s top scorer with 20 goals overall with 15 of those in the league.

Shirt No.34

Adelaide United 2020/21 Training Kit

This was the first of my Australia football clubs. I am hoping to be able to build my Australian Football Club collection. I started with a training kit as I really like the colours and design. I purchased two of this kit for myself and my wife as a memory of our time in Australia and engagement that took place in the City of Adelaide. What a city is it, the start of our Australian adventure and it will always remain in our hearts.

Adelaide United are part of the A-League which was only istablished in 2005. This league is unlike many others were their is now relegation or lower leagues. If a football team comes bottom of the league nothing will happen and they remain in the league to continue to play in the next season. Adelaide United were created in 2003 and play at the Coopers Stadium that is in the middle of Adelaide.

Adelaide have had a range of success with the A-League coming runners-up in 2006/07 and 2008/09 but going on to achieve success to win the League in 2005/06 and 2015/16. The cup competition in Australia is known as the Australia Cup and they won this cup in 2014, 2018, and 2019. Adelaide United play in a red home kit. This training kit is a bold design using a base colour of dark grey then a triangular illusion design in light pink and dark pink to add to an iconic kit even if it is for training.

Shirt No.35

Newcastle United Jets 2018/19 Home Kit

Newcastle United Jets use the simplified name of Newcastle Jets. They were created in 2000 and have one of the largest soccer stadiums in Australia. This stadium is called the McDonald Jones Stadium and is shared with the Newcastle Knights who play within the Australia National Rugby League. Newcastle United have had a range of success in the A-League but have never won the A-League premiership but came 2nd in 2007/08 and in 2017/18.

I was lucky enough to attend a Newcastle Jets match against Central Coast Mariners in the A-League where they won the match 1-0 with a goal from Kaine Sheppard in the 54th minute. The match was a totally different experience to what I had experienced in the UK. The whole stadium had a happy, welcoming environment with supporters from both teams all integrated and not hostility or hatred between them. Myself and my wife were welcomed into the stadium by fellow fans and even got our face painted. The major plus of football games not in the UK are that there is alcohol allowed to be served. Of course in the UK this would just add fuel to the fire and chaos but it seemed to just add to the happiness and love within the stadium. The happy family friendly atmosphere made the whole experience a very enjoyable experience. We were directed to a grassy hill within the stadium, others around us had come prepared with picnic, blankets and alcohol but we did not expect such a laid back and relaxing atmosphere.

What a place. What a stadium. What a way to watch football. It was made even better that they won that game of course.

The Newcastle Jets kit that I have is from the 2018/19 season were they finished 7th in the A-League. They have changed their home football kit from gold to blue with some red accents at times. My kit is a plain blue home it with a subtle pattern within the blue with gold and red trim on the sleeves. This kit was made by Viva are an Australian sportswear company. Unusually though the Viva logo has been moved to the top left shoulder instead on the left side of the chest as usual. Within the A-League all teams have the league logo and sponsor on their football kits. In this case it is the Hyundai A-League. The kit also features the Hyundai logo as the sleeve sponsor and have Ledman as the main sponsor, which is a Chinese technology company that bought Newcastle Jets in 2016. The kit features a beautifully stitched badge of Newcastle Jets that is blue, red and gold and features 3 fighter jets as the main badge design. Now unusually like the UK football teams there is no restrictions on advertising fast foods within football which explains the McDonald’s sponsorship on the back of the football kit.

Shirt No.36

River Plate 2016/17 Home Kit

This home kit features the classic River Plate red stripe across the body of the kit. Anyone that see’s this strip knows River Plate FC instantly from it. River Plate have consistently had this home kit design from 1970 and it works well for them in terms of kit design. The kit that I have was made by Adidas and featurs a simple sponsorship design of BBVA in a bold black colour. The River Plate badge even features the white background and red stripe across with the intials of CARP in the centre. This stands for the clubs official name of Club Atletico River Plate.

River Plate are an football club based in Argentina and play within the Primera Division. They play is a circular stadium in Buenos Aires called the Monumental Stadium. The Superclasico is a fierce battle both on and off the football pitch with Boca Juniors. River Plate have won 18 titles in their time as a football club within Argentina and South America. River Plate have had a range of amazing football players pass through the club which includes players such as Erik Lamela, Falcao, Lanzini and Alexis Sanchez.

Shirt No.158

San Lorenzo 2013/14 Home Shirt

San Lorenzo are an Argentine football club known by fans as Los Santos (The Saints). San Lorenzo play their football at the Estadio Pedtro Bidegain in Bueno Aires City. San Lorenzo are known for their distinctive home colours of navy and red downward stripes. This pattern and colours can be seen within the club crest which has the club crest with the lettering of CASLdeA. Lorenzo was the best in Argentina for the 2013/14 season. They won the Argentine Primera Division in the 2013/14 season with 33 points, just 2 more points than their closest rivals Lanus. 

This home shirt follows the distinctive Home shirt colours of red and navy downward shirts. This shirt was made by Lotto and has a very 90s look about it. The Lotto shirts are very noticeable to a specific generation of football shirts. This version of the shirts have no sponsorship on it. The lotto manufacturer mark and club badge are both stitched. This shirt is a classic and was an absolute gem of a find in a local charity shop.

Shirt No.37

Avai FC 2021/22 Home Kit

Avai FC or as Avai Futebol Clube and the are based in the south of Brazil. This team has played in the Brazillian First Division eleven times throughout the years with the lastest time being in 2022. They have only won one national title Brizillian Third Division title. They have had some brilliant Brazillian football players come through the academy from Marquinhos to Raphinha.

Avai have always played in blue and white downwards stripes even if the tone or shade of blue changes the design remains the same. The kit that I have in my collection is the classic blue and white downwards stripes that is iconic with the football club. The kit I have from the 2021/22 season was designed and created by Umbro. It is a classic kit but has a bold blue square block on the middle back of the football kit for a name set. For me this blocked out area is not needed and if you do not have a name set on the kit it looks unusual. Still though the Avai badge links with the blue and white kit with a singular Gold star above their badge.

Shirt No.38

Chapecoense 2021/22 Home Kit

Chapecoenese or known officially as Associação Chapecoense de Futebol. They are a relatively new football club whom were created in 1973. They have one six titles in their history and their most recent title was in 2017. The have spent time in and out of the Brazil’s top division Serie A and returned in 2014.

Chapecoense have always played in a plain green home football kit since their creation in 1973. The football kit that I have is the 2021/22 home kit and what a beaut of a football kit is. It features a plain green shirt with white cuffs on the sleeves and around the neck of the kit. The best thing about this football kit is the design on the sleeves of the football kit. This kit was made by Umbro and once again they have managed to add a unique element to a standard/essential design of a football teams colours.

Shirt No.39

Clube Atlético Mineiro 2021/22 Fourth Kit

The third of my Brazilian football kits is my favourite of all my Brazilian collections. This kit adds the map design to that we all know and can be over used at times. But they have managed the design so well using the outline of Brazil with intricate details of Brazil and it’s individual county areas outlined. This kit showed the return of Le Coq Sportif into the football kit world. The kit I have is a Fourth specialist kit for this season commemorating the club for the Atlético Mineiro 2021-2022 ‘Manto da Massa 113’ shirt is the winner of Atlético Mineiro’s ‘Manto Da Massa 113’ shirt design contest in celebration of the club’s 113th year. The kit features a white/beige base colour with the black/grey outline design with white, orange and black striped cuffs and collar of the kit. The badge is a simple design of a shield shape with a bold black background with white pinstripes downwards and CAM on the top of the badge. They also feature a singular gold star above their badge.

This football club plays in a amazing circular stadium that holds over 60,000 fans and is known as the Mineirao stadium. The Atletico team has won the Campeonato Mineiro a record of 47 times. They have a range of cups and titles throughout their history. The club was noticeably featured in the FIFA Club World Cup as they finished in 3rd place and their most recent title was the Copa do Brasil in 2021. In the 2021 season the team finished 1st in the Serie A, they won the Campeonato Mineiro and won the Copa do Brasil. Notably within this season they had two of the best footballers of our time in Brazilian forward Hulk and Spanish striker Diego Costa. Hulk finished the season with 36 goals at the age of 35.

Shirt No.40

Fluminese 2021/22 Away Kit

At first glance of this Fluminese away kit it looks like a simple white kit but if you look at it more closely. The details put into this football kit from Umbro are something else. The subtle change on the thickness of the diagonal lines on the two sides of the football kit. The bold vintage look collar on the kit linking in the famous fluminese colours of maroon and green clicks with the white of this away kit. The crest on Fluminese is key to any kit of theirs. It is striking and bold featuring the clubs colours and football lettering of FFC ‘Fluminese Football Club’.

The Brazilian football league is always an exciting football league to follow with both the football kits and the next generation of Brazilian footballers that will become the next football mega star. This football club was the birthplace of Brazilian national football team. Their stadium is one of the most famous in Brazil. The Maracana Stadium is in Rio de Janeiro is famous for hosting the 2014 World Cup, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2016 Paralympics.

Shirt No.41

Gremio 2020/21 Home Kit

Gremio’s football kits are iconic for every football kit collector. They pop up in everyone’s collection and will always be one of the football kits on sale on many sports sites at the end of the seasons. The classic home kits of blue and black downward bold stripes with white bordering the black stripes. The Gremio home kits always feature the football club’s colours of blue, black and white. The adding of a simple pattern on the blue stripe added by Umbro again just makes this kit stand out a bit more than the previous or following home kits for Gremio. 

Gremio is a football club that is based on the East coast of Brazil. They were founded by an English and German immigrant in 1903. The club’s badge features stars above it. The gold star represents the victory in the World Club Championship, the silver star represents the three South American competition victories; and the bronze one represents the National competitions.

Shirt No.42

Santos FC 2020/21 Home Kit

The black and white stripes are iconic with a Santos Away Shirt. I had to have one in my collection. For many like me when you think of Santos you have to think of the famous players that have walked through the gates of Vila Belmiro. Especially two of the best Brazilian players that the world will ever see. 1956 a young man who the world will know as Pele starts his 18 years career with Santos. Pele is a footballing great that still resonates through the generations and has to be one of the founding fathers of football. Pele had 636 appearances for Santos and scored an immense amount of goals with 618 goals scored for the great Pele. For my generation Santos captured the worlds eyes again with a new star called Neymar Jr. He was to go on and become not only a Santos legend but a legendary football players, the most expensive football players, one of the most gifted football players of the generation but also one of the most controversial with a lot of playacting on the football pitch. As a young man going through the ranks in Santos he had a senior career of 5 years with Santos making 177 apperances and scored 107 goals during his time at the club. As many will know he was awarded the Puskas award of 2011 and South America’s Best Player in 2012 which built a move for him to one of the biggest clubs in the world Barcelona.

Santos have the iconic colours of black and white on the away kits following this through the years. This kit has an unusual style collar which adds to the simple but effective design. For me Umbro makes the classic football kits so well and makes simple changes to go with the times. The use of the different collar and the slight designs through the stripes just add something different to an ancient design. The Santos badge may seem simple and something you can generate from a game of Fifa but it works so well with what the team represent. The Black and White stripes feature in the badge with two golden starts above that really pop against the black and white of the kit.

Shirt No.43

Ajax 2021/22 Away ‘Three Little Birds’ Kit

This Ajax kit is the only dutch team that I have in my collection…for now. But what a kit to kick off the Dutch collection. This kit is known around the world. Known as the Three Little Birds kit but fornally the Ajax 2021/22 Away Kit is an absolute beauty. This is one of those football kits that everyone wears, you don’t have to be a Ajax fan or even a football fan. Any person who loves Reggae or Bob Marley want to own this football kit. Ajax are of course one of the most famous Dutch football clubs being based in the famous city of Amsterdam. Of course they have had a few famous players through the years from Johan Cruyff to Edwin Van Der Sar to the iconic Edgar Davids. Cruyff lite up the world of football and is now the namesake of the Amsterdam Stadium (Johan Cruyff Arena) but for myself and my generation Davids is just iconic. Yes he is a great footballer but that look is something that I will never forget. The dreadlocks up in a bauble and he orange tinged glasses is a fashion statement in itself.

This kit is one of those that bridges the gap from wearing a football shirt to represent the team and your support for the team and those who are wearing the football kit as a fashion statement and for the look of the football kit. The simple black base of the kit with the iconic combination of Red, Yellow and Green around the collar of the kit. The Ajax badge adapted to a simple red with the adidas logo and the 3 stars above in the same three colours of Red, Yellow and Green. Adidas even added a splash of colour to the three iconic stripes on the shoulders of the football kit. But the best feature of this football kit has to be on the back. The three little birds logo again in the classic Red, Yellow and Green. The three colours associated with Reggae and Bob Marley with the Three Little Birds being the title to one of his famous songs. This shirt is simple but extremely effective and is one that will be remembered for years to come.

Shirt No.159

AZ Alkmaar 2017/18 Training Shirt

This AZ Alkmaar training shirt is a beautiful greeny blue colour with the AZ Alkmaar half red and white badge with bold black AZ writing in the middle of the crest. These shirts were made during Under Armour’s step into football shirt manufacturing. Under Armour were flying and making shirts for some of the biggest football clubs at the time but it is a challenging market and companies like Under Armour, New Balance and Castore will always come and go. The Under Armour shirts were notoriously tight fitting and showed every lump and bump which is great when you’re an athlete but for fans it is not a good look when your eating your pie. 

AZ Alkmaar are a Dutch football team who play in the town of Alkmaar within the Zaan district of Netherlands. Alkmaar are known as De Kaasboeren (The Cheese Farmers). AZ play in the AFAS Stadion which holds around 19,500 people. Alkmaar finished 3rd in the Eredivisie behind PSV and Ajax. They did manage to qualify for the Europa League second round qualifying round. They were runners up of the KNVB Cup after losing 3-0 in the final against Feyenoord. Wout Weghorst was the most notable AZ player from the 2017/18 season. Wout played 37 games in this season scoring 27 goals. Wout stayed with AZ for two years from 2016 to 2018 with a total of 60 appearances and 31 goals. He would go on to play for VfL Wolfsburg, Burnley, Besiktas, Manchester United, TSG Hoffenheim and Ajax.

Shirt No.44

Arsenal 2007/08 Home Kit ‘Ford #17 Nameset’

Arsenal football club is not my favourite English club at this time in my life but I have always felt a connection with the North London Gunners through the Ladies football team. I have always loved football from when I could walk and the year of 2007 was when the Ladies football scence really came to light with televised games for me to watch and really see the way that the English League was embracing Womens football and they were seen as proper professionals. My footballing hero was Julie Fleeting. She was born in Kilwinning and started off her footballing career in Scotland with Ayr United Ladies, before making the major move to the US to take on the Ladies soccer scene to play with San Diego Spirit from 2002 to 2003 making 26 appearances scoring 14 goals. Finally Julie came into her own with her move to Arsenal spending a an amazing 8 years were she really became a legend of the club. Julie Fleeting made 122 appearances and scored an extradonary 130 goals for Arsenal.

During Fleetings time at Arsenal they enjoyed unilateral domestic success, as the club claimed 11 league titles, 9 FA Women’s Cups titles, 10 FA Women’s Premier League Cup titles and 5 FA Women’s Community Shield wins. Julie was included within Arsenal’s seven straight league wins from the 2003–04 season to 2008–09 season, as well as six unbeaten campaigns. Arsenal become the women’s most successful club season in English women’s football in the 2006–07 season, as the team won every single competition available to them, including the ever elusive UEFA Women’s Cup. The win marked Arsenal’s only trophy won from European competition, and the first time an English club won the competition. Within this team with Julie Fleeting they had Faye White, Karen Carney, Kelly Smith and Alex Scott.

Fleeting was an integral part of the all-conquering Arsenal side that won an unprecedented six trophies that included the Women’s Premier League, the FA Women’s Cup, Womens’s Premier League Cup, The Women’s Community Shield, The London Cup and the UEFA Women’s Cup. Julie Fleeting also became Scotland’s record goal scorer with 116 goals in 121 caps for Scotland with her debut in 1996 and retired in 2015 after captaining her country for 8 years. Finally fleeting was awarded with an MBE in 2008.

This football kit was one that I begged and begged my dad to get me as I wanted to be like Fleeting. I wore it all the time, I loved it. To then have a personalised name-set on the back with ‘Ford 17’ so I could live out my footballing dreams kicking a ball around the Ballerup pitches. The classic red base with the white sleeves is iconic Arsenal and works soo well but to add the gold lining in the out area of the shirt to make this an iconic kit for all Arsenal fans not just for me.

Shirt No.45

Arsenal 2019/20 Home Kit

This shirt was the first Adidas Home shirt after 5 years with Puma and what a shirt it was. The connection for me with Arsenal may have worn off by this point with Fleeting moving to pastures new and retiring from football. But a Celtic hero was to move to the Premier League club, which was of course all that he had deserved for his outstanding ability. Kieran Tierney was at Celtic from the age of 7 years old and by the end of his time at Celtic he had collected personal accolades winning both the Players’ and Writers’ Young Player awards for the third campaign in succession and having a major role in securing a historic ‘double treble’ for the club. But in August 2019, Tierney signed for Premier League club Arsenal, for a reported £25 million fee. Tierney’s impressive performances for Arsenal following the resumption of the Premier League after the COVID-19 pandemic saw him receive Arsenal’s Player of the Month award for June. He has went on to win the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield with Arsenal.

Adidas just know how to make the new shirts look like a retro shirt adding a bit of both to their football kits. This shirt was a hit especially with the team that Arsenal and Arteta were building. The bold collar striped collar of the white/red/white adding into the classic red centre and white sleeves of the Arsenal kits through the years. The matching design into the cuff of the sleeves with Adidas three stripes works so well and I am sure will always be a classic football shirt.

Shirt No.46

Arsenal 2019/20 Third Kit

This shirt is not one that will be memorable for many if any Arsenal fans after a poor finish of 8th in the English Premier League but at least the managed to gain a FA Cup one under Unai Emery and laterly Mikel Arteta. This cup final was very different to all that had gone previously. This was during the pandemic at the highest outbreak and there was an offical of zero supporters in attendance to this football match that took place in August 2020 after been postponed in May 2020 due to COVID-19. Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 with Chelsea going ahead 1 nil in the first 5 minutes through Christian Pulisic but this was not to be with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who scored a penalty in the first half and then scored the winning goal in the 67 minute of the game.

The colour combination of Navy and Yellow is not a favourite of mines but this was a fantastic achievement for Arsenal to win the FA Cup after a poor form during the Premier League season. Of course the classic three stripes on the shoulder works well with the slightly patterned navy football kit. This was one of Adidas Arsenal kits that failed to set the footballing shirts alight. As you will know from my previous shirts from Arsenal I have always had a connection with Arsenal due to the Women’s Team and the amazing Julie Fleeting that was my footballing hero as a young wannabe footballer.

Shirt No.47

Aston Villa 2020/21 Home Kit ‘Grealish #10 Nameset’

Of course this shirt has the classic maroon and sky blue colours that are associated with Aston Villa through the years. Kappa have been making Villa’s kits since 2019 and they have not always been a hit in my eyes but this one means more. This shirt was the shirt worn on the Villa made Jack Grealish in his last season for his boyhood club.

This shirt has the name-set of ‘Grealish #10’ to commemorate one of the best players Aston Villa has ever made. Grealish born in Birmingham and joining Villa at the age of 6 he will always been loved by the fans. After becoming Captain of his beloved club and gaining promotion back to the Premier League he was always going to move on, what a talent he had and many people wanted his signature. Manchester City bought Villa for 100 million making him the most expensive British footballer in history.

This tight fitting Kappa jersey is always a difficult one for fans to enjoy if they are not of a certain shape but the classic design with subtle pin stripes works well. Although truly disappointing to not have an embroidered badge and have a 3-d plastic badge instead does not add anything to the shirt in my opinion but this shirt will still go down as a classic for fans of Jack Grealish.

Shirt No.48

Barnsley 2016/17 Training Kit

A classic Puma template from this era with the small/simple dotting design on the front of the shirt. This training shirt from this championship side incoporates the black and red of the Barnsley kit colours. I happened to come across this shirt by chance in collecting a shirt from each of the English Championship teams and this was one that has caught my eye for the simple but effective design that Puma had created.

Shirt No.49

Blackpool 2021/22 Away Kit ‘Daniels #43 Nameset’

This championship club have always used the iconic Orange and White compination so well and this away kit is no different from Puma. This Away kit adds a modern twist to the zagged/pin stripes across the white patterned shirt. This shirt is part of the Championship collection of mines and it means something more to me with the nameset of ‘Daniels #43’ on the back of this shirt. This shirt with the classic Championship nameset font that is in partnership with the Mind Mental Health Charity is a piece of history in itself.

The nameset on this shirt is one that many people may already know. For me as a member of the LGBT+ community for a team like Blackpool Football Club within the English Championship to fully and openly support one of their players to become the first ever (currently playing) footballer to come out as Gay. Jake Daniels is this person, he is a youth product of Blackpool FC signing for the club at the age of 7. He was able to break into the first team for his beloved team and they support him to come out as gay in May 2022. For me to see a man, a professional footballer to step out and make this admission I know it must of been a very difficult decision for him especially when within the football culture that we have in the UK.

This name-set and football club will always been remembered for generations to come and in history of Football and LGBT+ in football.

Shirt No.50

Brentford 2021/22 Away Kit ‘Eriksen #21 Nameset’

This shirt is from the Brentford Football Clubs first ever season in the English Premier League. Brentford managed to remain in the Premier League and finish 13th in the League. Their first season in the Best League in the World and they had one of the Best Midfielders in the World to sign on a 6 month contract. Christian Eriksen is well known to many in the Premier League playing for Tottenham Hotspur until a big money move to Inter Milan in the Serie A. Eriksen suffered a cardic arrest whilst playing for his country, Denmark during the 2020 European Championships. This for thousands, even millions of people is etched in their brains as they tuned into the Denmark V Finland match.

For Eriksen his career in the Italian Serie A was ended for him as they ruled that someone with a ICD (pacemaker) is not able to play within their league. Eriksen was ready to start back playing football after a near death experience. Team from all around were interested in signing Eriksen on paper but many did not know if he would be able to play like he used to….but Brentford did, what a 6 month he had for them leading him to be signed for Manchester United in 2022 and winning several player of the month awards since his return to football.

Shirt No.51

Charlton Athletic 2020/21 Away Kit

This shirt is part of my London-based teams and what a beaut of a kit it is. The classic silver/grey shirt made by one of my favourite shirt creators in Hummel. The classic bold colour and the Hummel trademark chevrons on the sleeves of the kit. This kit colour combination of silver, red, black and white works really well. This season was not great for Charlton unfortunately with a 7th place League One finish and 3 different managers in place during the season.

Shirt No.52

Chelsea 2008/09 Home Kit

This football shirt is very special to myself and my family. This shirt was part of my Uncle George’s collection that was given to me after his death. If I remember the happiest times with my amazing Uncle he has a football shirt on. This Chelsea shirt will always be with me and a price position.

This Chelsea shirt signifies the start of something new and a dominant era of the Chelsea Football Club. This adds to my London-based club collection and the Adidas era of Chelsea kits work well within the 00s with the bold collar template and three stripes on the sleeves. The iconic royal blue colour of the kit with the bold white accents and gold edging is a beaut. The simple details of an embroidered badge and gold around the badge on the shirt works really well and adds something special to this football kit. Chelsea managed to win the FA Cup during this season.

Shirt No.53

Chelsea 2019/20 Home Kit

Another Chelsea Home shirt this one is added just for the Nike template and detailing that is within the shirt. Nike added the intricate patterns to the kit in a darker blue against the royal Chelsea blue that we have come accustomed too. This shirt was worn during a season were Chelsea did not perform as well as they were expected under the club legend Frank Lampard coming back as a Manager. The added bonus of the Chelsea lion with the Pride of London a the inside of the shirt is a very nice touch from Nike.

Shirt No.54

Everton 2004/05 Third Kit

This shirt is not great to look at but what an iconic combination of maker and sponsorship that Everton had during this time period. The Umbro template is not ideal but standard for the time period. The Chang beer sponsorship has to be one of the most iconic sponsors known within the footballing world until all alcohol becoming banned as a main sponsor for football teams in the UK. The black backdrop with the white Chang on the football shirt. This shirt has an embroidered badge and bold blue within the underneath of sleeves. Everton did manage to finish 4th in the English Premier League under manager Scottish Manager, David Moyes.

Shirt No.55

Everton 2018/19 Home Kit

I love an Umbro template from this time period and I feel in love with this shirt as soon as I seen it. Umbro really kick started the resurgence of the retro look coming back into new football shirt templates. The classic blue that has been linked with Everton since they were created in 1878. This shirt uses a subtle pattern within the main shirt colouring works really well. The bold white grand-dad collar added with the classic/retro Umbro logos around the edge of the shirts sleeves. This shirt even has the Premier League badge and the Angry Birds sleeve sponsor. Everton finished 8th in the English Premier League this season.

Shirt No.56

Everton 2021/22 Home Kit

This shirt is a recent football shirt that has been created by Hummel. Unfortunately Hummel used a similar template for most teams they had created kits for within this time frame. Of course the patterned lighter/darker shades of blue does work well with the embroidered badge and bold white accents and Cazoo sponsor. The details that saves this kit is the classic Hummel chevrons on the kits sleeves.

This season was a difficult one for Everton starting the season off with a Liverpool Football Club managerial legend Rafa Benitez being appointed which is a bold move and did not work out well for the club. After a further caretaker manager coming in and a footballing legend Frank Lampard becoming manager of the football club with a incredibly difficult job of saving Everton from relegation from the English Premier League. Frank Lampard managed to save them from relegation and Everton Football Club is the only football team to never been relegate from the English Premier League.

Shirt No.57

Fleetwood Town 2016/17 Home Kit

Fleetwood Town are not a team that I knew much about until the last few years. This shirt is a simple template of from Puma with the main red colour of Fleetwood and the white sleeves of the kit work really well with the football shirt. The Fleetwood Town badge is a beaut but effectively simple with the red, black and white. This shirt features the statement of Fleetwood Town FC onwards around the badge to help promote the help needed from supporters to back their football club.

This shirt was purchased as a support from the football club after a Celtic legend in Scott Brown was appointed Manager of the team as his first managerial job since retiring from playing football. Scott Brown will always be a Celtic legend and one of the most successful Captains that Celtic have ever had. Scott Brown appeared confident in his talents and has been leading the team to a turn around with a hope of promotion in the future.

Shirt No.58

Hastings United 2020/21 Home Kit

This kit is from the semi-professional football club Hastings United 2020/21 based in Hastings, East Sussex. They currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division. I do not have many semi-professional football clubs shirts but this one is close to my heart. My wife is from East Sussex and being in Hastings is my happy place. I used this kit to bring me back to time where I have been my happiest in my life.

This shirts Nike template is simple with Hastings United burgendy Home shirt with a darker shade pattern of their town crest at a angled area of the lower area of the shirt. A simple white Nike accent linking with the white sponsor. The transfer badge of the Hastings Lion with the burgendy, blue and white works well and is bold against the burgendy shirt.

Shirt No.59

Ipswich Town 2021/22 Home Kit

Ipswich Town are a team that place within the English League One but are famous for being the beloved football club of the UK’s biggest recording artist in Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran is known to support his team both in person and financially. He continues to voice his support for his team.

This kit uses the classic Adidas template with the the bold white collar and three stripes on the sleeves. The white pops against the blue of the Ipswich home football shirts. This football kit sold out several times due to the link with Ed Sheeran as he place his upcoming world tour as the Sponsor of the team for this season. Ed Sheeran was even added to the official team/squad for Ipswich Town for the 2021/22 season.

Shirt No.60

Leicester City 2020/21 Third ‘FA cup Winning’ Kit

I remember sitting watching this FA Cup final whilst at home during the COVID-19 times and a restricted attendance of 20000 at Wembley stadium. Leicester City had been a shock addition to the final and were up against Chelsea Football Club. This match was tense throughout as many cup finals are. Leicester City managed to win this FA Cup final with a wonder goal from Youri Tielemans in the 63rd minute of the match. This was Leicester City’s first ever win of the FA Cup. This team has another link to Celtic with our former manager Brendan Rodgers leading them to this historic win and achievement for the club. The trophy ceremony was an emotional one with the tragic death of the football club owner and his son taking over this was an amazing achievement. To see Kasper Schmicheal as captain of Leicester lift the FA Cup and share the emotional moment with the fellow players, manager and owner is somethign that I will always remember.

Leicester had to wear their third kit due to a potential kit clash with the Chelsea. This classic burgendy colour with the Adidas three stripes within the inside of the football kit in a bold white colour. Adidas adding a white-out transfer of the Leicester City badge and a classic sponsorship linking to the football club owners. The simple but effective add on of a golden crown to dot the ‘I’ in Thailand just works.

Shirt No.61

Liverpool 1990/91 Away Kit (Remake)

What a classic football shirt this is. The original of this kit was a classic retro Adidas Trefoil design of the early 90s. This classic early 90s pattern used in this Away shirt is iconic and this is the reason that I purchased a remake of this football kit. Unfortunately I cannot afford the original but the dream is still alive to one day get my hands of one of these original shirts. 

This shirt’s grey and white diagonal stripe pattern is stunning and iconic. The simplified Liverpool Football Club transfer badge on the kit using just the simple outlines of the badge works very well with this busy football shirt. Of course this Adidas kit features a bold collar and the Adidas three stripes down the sleeves of the shirt. This kit cannot be spoken about without mentioning one of the most iconic sponsorships of a bold red felt transferred Candy across the middle of this shirt.

Shirt No.62

Liverpool 2008/09 Away Kit ‘Torres #9 Nameset’

This Adidas template is well known during the 2000s with the subtle checked pattern and the boldly coloured three stripes on the sleeves. This Liverpool version of the kit uses two different tones of Silver and the bold Liverpool Red colour for the accents. The classic Carlsberg sponsor is a well known link to Liverpool and has become iconic within many of their classic kits through the years. This shirt also features the Barclays Premier League patches on both sleeves. The 2008/09 season for Liverpool was an exciting one for all the fans with the team being led by Rafa Benitez they finished 2nd in the Premier League being pipped to the post by just 4 points by Manchester United. Unfortunately Liverpool did not win any silverware this season after being knocked out of both English cup competitions in the 4th round and the Champions League in the quarter-final. 

This shirt features the name set of the Liverpool Legend, Fernando Torres. Torres arrived in Liverpool from Atletico Madrid in 2007 for around 20 million pounds which during this period was a substantial amount of money. Torres was 23 years old when he arrived in Merseyside. Torres spent 4 years at Liverpool and won the hearts of the fans during his time. Torres played 102 games for Liverpool and scored 65 goals during his time.

Shirt No.63

Manchester United 2009/10 Home Kit

Nike made a bold move with this bold look for a Manchester United Home kit which of course has always been the classic Red. Nikes’ template works well in this case with the bold Black v-shaped stripe across the chest of the shirt. The adding of the Nike accents and the Manchester United badge within this stripe adds to the beauty of this football kit. Another classic sponsor with the AIG across the front in a white transfer that pops against the red and black of the football shirt. 

Manchester United went into the English League Cup Final against Aston Villa as defending champions. They went 1-0 down to a Milner penalty in the 5th minute of the game but managed to turn it around with a goal from Michael Owen in the 12th minute to equalise and a goal from Wayne Rooney in the 74th minute to win the Carling Cup. Unfortunately Manchester United lost out on the Premier League title after finishing 2nd by only 1 point and the title going to Chelsea. They were knocked out of the FA cup in the 3rd round, reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and were runners-up in the Community Shield. This kit is another iconic Wayne Rooney shirt. 

Shirt No.64

Manchester United 2019/20 Home Kit ‘Rashford #10 Nameset’

This kit featured during very difficult times all around the world and particularly within the UK as COVID-19 virus took over and the whole of the UK went into lockdown. Everything stopped and this included football. On footballs final return this was played behind closed doors and without any fans. Many teams, players and fans struggled with these arrangements but even behind closed door football is important to many people all around the UK. During this season all teams had a shot at the title with the unprecedented circumstances and something magical happened. No one could have foreseen for the underdogs of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to win the Premier League by 18 points. Even during the restrictions of COVID this would not stop the Liverpool fans from showing the love for their club and celebrations of a title. But for me one footballer really stood out during these difficult times. 

Marcus Rashford was the name set chosen as he will go down as a Legend of this generation of footballer. Of course many will know that Marcus was born and bred in Manchester and has been playing with United since the age of 8. Rashford made his way through the youth system and broke into the first team in the 2016/17 season at the age of 19 years old. Although during the 2019/20 season Rashford experienced a loss of form in football he showed the country what footballers can do for others if they try. In October 2019, Rashford set up the In the Box campaign with Selfridges to give homeless people essential items over the Christmas period. In March 2020 during the UK lockdown Rashford teamed up with Fair Share to deliver meals to those in the Greater Manchester area. Rashfords’ initiative quickly raised over £20 million to provide food for children nationwide who, if still at school, would be receiving free school meals. On 11 June, Rashford revealed that the charity had been able to provide 3 million meals across the country, a figure that rose to 4 million the following month.

Shirt No.65

Newcastle United 1995/96 Home Kit (Remake)

There are many other collectors out there who do not appreciate the score draw remakes but for me this is one of the only ways that I am able to own the shirts due to many contracts either financially or ability to find the original shirts themselves. For me this kit is iconic. Ever since I saw the film Goal, the story of Santiago Munez coming from Mexico to become a professional footballer with Newcastle United. Of course this shirt is not from this film but for me it is iconic in its own right with the grandad collar and the Newcastle Brown Ale sponsor in the middle of the shirt that will always be the best ever sponsor that Newcastle has ever had and hopefully the re-couple in the future. 

Newcastle were led by Kevin Keegan to one of the best league results that they have had. They finished 2nd in the Premier League this season losing out to Manchester United by 4 points. Newcastle unfortunately did not manage to win any silverware, being knocked out of the FA cup in the 3rd round and the quarter-finals of the league cup. The classic black and white downward stripes are iconic with United.

Shirt No.66

Nottingham Forest 2017/18 Away Kit

Nottingham Forest are a beloved team within the English Football League. They managed to gain promotion to the Premier League in the 2021/22 season which was an amazing achievement for Steve Cooper and his team. This kit is an Away kit from the 2017/18 season where they finished 17th out of 24th in the English Championship. Forrest went through three different managers within this season. This kit is part of the collection for the classic template. The navy colouring and bold white accents as well as adidas three stripes. Of course the 888 gambling sponsor like many of the football teams in this generation as this is where the money will come from. The star of the show is the Nottingham Forest badge. The simple tree design and Forrest in text underneath is an iconic and beautiful badge. Then of course the badge features two stars to represent their European Cup (Champions League) wins in the 1978/79 and 1979/80 seasons.

Shirt No.67

Portsmouth 2011/12 Home Kit

This Portsmouth kit is loved due to the Kappa design. This kit is classic Kappa with the skin tight, slim fitting kits of theirs and the iconic Kappa logos on the shoulders of the shirt. Portsmouth featured in the English Championship during this season but unfortunately were relegated into League One after finishing 22nd.

But it is all about the kit for me. The standard Portsmouth blue for the shirt, with the bold white accents and Jobsite sponsorship. But what Kappa does so well is the finer details as in this shirt is the Golden half moon and star within the badge incorporates the gold into the Kappa badge and dot on the ‘i’ of the shirts sponsorship. 

Shirt No.68

Sunderland 2017/18 Home Kit ‘For Bradley’

I have always been aware of Sunderland after one of my favourite Celtic players, Aidan McGeady signed for the team. Sunderland have jumped leagues several times during their history but during this 2017/18 season was a difficult one for fans to watch after being relegated from the Premier League in the 2016/17 season and then to be relegated from Championship in this season was a tough one to take from them as it was expected that they would be able to get into the Premier League or at least the playoffs of the Championship. Sunderland had 5 different managers during this season. 

The Sunderland kit is known for the red and white vertical stripes. This shirt by Adidas adds in the bold Black accents on the collar, sleeve cuffs, Dafabet sponsor and Adidas logo works very well. Even the change of the Adidas three shoulder stripes are white to become subtly incorporated into the shirt. But the best thing about this shirt is that all proceeds went to a very important charity linked with the club. As you can see this kit features the embroidered badge ‘For Bradley, For Everyone’ at the centre. This represents the Bradley Lowery Foundation. For those who do not know Bradley Lowery was an inspirational six year old boy who suffered from terminal childhood cancer neuroblastoma. Bradley loved Sunderland and everything about the club. The club supported all Bradleys’ wishes during his difficult journey. Unfortunately Bradley lost his battle with cancer in July 2017 and the foundation was established in August 2017. Bradleys’ favourite Sunderland player was Jermaine Defoe and their friendship was well known. Defore went above and beyond to build an amazing relationship with Bradley through the years.

Shirt No.69

Swindon Town 2008/09 Home Kit

Swindon Town are a left field team within my collection as they are a League One team in England but my connection came from Daisy-May and Charlie Coopers’ This Country. This show was discovered during difficult times and will always make me laugh no matter what mood I am in. So the connection with Swindon Town is Daisy’s character Kerry and her love for the club, there are barely any scenes that Kerry does not have a classic Swindon Town football kit on. This particular kit features in the show and is worn by Kerry. The classic make of Lotto is always one you want to add to your collection. The classic red and white detailing on the shoulders and embroidered badge is a Lotto template all over. This shirt features the number 7 on the back as the name on the back of a kit is a rare sight during this generation of the league. 

The 2008/09 season for Swindon led them to a 15th place finish in the English League One. They did not manage to win any silverware throughout this season after being knocked out of the FA Cup and the League Cup in the 1st round but did manage to reach the quarter finals of the Football League Trophy.

Shirt No.70

West Ham 1999/2000 Home Kit

This football kit is one of my holy grails and one of the shirts that kicked off my collection. To begin with, a thick polo shirt collar in a light blue colour with white and maroon striped accents is such a 90s template. For Fila to add the panelling of light blue and white on the shoulders as well as simple light blue beading down the front of the kit is an iconic Fila template. The retro style West Ham embroidered badge with the touch of gold throughout is a stunner but the best thing about this shirt is the sponsor. The embossed sponsor of Dr. Martens is iconic with West Ham and what a beauty it is, Dr. Martens represents the odd yin in the UK and people that stand out especially during this time frame of the 90s. 

West Ham were led by legendary manager Harry Redknapp. They finished 9th in the Premier League this season. They were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round, reached the quarter-finals of the League Cup and won the Intertoto Cup. The Intertoto Cup was a UEFA competition that was held during the summer for clubs that failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Cup. The players that played for West Ham during this time are footballing legends in their own right. To begin with the Italian legend Paolo Di Canio led the line up with a young Rio Ferdinand playing Centre-Back, a young Frank Lampard in Centre Midfield and a very young Joe Cole being a last minute substitution. West Ham United bet FC Metz 3-1. The goals for West Ham came from Trevor Sinclair in the 23rd minute, went 2-0 up with Frank Lampard in the 43rd minute but conceded a goal in the 68 minute but finished the game off strong to cement their win with a final and third goal from Paulo Wanchope.

Shirt No.71

Wolverhampton 2021/22 Away Women’s Kit

This ladies version of the Castore made Wolves away kit is a beaut. The classic orange of Wolverhampton features throughout the football kit. Castore for me is a very poor football kit maker and designer but this kit’s colour palette attracted me to this football kit. The retro style paint splash design on a dark grey with light grey and orange throughout works so well. Unfortunately it is ruined slightly by the bright white betting advert for ManBetx in the middle but many shirts are ruined by their sponsors. Although the added details of ‘One Pack’ on the inside of the collar and the simplified retro style version of their badge is a beaut. 

Shirt No.160

Cardiff City 2014/15 Third Shirt

Cardiff City are one of the stand out teams of Welsh football, although as a Welsh team they play within the English football league. Cardiff of course play their football in the capital of Wales. Cardiff is a stunning city and the Cardiff City stadium is a 33,500 seater stadium right in the centre. Cardiff are known as The Bluebirds by their fans and have a range of success during their 125 year history. Cardiff have been in the English premier league for brief periods but the majority of their football career has been in the lower leagues. In the 2014/15 season they were playing their football in the English Championship following relegation from the Premier League the season before. Cardiff had 4 different managers during this season with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having a brief period of management of the team. This team has several talented players throughout the squad including Aron Gunnarsson, Peter Whittingham and Sean Morrison. Their top scorer was an on loan striker Kenwyne Jones from Bournemouth with 13 goals in total. 

This shirt is a classy white shirt with a bold red collar, sleeve cuffs and under sleeves. The white and red combination just pops. The visit malaysia sponsorship ties in with the adapted Cardiff City crest in red, white and yellow. The Cardiff City crest is stunning and embroidered. This shirt was made by Cosway Sports. Cosway are an enigma in the football manufacturing world. They came into play in 2014 with registered offices within the Cardiff City Stadium as a failed attempt of self shirt creation failed and they dissolved in 2017. Cardiff City finished 11th in the English Championship with 62 points. They were knocked put in the fourth round of the FA Cup and the third round of the League Cup.

Shirt No.161

Cardiff City 2016/17 GK Third Shirt

Cardiff City are one of the Welsh football teams that play within the English Football League system. During the 2016/17 season they were playing within the English Championship and were managed by the legendary Neil Warnock. They finished 12th in the league on 62 points however both 11th and 13th place managed 62 points with places being decided on goal difference. The English Championship side had players such as Joe Ralls, Junior Hoilett, Jazz Richards and Sol Bamba.  This long sleeve shirt was worn by GK Allan McGregor, whom was on loan from Hull City, David Marshall and Brian Murphy. This shirt is a stunning light blue with bold blue accents and three stripes matching the visit malaysia sponsorship. The club badge and kit manufacturer logo were both embroidered.  In 1959 Cardiff City played in shirts with a simple crest featuring an image of a bluebird. The bluebirds have always featured in Cardiff City club crests with variations of this crest have been used over the years. In the 1980s, extra features including words and motifs were added. A major change was made in 2012, when owner Vincent Tan attempted to rebrand the club to expand its appeal outside Wales. This change gave large prominence to the Welsh Dragon, reducing the bluebird to a minor feature. In March 2015, Cardiff announced a new crest which would once again feature the Bluebird predominantly with a Chinese dragon replacing the standard Welsh dragon. With each change of ownership the badge changes and adapts but the blue birds will always remain in the eyes of the fans.

Shirt No.162

Huddersfield Town 2015/16 Third Shirt

Now this shirt is one that is so ugly that I cannot help but like it. An odd white and grey camouflage pattern for a yorkshire football club is an off choice from Puma but it just seemed to work. The bold red Covonia cough syrup sponsorship to match the sleeve outline and cuffs works but then to have a black puma logo and bright blue Huddersfield club logo doesn’t work. The Huddersfield Town badge is embroidered with a three stars above the crest. The club badge is based on the coat of arms of Huddersfield. The Terriers first used a badge on its shirts for the 1920 FA Cup Final based on the Huddersfield coat of arms. The club’s main colours of blue and white are evident throughout the badge both in the mantiling and in the shield, in the form of stripes. Two Yorkshire Roses and Castle Hill form part of the history of the club and the area. In 2000, Huddersfield changed its badge to a circular design, but that was never popular with the fans, and soon returned to the heraldic-style badge. The badge was further redeveloped with a small adaptation in 2005. The three stars above the badge represent the club’s three consecutive English League titles won between 1924 and 1926. In 1926, Huddersfield Town became the first club to win three English League titles in a row, and only three other clubs have been able to match this feat.

For Huddersfield Town their footballing story began in a West Yorkshire town as a club that is 116 years old. Huddersfield are known by their fans as The Terriers. The Terries have played the majority of their football in the lower leagues of the English football pyramid. In the 2015/16 season they were playing their football in the English Championship. They finished 19th after a poor season of 4 different managers and a points total of 51 which was the same as 20th place Fulham. The Terries piped the post to 19th place with a majorly better goal difference. Throughout the season they had their top scorer Nahki Wells with 18 goals in 47 appearances with players like Joe Lynch and Jed Steer within the team.

Shirt No.163

Leeds United 2006/07 Away Shirt

This shirt is a classic Leeds United away shirt with a yellow shirt and blue accents. The main body of the shirt at first glance is just yellow but if you look closely you can see two slightly different shades in a downward striped pattern. This shirt has a classy fabric blue collar and blue embroidered tram lines from the neck to arm pit then on sleeve cuffs. The Admiral brand was founded in 1914 in Leicester with a resurgence in Manchester in 2010. They are an English sportswear and clothing brand. This shirt was made by Admiral sportswear with their logo also embroidered. Then there is the bold Leeds United crest in yellow, blue and white embroidered onto the shirt. The only thing that lets this nostalgic shirt down is the Bet 24 heat printed sponsorship. 

Leeds United were a formidable side to play for under the management of Don Revie in the 1960s and 70s. So much so that there is now a statue of Don Revie outside their home ground of Elland Road. Leeds United have played at Elland Road since their formation 104 years ago. The stadium has of course been adapted since then and can now hold close to 38,000 fans. Unfortunately in the 2006/07 season they were spending their 3rd consecutive season in the English Championship. It was to go from bad to worse for Leeds in the 2006/07 finishing 24th out of 24 teams in the English Championship. Leeds United only managed to obtain 36 points in 46 games played, they were 4 points behind 23rd place Luton Town. Leeds United were relegated into the English League One. Don’t be fouled this Leeds side had some notable names such as Alan Thompson on loan from Celtic, Tore Andre Flo, Fabian Delph and Danny Rose. 

Shirt No.164

 Liverpool 1996/97 GK Home GK Shirt

This Liverpool and the 90s provided outstanding football shirts with Adidas and Reebok as kit manufacturers. This is one of the Reebok generational shirts. Reebok in the 90s early 2000s were everywhere with many Premier League teams on their books. This Home GK shirt is a stunning green with subtle patterned liver birds throughout the fabric. The 90s GK shirts are known for their large areas of extra padding on the long sleeves that you no longer find on GK shirts. The liver bird is synonymous with Liverpool FC as they have this bird as their club badge and logo. Liverpool’s Home shirts are always red to not have any shirts featuring their Everton rivals blue. This GK shirt has a bold black 90s collar and sleeve cuffs. The Reebok logo and badge are both embroidered onto the shirt. For me the badge being surrounded by an oval crest is stunning and very 90s. The Liverpool badge is known the world over with the liver bird, the torch fires, the scrolls and the iconic ‘you’ll never walk alone’ wording scribed across the top. The use of colour with the red, yellow, and green just works so well. 

Liverpool is a very successful football club in their 132 year history. In England they have one nineteen league titles, eight FA cups, ten league cups and sixteen community shields. Internationally they have won six european cups, three UEFA cups, four UEFA super cups and one FIFA club world cup. Their home ground is Anfield which holds around 62,000 fans. This season was not a successful one for Liverpool as they finished 4th in the English Premier League, they were knocked out in the fourth round of the FA cup and the fifth round of the League Cup. Liverpool’s top scorer was Robbie Fowler this season with 31 goals. They had no end of talent playing for them in the 1996/97 season such as John Barnes, Robbie Fowler, Neil Ruddock, Jamie Redknapp, Micheal Owen and Jamie Carragher. They had leading English GK David James who made 52 appearances for the club in this season.

Shirt No.165

  Liverpool 2004/06 Home Shirt

Another Liverpool shirt and another Reebok shirt. This is a simple design with the Liverpool red and simple white accents. This shirt features a simplified Liverpool FC badge that appears smaller than previous and has a simple crest shaped in embroidered white. This shirt was worn during the 2004/05 and the 2005/06 seasons. Remember those days were football teams would only bring out their Home shirts once every 2 years. Back in the times that football was not all about how much money they can get from the fans. For Liverpool both of these season’s were under the leadership of managerial legend Rafa Benitez. Both of these season’s were successful in their own ways. The 2004/05 season Liverpool shocked the footballing world and won the European Cup aka the Champions League. I remember watching this final at home with my older brother, he was looking after me as both parents were at work and our communication was only really through our love for football. 
Liverpool faced AC Milan in the 2004/05 final in Istanbul. They were 1 nil down after 1 minute, Milan went into the final as favourites and were 3 nil up at half-time. A tactical masterclass leads into a 3-3 draw after 90 minutes and extra time. It was going to be decided on dreaded penalties.  Milan missed their first two penalties, while Liverpool scored theirs to give them a 2–0 lead. Liverpool missed their next penalty by Riise and Milan scored twice to level the scores at 2–2, but Šmicer scored his penalty to give Liverpool a 3–2 lead. Milan needed to score their next penalty to remain in the match but Dudek saved from Shevchenko to secure victory for Liverpool and their fifth European Cup triumph. What a night for Liverpool, for their players and for their fans. The footballing world was in disbelief at what had happened especially with Liverpool finishing their domestic season 5th in the Premier League, knocked out in the 3rd round of the FA Cup and runners up in the League Cup. The 2004/05 English League Cup was another piece of footballing madness. The final took place in Cardiff. Liverpool took the lead within a minute of the kick-off and at the time it was the fastest goal scored in a League Cup final. The score remained 1–0 until the 79th minute when Gerrard scored an own goal, after he headed a Chelsea free-kick into his own goal. The match finished 1–1 after 90 minutes and went to extra-time. Chelsea took the lead in the 97th minute, then extended their lead further six minutes later, but Liverpool still had some life and scored a minute later, but they were unable to score another goal and Chelsea won the match 3–2 to win the League Cup. Liverpool Football Club never do anything by halves and they are an exciting club to watch and their fans are some of the best in the world.

Shirt No.166

  Manchester City 1976 Home Shirt (Remake)

This shirt is a remake of the City 1976 Home shirt which was this club’s 57th season in the English Premiership. This season was played at Maine Road that still holds a special place in all of City’s fans. The 1976/77 season finished without any trophies with a 2nd place finish in the league, they were knocked out in the fifth round of the FA cup and the second round League cup. This shirt was worn by City legend Brian Kidd who scored 23 goals this season. This shirt was originally made by Umbro. This shirt is special as it was created to celebrate Manchester City’s 1975/76 League Cup winning team. The 1975/76 team beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the final at Wembley. This shirt features the classic City blue and bold white fabric collar with sleeve cuffs and it works so well. The embroidered original Manchester City badge. City have featured four different badges on their shirts with the latest badge being implemented in 2016. The badge version featured on the 1976 shirt was a heraldic badge. The heraldic badge is normally a simpler version of the coat of arms. This version of the City badge consisted of the familiar ship above a red rose but on a circular device instead of a shield. This badge is embroidered in gold which attracts your eye to it straight away. This Manchester City is a very different club to what we know of now.

Shirt No.167

  Manchester City 2004/06 Home Shirt

As a football shirt collector I really want football clubs to go back to having the same Home shirts for two seasons like they used to, I hope that I can see the day that football clubs start treating their fans with respect and not just as money signs. The seasons of 2004/06 for Manchester City were played at the City of Manchester stadium which is now known as  the Etihad stadium. Manchester has two main clubs, United and City you are either a red or a blue in Manchester. United were always the most successful club of the two but this has all but changed in recent years. In the 2004/05 season City were managed by the footballing legends of Kevin Keegan and Stuart Pearce. They finished their season as 8th in the Premier League, with the team being knocked out of both cup competitions in the third round. This City side had no end of talent in their squad with players such as David James, Kasper Schmeichel, Richard Dunne, Robbie Fowler, Stephen Ireland and Shaun Wright-Phillips. Wright-Phillps and Fowler both scored 11 goals during this season. The 2005/06 season was significantly worse for the club under the leadership of Stuart Pearce. It began with fan favourite and the 2004/05 top scorer Shaun Wright-Phillips being sold to Premier League champions Chelse for £21 million. He had made 150 appearances for City and won the clubs young player of the year award for four seasons in a row. The club finished the 2005/06 season 15th in the Premier League. But they did manage to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and were knocked out in the second round of the League cup. The stand out players for this season would’ve been Andy Cole, Georgios Samaras, Claudio Reyna and Trevor Sinclair. Andy Cole finished as their top scorer with 11 goals in all competitions. 

This shirt was manufactured by Reebok. In the early 2000s Reebok were the shirt manufacturers for many teams around the world, especially within the English leagues. Reebok was an English manufacturer founded in 1958 in Bolton. They have since been taken over by an American enterprise and no longer manufacture football kits. This shirt has a striking design of dark navy and white at the shoulder area of the shirt which really pops against the City blue. This shirt has the classic Reebok logo embroidered in a rectangle crest. The version of the Manchester City badge was the 1997 version. This version was created as Manchester City wanted to register their crest as a trademark. The 1997 version is based on the arms of the City of Manchester and consisted of a shield in front of a golden eagle. On this shirt this badge is outlined with white crest shape that matches the manufacturing logo. This shirt was sponsored by the UK travel company Thomas Cook. This was the classic velour heat-transferred fabric lettering in white to match the shirt accents.

Shirt No.168

  Manchester City 2009/10 Home Shirt L/s

The 2009/10 version of Manchester City were still struggling to break into the top 3 or 4 of the English Premier League. They finished their season as 5th in the Premier League, the champions were Chelsea with Manchester United as 2nd, Arsenal as 3rd and Tottenham as 4th. City finished 3 points behind Tottenham on 67 points after 18 wins, 13 draws and 7 losses. City had two managers in this season with Mark Hughes being replaced by Robert Mancini. They were knocked out in the 5th round of the FA cup and reached the semi-finals of the League Cup. The talent at City was growing and growing. They had players such as Micah Richards, Wayne Bridge, Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry and Kolo Toure. Carlos Tevez finished his season as City’s top scorer with 29 goals in all competitions. They were only one season into the billionaire takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group. 

This shirt was of course the classic City blue with bold white accents around the collar and cuffs. This shirt is a classic Umbro template. City after a brief period with Le Coq Sportif decided to go with Umbro as their kit manufacturer like many of the English teams in the 2010s. The 2009-10 season used a gold and black colour scheme inspired by the city of Manchester’s coat of arms. The coat of arms features a globe covered in bees, which represents the world and the city’s exports. The bees are also a symbol of a hive of industry, and the Manchester bee is often used as an emblem for the city.The three stars were purely decorative rather than indicating the times the club won titles or other major trophies. I am not a fan of these ‘pointless’ stars above a football shirt. I appreciate when a club or a national team adds a star per international or european championships/cups that have been one. If you look at the city’s regenerated badge of 2016 after being taken over by billionaires it is poorly designed compared to the 1976 heraldic badge. They have since won their first ever Champions League/European Cup in the 2022/23 season where they won the Treble.

Shirt No.169

  Manchester City 2014/15 Training Shirt

The ownership of City remained the same but was adapted to be under the City Football Group instead of Abu Dhabi Untied Group. In 2014/15 City were 7 years into their billionaire takeover. The teams was starting to adapt, starting to build and starting to benefit from their owners riches. The 2014/15 team had starlets such as Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Fabiniho, James Milner, Yaya Toure, Frank Lampard, Scott Sinclair, Jesus Navas and Sergio Aguero. The 2014/15 season ended in Manchester City in 2nd place behind Chelsea with an 8 point gap. City qualified for the Champions League group stages with this league finish. They were knocked out of the fourth round of the FA and the League cups. They did not even manage to beat Arsenal in the 2014 FA Community Shield after being beaten 3-0. This shirt looks similar to the Home shirt from this season and was manufactured by American giants Nike. It features an outline, larger Manchester City badge with the three stars above it.

Shirt No.171

  Manchester United 1998/2000 Home Shirt ‘Beckham #7’

This shirt is from the golden era of United’s history. Manchester United were guided by one of the best footballing managers in the world Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson’s tenure at United was one of the most successful managerial periods there has been in world football. For Ferguson to achieve what he did during the prime period of the English Premier League is the reason I have this shirt and will be keeping it in my shirt collection. 

This shirt is a classic Umbro template with the heavy cotton, 90s Umbro logo detailing down the sleeves, the bold white fabric collar with the red and black tips and the ¼ black zip at the collar. This shirt features a variation of the Umbro logo which was simply the ‘Umbro’ wording in velour fabric lettering. This shirt has the embroidered Manchester United badge and the classic Sharp sponsorship logo in white with black outline. This shirt is a belter and is a classic 90s football shirt. This shirt was worn over 2 very successful seasons for United. The 1998/99 season resulted in a historic treble for United. They won the English Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Their top scorer was Dwight Yorke with 29 goals in all competitions. This season will be noted for David Beckham’s stand out season as he was named as the UEFA Champions League’s footballer of the year award. This team featured talents such as Peter Schmiechal, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Jaap Stam and Johan Cruyff. The 1999/2000 season was not as successful for United as they were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the third round of the League Cup. But perhaps the most surprising decision of this season was for United as FA cup title holders withdrew from the 1999–2000 competition due to their participation in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship in South America which was to take place in early 2000, thus becoming the first FA Cup winners not to defend their title. This was not the best decision for United as they were knocked out in the group stages of the Club World Championships. United did maintain their English Premier League title finishing 18 points ahead of 2nd place Arsenal. Both Neiville brothers, Ryan Giggs, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were standouts from this season. 

Shirt No.172

  Manchester United 2000/02 Away Shirt

This shirt is close to my heart but it meant a lot more to my best friend, a Manchester United supporter and one of our favourite films was and still is Bend It Like Beckham. Any young girl in the early 2000s who loved football, loved this film. I watched in awe as Keira Knightly as Jules and Parminder Nagra as Jess showed the male dominated footballing world what girls could do. I wanted to be like them, I wanted a football scholarship in America, I wanted to live that dream. Unfortunately like and injuries got in the way and it didn’t work out for me but the 2000/02 Manchester United Home shirt with Beckham #7 on the back brings back that happiness. The 2000/01 season was successful for Ferguson with United winning the Premier League title for the third successive season. They reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League and were knocked out of both the FA and League cup in the fourth round. Teddy Sheringham had a stand out season for United becoming their top goal scorer with 21 goals in all competitions. The 2001/02 season ended trophiless for United after coming 3rd in the Premier League finishing 10 points behind 1st place Arsenal and 3 points behind 2nd place Liverpool. They reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, knocked out the third round of League cup and fourth round of the FA Cup. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was the stand out player for this season and became their top scorer with 36 goals in all competitions. This shirt is pretty plain and simple compared to other Umbro shirts of this generation. The simple v-neck black and white fabric collar with cuffs to match just pops against that Manchester red. This shirt has the Umbro manufacturers logo and club crest embroidered and the classic Vodafone sponsorship in velour heat-pressed lettering.

Shirt No.173

  Manchester United 2003/04 GK Home Shirt

Alex Ferguson’s team was still struggling to reach the heights of the success that he would bring to United from 2006 to 2013. Manchester United had won the English Premier League in the 2000/01 and 2002/03 season but finished 3rd for the seasons of 2001/02 and 2003/04. The manager appeared to struggle to keep his teams consistent success but all United fans could see that Fergie was building something. Any football fan in the 90s and 2000s knew about those iconic figures within the United dressing room. These would go on to include the van Nistelrooy’s, Beckham’s and Ronaldo’s of the footballing world. United had finished 3rd with Arsenal becoming English champions on both occasions. However they did have some success in the 2003/04 season with a Community Shield and FA Cup wins but this was not enough for the mighty United. 

This shirt represents a new age of goalkeeper shirts, the elbow pads of the 90s were no more and that for a collector was devastating. For me, although he didn’t get much of a chance to wear this particular shirt, the sponsor takes me to the unique United GK of his time – Fabien Barthez. Barthez would go on to write himself into United folklore. However the main goalkeeper of this season was American Tim Howard, a footballing legend in his own right and Northern Irishman Roy Carroll as his second. The Nike black and silver GK shirt is a classic with the bold stitching of the Manchester United badge. The iconic link between Manchester United and Vodafone will always be iconic. 

Shirt No.174

  Middlesbrough 2020/21 Away Shirt

Middlesbrough have always been a middle of the road football club, they bounce from league to league but have had a few years in the English Championship. This shirt is within my collection for one reason and one reason only – Neil Warnock. What football fan out there doesn’t have a soft spot for Colin. Warnock only lasted one season at Middlesbrough and it was just another club to add to his varied playing and managerial career. They finished 10th in the league, were eliminated in the third round of the FA cup and second round of the EFL cup so not much to boast about. Especially considering their top scorer was Duncan Watmore with only 9 goals in all competitions. Warnock led the team to 18 wins, 10 draws and 18 loses throughout the season but of course this season was undoubtedly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This squad had players of note that are worth a mention like Djec Spence, Marcus Tavernier and Patrick Roberts. 

This shirt was created by one of my favourite shirt creators out there, Hummel. It has vertical stripes of black and blue with white accents. But with a twist, if you look close enough you will see thin purple lines within the black stripes on the shirt that adds a dimensional look to the kit. The 3D heat transferred badge was very typical in this generation of shirts with the classic Hummel design down the sleeves. Although the unnecessarily massive 32 Red sponsor is always a let down on a football shirt. But as Hummel always does there is a stunning subtle detail embossed on the back of the collar in this shirt within the shirt’s fabric. It reads ‘54.5780’N 1.21755’W which are the coordinates of Riverside Stadium which was celebrating its 25 year from opening. 

Shirt No.175

  Newcastle United 2002/03 Away Shirt

Newcastle and Adidas went hand in hand during the 90s and 2000s with this partnership producing some iconic football shirts. This shirt may be not iconic but the classic thick cotton, oversized style, simple paneling of black central section with grey sides/sleeves is historical in itself. This shirt features a stunning sewn classic Newcastle United badge and the classic ntl:home sponsorship (although minimised compared to your usual).

This shirt comes from within probably one of Newcastle’s strongest, most memorable and fans favourite periods of their history. They played at their home of St James’ Park and players like their captain, Alan Shearer were scoring 25 goals in a season. The magpies finished their season in 3rd place of the Premier League which lead to qualification into the Champions League qualifying rounds. Of course Shearer is Newcastle’s greatest ever player, well in my humble opinion, but during this season he was support by players like Gary Speed, Shola Ameobi and Craig Bellamy. But truly this season is linked to the memory of the one and only Sir Bobby Robson. Sir Bobby Robson is revered by Newcastle United fans for his impact on the club as manager from 1999 to 2004. He revitalized the Magpies, taking them to the Champions League and creating memorable European nights. Robson is remembered for his positive influence, both on and off the field, and his deep connection with the club and its fans. Robson took over a struggling Newcastle United and quickly transformed them, leading them to a fourth-place finish and Champions League qualification in his first full season. He guided the team through exciting European campaigns, creating iconic moments like the 4-0 victory over Juventus. Robson’s passion for football and his ability to connect with the fans resonated deeply. He is remembered for his quote, “What is a club in any case? It’s the feeling of belonging, the pride in your city,” which encapsulates his view of the club’s importance to the community. 

Beyond his on-field achievements, Robson is remembered for his positive influence on the club and the city of Newcastle. He launched the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation to raise money for cancer research, a cause that remains active today. Robson’s time at Newcastle is considered a golden era by many fans, and he is still celebrated as a hero for his impact on the club.

Shirt No.176

  Newcastle United 2009/10 Third Shirt

The 2009/10 season was Newcastle’s first season in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League after 16 years in the top flight. But this would be a season of success for the club and they would go straight back up to the Premier League on their first try. The team was led by their most successful manager Chris Hughton with a 51% win rate for the club. They would be knocked out of the FA cup and the League cup in the fourth and third rounds but the Magpies season would start off with a great loss. The death of Sir Bobby Robson on 31st July 2009 devastated the fans and helped light the fire to get their club back to where they belonged. The season had some stand out players with captain Nicky Butt, Peter Lovenkrands, Allan Smith, Andy Carrol and the Championship player of the year Kevin Nolan. 

This shirt was a very rare find, especially as it does not feature the classic Northern Rock sponsorship. This shirt features black and baby blue vertical stripes with a central manufacturer logo and sewn Newcastle United badge. This shirt linked well with the Home, Away and Third shirt with all of those shirts featuring vertical stripes. This shirt will remain in my collection as it represents a challenging time in the Magpies history where they came out fighting. 

Shirt No.178

  West Ham United 2021/22 Third Shirt ‘Noble #16’

Another classic from the Umbro and West Ham United partnership. The subtle navy, classic West Ham blue and claret on the sleeves and collar with an understated simplified badge in a single tone. This is a classic Umbro shirt and something that they continue to do well for their East London club. The hammers like many others within the top leagues have an unfortunate betting sponsorship but at least ‘betway’ will change the colour to match the shirts colourway. 

The 2021/22 season for West Ham was led by Scottish managerial legend David Moyes. He built a team that got to 7th in the Premier League, the fifth round of the FA Cup, the quarter-finals of the League cup and the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. Jarrod Bowen brought life and goals to this West Ham team and would go on to lead them to European success in the years to come. This team had stand outs like Rice, Fornals, Benrahma and Antonio that would help bring them success. This season was a hard one for hammers fans as their beloved captain of many seasons (7 years to be exact) gone by and true West Ham legend Mark Noble retired from football after his breakout to the first team in 2004. Noble was born and bred in East London and got the nickname ‘Mr West Ham’. 

Shirt No.179

  Manchester United 2021/22 Away Shirt

This Adidas shirt was their attempt to bring United back to the 90s, I wouldn’t say that is the best I have seen but I can see what they are trying to do. The blue and white pattern with the…what colour is it red, pink, salmon accents, badge and sponsor. If you look closely, you’ll see that the “M” of Manchester United’s home city has woven its way into the designs in which this shirt picks up that thread, showing off an abstract version. 

All Manchester United fans started this season off with a dream, a dream that they felt was so far away from the season’s before, the successful years were a distant memory for most but then in August 2021 United brought club legend Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford. This year was tumultuous with 3 managers leading the club, it started with Solskjaer, then Carrick and finally Rangnick. Unfortunately though this even with CR7’s truth was to be United’s fifth consecutive trophyless season. They would finish 6th in the Premier League, reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, reach the third round of the League Cup and the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League. Ronaldo did finish the season with 24 goals (18 of them in the league) as their top goal scorer but even some people’s GOAT couldn’t save them. Ronaldo left the club at 24 years old and returned after his prime at 36. He only stayed with United for one year after 40 appearances, he left for money in Saudi Arabia as everyone knows and to many it was a typical CR7 transfer.

Shirt No.72

Paris Saint Germain 2018/19 Away Women’s Kit

This kit is an absolute beauty. What a simple design but the colour palette is everything. The off white colour of the main shirt is stunning. This shirt was created only for the Women’s PSG team and works so well. The gold Nike logo and Navy sponsorships work so well. But the best thing about the shirt has to be the adaption of the PSG embroidered badge into a gold version. Unfortunately the feminine of Paris Saint Germain were unable to win any silverware during this season. They were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France and UEFA Women’s Champions League. Then only managed a 2nd place finish in the French Division 1 losing out to Lyon by 5 points. They deserved to win some silverware just for this kit.

Shirt No.73

Paris Saint Germain 2020/21 Home Kit

PSG are one of those teams that are known all over the world but are more of a fashion statement than a person showing support for the football team itself. Of course they have had legends playing for them over the years from Ronaldinho to David Beckham to Lionel Messi. This football team was one of the many clubs that had been taken over by Qatar Sport Investments. This gave them a massive cash injection after the purchase went through in 2011 and led to them completing the purchase of Neymar Jr for a World Record Fee of 222 million euros in 2017. This football club has of course a lot of amazing world leading players in the team including the Young Player Sensation Kylian Mbappe. 

PSG have continued to use their connection to fashion as a benefit for them in the further development of their football kits. They are the first and only football team to have the Nike linked company of Air Jordans as the makers of their kits. What a result this combination has made. All of the kits that have been designed and linked with Air Jordans have been iconic just like many other football shirts over the years from PSG. The iconic red, white and blue of France running through every top works very well. This version of the colour scheme has a Navy instead of a Blue colour as the main with the simple cotton rounded collar of striped red and white as well as sleeve cuffs. The white transfer sponsor of ALL (Accor Live Limitless) is a company linked with their owners. 

This shirt will be known all around the world as becoming famous for signing the Greatest Of All Time Lionel Messi. Messi was an institution at Barcelona and will be known forever as the Best Footballer in the World. This move continues to shock the world as Messi left his beloved Barcelona to sign for Paris Saint Germain. Lionel Messi was to be reunited with Neymar Jr and create a new attacking partnership with Mbappe. Around the world this shirt will be known as signing day for Messi came closer. The iconic Air Jordan x PSG combination and style with Messi leaving behind his iconic #10 to take over the number #30 and start his new adventure in Paris.

Shirt No.74

Borussia Dortmund 1996/97 Home Kit

This football kit for me always brings happiness. For me this kit was one that was actually bought for my brother. I was gutted. My mum would not let me run about wearing all the football shirts that I wanted so I had to enjoy them from afar. But then my luck changed. My brother had a growth sprout and I got to live my dream wearing this beaut playing footy on the front grass kicking the ball against the wall driving my mum mad. How could I not be jealous of this kit though. Elumious yellow with bold black detailing, long sleeved and featuring the classic oversized 90s collar. What a kit. 

This kit will be known for the momentus season that Dortmund had. There has always been a fondness for Dortmund with the Celtic link and this season. The Celtic Legend and one of my Dad’s all time favourites Paul Lambert featured during this season and helped Dortmund achieve greatness. This German underdog completed the unimaginable despite finishing 3rd in the Bundesliga then went on to win the UEFA Champions League and the DFB-Supercup. 

Although Paul Lambert only managed one season at Dortmund, within this season he became a Champions League winner. Can you imagine? What a story. He went from St Mirren to Motherwell and then onto Dortmund to win the biggest achievement in club football to then return to Scottish football and sign for Celtic Football Club. Lambert, as many will know, spent 8 years at Celtic. He is one of three players who have played for Celtic and won the Champions League although the other two (Van Dijk and Larsson) won the Champions League after playing for Celtic.

Shirt No.75

 Borussia Dortmund 2020/21 Away ‘Nullne90n’ Kit

This kit plays into everything that football shirt collectors want from a retro style new shirt release. Puma smashed this effort with the base of embossed black kit, classy neon green tone for sleeves and bold white accents throughout. The 3d style text and nameset is just an added bonus. For me the added sleeve sponsor from Opel really appeals to me as an iconic 90s sponsor of giants all around Europe. But Puma went one further with this shirt and added black/tonal images of club legends from the 90s embossed into the material. This retro looking kit is inspired by the clubs stars of the 90s and sees the images of BVB legends such as Riedle, Ricken, Sammer, Cesar, Reinhardt, Klos, Heinrich, Lambert and Kutowski embossed on the black and neon jersey.

This shirt was debuted on Sunday 18th April 2021 at a Home game for Dortmund at the world famous Westfalenstadion against Werder Bremen. This fixture was chosen to recognise Werder’s challenge in BVB’s title winning season in 1994-95. This game was not much of a challenge for the home side with a 4-1 victory against Werder. BVB had goals from Reyna, Hummels and  two from Haaland. BVB went on to finish 3rd in the German Bundesliga in the 2020-21 season finishing just 1 point behind RB Leipzig in second place with Bayern Munich winning the championship this season.

Shirt No.76

 Dynamo Dresden 2021/22 Away Kit

This shirt attracted me for its simplicity and of course the name of the team itself. How can you not love any team that starts with Dynamo. I have also been to Dresden myself and I loved this German city. No matter what connection you have to a shirt, each and every one is important. This simple black material with the word ‘umbro’ embossed throughout works as a backdrop for the striking yellow, red and white Dynamo Dresdens club badge. 

Unfortunately despite the great city and amazing name Dynamo are not having the best time recently. This 2021/22 season led to them finishing 16th in the Bundesliga.2 which meant relegation to the 3rd tier German Liga.

Shirt No.77

 Eintracht Frankfurt 2007/08 Training Kit

The bold green, the crisp white and the powerful red of the Frankfurt club badge just makes this shirt work. Unfortunately this is a training shirt but features the style of the 90s with the bold fabric collar that works perfectly with the white panelling in the inside of the shirt’s arms. The use of a unique green tone and bold white really helps this shirt stand out. This training shirt was made by a small German sportswear company Lincher Sports who were also the sponsors that featured across the front of this shirt. 

Frankfurts’ 2007/08 season showed a slight improvement in the two previous seasons where they had finished 14th (2005/06 and 2006/07) with a finish of 9th place with 46 points from 34 games in the Bundesliga season.

Shirt No.78

Eintracht Frankfurt 2021/22 Third Kit

This shirt will be known for featuring in the 2021/22 Europa League Final. This game consisted of Frankfurt against Rangers FC (from Glasgow). Frankfurt managed to complete a competition that they could only have dreamed about. This team finished 9th (2019/20), 5th (2020/21) and 11th (2021/22) in the Bundesliga in seasons leading up to and including this momentus year in this football club’s history. This shirt’s crisp white, bold black and bright red accents really worked against their competitors’ blue. No one would have imagined that this team would have been in this final. 

Their Europa League journey started with the group stage that they were drawn against Olympiacos (Greece), Fenerbahce (Turkey) and Antwerp (Germany). A group in which they finished top off with 12 points from 3 wins and 3 draws. They went straight to the last of 16 rounds of the competition where they came up against Spanish side Real Betis whom they beat 3-2 over two legs and extra time. Next up was Spanish giants Barcelona in the Quarter-finals. A team that should never have been in the Europa League to begin with considering their Champions League pedigree. It was a foregone conclusion…apparently but a shock was to happen with Frankfurt beating Barca 4-3 over two legs and progressing to the Semi-finals. They were to meet English side West Ham United who themselves achieved some momentus by reaching this stage in the competition. Frankfurt came out on top with a 3-1 win over two legs. The final was calling them. Sevilla was the host city for this occasion. Their opponents were a massive shock with a fairly new club from 2012 scrapping the results to get to a cup final. But this was not to be for them. Frankfurt were the better team, there is no doubt about it but it had to go all the way to penalties for this game to be decided. It was tied at 4 all. Frankfurt score their 5th penalty and if their opponents miss it is over. Their opponents send their million pound star signing up for the 5th penalty. This was a very poor penalty and was saved by the Frankfurt goalkeeper and they have won the Europa League trophy. They had won this cup once before in their history with a 1979/80 win of the UEFA Cup. 

This shirt is a piece of history and will remain as a key shirt within my shirt collection.

Shirt No.79

Schalke 04 FC 2019/20 Home Kit

I think every shirt collector will have a Schalke 04 kit. For me the modern day Umbro shirts are one of my favourite makers. The iconic Schalke 04 blue shade is well known as their home colours but the added simple detailing of light blue pattern on the sleeves works really well with the white accents and the transferred white Schalke 04 club badge. 

This season was not the best for the team after a poor league display finishing 12th in the German Bundesliga just two points behind Union Berlin in 11th place. They managed to gain 39 points from 34 games. They did manage however to reach the Quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal but were knocked out with a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich. 

The best thing about this shirt and many of the other Schalke 04 football kit is the message at the back of the collar. It says ‘Wir leben dich’ which translates to ‘We love you’ in English.

Shirt No.80

Werder Bremen 2011/12 Home Kit

I have always been attracted to Bremens’ football shirts. Is it the green colour of the home shirts or the iconic diamond club badge with a green background, white edging and a white ‘W’ in the centre. The gold star above the badge represents this team’s Bundesliga titles. This Nike kit is classy with simple ‘V’ shaped designs of black into gold and returning to black. The unique collar works well with the ‘X’ shape of the sponsorship. 

Their 2011/12 season finished 9th in the German Bundesliga. This finish had been an improvement from a 13th league finish in the 2010/11 season but unfortunately they finished 14th in the 2012/13 season.

Shirt No.81

AEK Athens 2016/17 Third Kit ‘Buonanotte #30 Nameset’

This Nike AEK Athens shirt follows the classic black and orange combination with the bold downward stripes. This shirt pattern is the Home shirt in the seasons before and the seasons after. AEK managed a decent season in this shirt. They finished 4th in the Turkish Super League and 2nd after the Turkish Super League playoffs. They were runners up in the Greek Cup, losing out to PAOK 2-1 in the final. They played and reached the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League. 

For it the name set is why I have this shirt. The Argentine playmaker Diego Buonanotte #30 who signed in August 2015 and left with the termination of his contract in July 2016 not even managing a full year at the club. He left the club with 11 goals and 35 appearances.

Shirt No.82

FC Goa 2014 Home Kit

This football shirt was one of the first in my collection that wasn’t a Celtic shirt. Every place either I went or my parents went I would beg for them to bring me back a football shirt from the country or town they are holidaying in. This was one of the only shirts that was not a fake and I worshipped it. The first shirt for the launch of the league, FC Goa went for a bold striking blue with illuminating orange three stripes and adidas logo. The sponsor of course ruins it just like it normally does with many football shirts but still a piece of history. 
This will forever be important to me, a visit to Goa and of course I knew about them from one of my footballing legends Robert Pires. His tale has an odd end, he was released by Aston Villa at the end of the 2010-11 season and only made minor charity appearances including in  September 2013, Pires made a guest appearance for Premier League Aston Villa in Stiliyan Petrov’s Testimonial match at Celtic Park. I was lucky enough to get to this match and see a lot of my heroes in real life. But he then signed for FC Goa in 2014 to help promote the launch of the Indian Super League. He was 40 years old at the time and came out of retirement to play 8 times for the team which he captained. He finally retired from playing professional football in March 2015 and moved into football management back with Arsenal.

Shirt No.83

Bali United 2018 Away Kit

I have been lucky enough to travel all around the world, firstly on my own meeting plenty of Aussies along the way as we took on Europe and then my beautiful wife. As we decided to leave London and move back to Scotland we planned a once in a lifetime trip to Australia and Bali. I even planned the most romantic proposal on New Year’s Eve in Adelaide. Don’t worry I made sure I got a football shirt or two (if we could afford it) along the way. One of these shirts was Bali United. And what a kit it is. From afar it looks like a plain black kit with a mass amount of sponsors, which was standard for the Indonesian football teams. It has a grey Indonesian dragon design repeated throughout the shirt. But then, like all the shirts in this league, there are a total of 16 separate sponsorships over the front, back and sleeves of this beautiful black design with bold white and red accents. 

Bali United play their football in Liga 1 in Indonesia. During this season the finished 11th in the league and did not do very well in any of the cup competitions either. I didn’t say they were any good as a football team but since I visited and stayed in Bali for 3 weeks it was a must buy for me as a football shirt collector.

Shirt No.84

Persiba Bantul 2021 Away Kit

This shirt was purely a purchase for the beauty of it. What a shirt this is. The simple sky and clouds design of the kit and then light pink accents and bold white collar and cuffs. The team’s badge is printed on the material and so is the black sponsor printed on the centre of the shirt and the sleeves. There is a clear white space at the back of the shirt for the player namesets. This shirt was made by Reds! An Indonesian football kit manufacturer compliments the bold home kit from this season. 
This team Persiba Bantul were a part of the Liga 3 Special Region of Yogyakarta that was in its fourth season in 2021 at the time this kit was worn. This league runs from November to December and has 15 teams in it. Persiba Bantul is a professional soccer team based in Bantul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The team was founded in 1957 and has since become one of the most successful teams in the Indonesian soccer league. The team’s home stadium is the Sultan Agung Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 15,000 spectators. The team’s motto is “Bersatu Kita Kuat” which means “United We Are Strong”. Persiba Bantul has a strong fan base and is known for their attacking style of play. The team has won several championships, including the Liga Indonesia Premier Division in 2005 and the Liga Indonesia First Division in 2010. They have also been runners-up in the Liga Indonesia Premier Division in 2006 and 2007. The team has produced several notable players, including Bambang Pamungkas, who is considered one of the greatest Indonesian soccer players of all time. Overall, Persiba Bantul is a respected and successful soccer team in Indonesia, known for their strong team spirit and attacking style of play.

Shirt No.85

Naga Emas Asri 2021 Away Kit

This shirt was another that was purely a purchase for the beauty of it. What a shirt this is. The simple sea wave-like designs of blue and white are stunning. The gold, blue and white striped collar and cuffs are beautiful. The team’s badge is stunning, it is embroidered in gold thread that matches the gold of the accents and the printed manufacturing logo. The shirt has a bold black main sponsor and sleeve sponsor. This shirt was made by Reds! An Indonesian football kit manufacturer compliments the bold home kit from this season that features a beautiful sewn like design printed into it. Naga Emas Asri are a professional soccer team based in Indonesia. The team was founded in 1970 and has since become one of the most successful teams in the country. The name “Naga Emas Asri” translates to “Golden Dragon Estate” in English, which reflects the team’s strong and powerful presence on the field. The team plays their home games at the Naga Emas Asri Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 20,000 spectators.Naga Emas Asri has a strong and dedicated fan base, known as the “Naga Army”. The team has won numerous championships and titles, including the Indonesian Super League and the Indonesian Cup. They are known for their fast-paced and aggressive style of play, with a focus on teamwork and strategic planning. Overall, Naga Emas Asri is a formidable force in Indonesian soccer, with a rich history and a bright future ahead.

Shirt No.86

Argentina 2020/21 Home Kit ‘with two stars’

This football shirt will be synonymous around the world for anyone who likes football. This was the year that the best footballer in the world finally led his beloved country to glory. This is of course Lionel Messi. He led his country to beating Brazil in the final of the Copa America. Lionel Messi finally won an International trophy. A 1-0 win was all they needed to finally achieve a trophy that he deserved and further cemented his legend. This shirt followed the classic Argentina Adidas template with the white and blue downward stripes. But this shirt was to follow a unique and bold camouflage design of different shades of blue. This was to stand out from the rest and further cement into footballing history. 

Lionel Messi of course captained his country during this tournament. He finally achieved the ultimate honour. He had and continues to have a trophy ladened club footballing career winning the league in Spain and France with several Champions League medals for good measure. He came close several times before but everyone knew that he would get there eventually, he is of course the greatest of all time and his career will only get greater.

Shirt No.87

Brazil 2000/01 Home Kit

This is a Nike classic. Brazilian shirts can be seen all around the world. The Brazilian flare and the way that they play football has captured the hearts of millions. The legends that have played in the striking yellow with bold green accents are too many to count. Unfortunately the Brazilian team at the time of this shirt did not achieve what they should have. The simple designs of block yellow shirts with Brazilian green round colour is iconic and still remains iconic despite it not being worn during any significant Brazilian achievements. Still though you wear this shirt and you believe you are a Cafu, Ronaldo or Ronaldinho. This shirt was one that I vividly remember my late uncle George would wear around the house. Monday to Friday he would be in his work attire and the weekend he would always have one of his many football shirts on. From the age of 15 when he passed I was lucky enough to inherit more of his football shirts and this really started off the football shirt collector in me and it continues to thrive all starting from him and his football shirts.

Shirt No.88

China 2019 Women’s Away Kit (Women’s World Cup)

Wow! This shirt is one of the shirts that I have in my collection that is a women only shirt. This is something that is becoming more and more common nowadays. At the time of the 2019 Women’s World Cup women’s football was continuing to grow at a rapid pace but no-one would have ever expected for it to grow as much as it has over the last year or two. This shirt is everything you would want. The colour way of grey, white oriental design, black and orange accents are beautiful. This shirt features an all-over Phoenix print conveying femininity and virtue within Chinese culture. 

Unfortunately this shirt did not gain the achievements it deserved. The Chinese women’s football team managed to get out of their group of the women’s world cup in France. They were knocked out in the round of 16 after a 2-0 loss to Italy. Italy would then get knocked out in the next round by a very strong Netherlands side. But this shirt will remain a classic for the steel roses and will remain in my collection for years to come that’s for sure.

Shirt No.89

Chile 2019/20 Women’s Home Kit

This shirt was worn by La Roja as they competed in the 2019 Copa America. This shirt is simple in its design with the red and blue colourway and white nike accents. The red is not your standard post box red which is a great contrast from your regular football shirt red. La Roja managed to get through to the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa America where they got knocked out by a 3-nil defeat to Peru. They narrowly missed out on third place after a 2-1 defeat to Argentina, they went two nil down conceding goals from Ageuro and Dybala before a Vidal penalty closed the gap. This generation of Chilean players will be remembered for years to come, they had a team that consisted with worldwide footballing names of Alexis Sanchez who was playing for one of the biggest clubs in England at the time in Manchester United and Arturo Vidal who was playing for Spanish giants Barcelona. But really everyone knows Vidal for his wild mohawk hair style that he had for the majority of his playing career.

Shirt No.90

Ireland 2006/07 Away Kit

Although this was the away kit to my beloved home shirt the template was different from that of the home kit. To begin with the away shirt has a collar that was so flimsy you couldn’t wear it up even if you wanted to. Then the green patterned framing around the chest area does just look out of place for me. But still a classic simple colourway and the updated Ireland badge featured on these shirts. For me this badge was a massive downgrade from the previous years and it was nearly identical to Israel’s badge although there was blue and white instead of the white, green and orange Ireland badge. These shirts will always remain in my collection for the memories I have running around imagining I was Damien Duff running down the right wing sending in a cross to Robbie Keane. You cannot help but feel that this Ireland side was one of the best combinations of players that they had had for the last two decades. During this period they had big name players playing for big names clubs such as Shay Given playing for Newcastle United, John O’Shea and Roy Keane for Manchester United, Kevin Kilbane for Everton, Aiden McGeady for Celtic, Liam Miller for Leeds United, Damien Duff for Chelsea and Robbie Keane for Tottenham Hotspur. These are just the key players with many more stand out players you feel that they should have and could have done better but then again maybe not under the management of Brian Kerr and Steve Staunton.

Shirt No.91

 Italy 2018/19 Home Kit

Now this shirt is a work of art. To even consider that now Italy are not having their football shirts made by Puma is heartbreaking. This shirt and the achievement it made go hand in hand with their greatest achievement of recent years. This shirt begins with the Italian blue, with a light blue renaissance inspired design, the navy blue collar/cuffs featuring the Italian flag and finally the printed badge and gold accents are outstanding. Of course these shirts feature the four stars that represent their World Cup wins. This shirt was worn by Italy during the delayed UEFA European Championships as COVID-19 had taken over the footballing world and meant this tournament that was meant to take place in 2020 was delayed until 2021. This shirt was worn by players Barella, Bonucci, Immobile, Chiesa, Jorginho and Insigne as they took on the group stage overcoming teams such as Wales, Switzerland and Turkey. They beat Austria 2-1 in extra time of the round of 16, Belgium 2-1 in the quarter-finals, Spain 4-2 on penalties and of course everyone knows the story of the final. Italy broke the hearts of England with a narrow win over them. England were within touching distance of a long overdue footballing achievement. But Italy came out on top in front of an English home crowd of 68,000 at Wembley stadium. England believed they may have had it in the bag with a goal from Luke Shaw at 2 minutes to be cancelled out by Leonardo Bonucci in the 67th minute. This game remained at 1-1 and had to be decided by penalties. Both Beradi and Kane scored the first penalties, Belotti was to miss and Maguire made it 2-1 to England. The English players could almost touch the trophy but Bonucci scores and Rashford misses, Bernardeschi scores and Sancho misses and now it is 3-2 to Italy. Jorginho misses his penalty but it was down to 19 year old Bukayo Saka to equalise for England but it wasn’t to be. Unfortunately a large majority of countries were to turn on Saka and social media abuse left a sour taste in the footballing worlds mouth and took away the shine of England’s achievement of reaching the final of the UEFA European Championships.

Shirt No.92

 Jamaica 2021/22 Away Kit

This shirt for the ‘Reggae Boyz’ as you can see in a simple collar detailing is a great Umbro template and works well for the Reggae Boyz. They wore this shirt during their 2021 Gold Cup campaign. For those who do not know, the CONCACAF Gold Cup brings together the best national soccer teams in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and often guest countries from outside the region every two years. While Mexico and the United States have dominated the tournament, many teams have had a chance to hoist the Gold Cup trophy. Unfortunately Jamaica have not been lucky enough to win this Cup as of yet. They have come close several times but never managed to win it. This year they were in a group with Costa Rica, Suriname and Guadeloupe before being knocked out in the quarter-final by USA. In 2021 Jamaica played a single international friendly versus Bermuda before the world stopped due to COVID-19. The black base of the shirt with what looks like a cracked paint pattern diagonally across the main area of the shirt. The colour is a dark grey, green, light green and yellow. Then it has white accents and embroidered Jamaica national badge. There’s upcoming players involved in the Jamaican team such as Ethan Pinnock, Leon Bailey, Demarai Gray and Michail Antonio. 

Shirt No.93

 Japan 2009/10 Home Kit ‘Nakamura #10 Nameset’

This Japan shirt stands out from the rest as it goes with a lighter blue colour than you would expect from a Japan shirt. This shirt is one of prized football shirt as it has the Japanese and Celtic footballing legend official nameset. This is a shirt that I would never have been able to afford if it wasn’t for a football shirt competition win. The sun beam yellow design around the front of the shirt with yellow collar with red trim. This shirt has white accents and a printed Japan national team badge. The official nameset of ‘Nakamura #10’ and a smaller ‘#10’ on the front pops. This shirt was worn by the Samurai Blues as they qualified for another 2010 World Cup. Of course this shirt was worn by other Japanese legends Yuji Nakazawa, Junichi Inamoto, Yasuhito Endo and of course the footballing wizard Shunsuke Nakamura.

For me as a Celtic fan to have a Japanese player, the first Japanese player to play for Celtic and a player who set the president and bond for the Celtic fan base and Japanese footballers. This connection can be seen to this day as our Japanese superstars led the way as Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Tomoki Iwata. Nakamura was signed by Gordon Strachan who managed to win his signature after his outstanding season in Italy with Reggina. There were many different teams in the English Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga. At the time of Nakamura signing for Celtic we were having our best European experiences as a team following on from Martin O’Neil’s Celtic team’s heroics to reach the 2003 UEFA Cup Final. Nakamura was the freekick genius that had a ratio of scoring freekicks as high as penalties. As a Celtic fan if you got a free kick it was a 8/10 chance it was going to be a goal if Naka was on the pitch to take it. There are many goals from Naka over his 4 year contract from 2005 to 2009 he spent in Glasgow. But for me, like many Celtic fans, the stand out free-kick wizardry was in the UEFA Champions League at Celtic Park against Manchester United. The game was tied at 0-0 and in the 81st minute Nakamura bent a 30 yard free kick into the top corner. Our GK Boruc saved a late penalty and we got through to the knockout stages of the 2006 UEFA Champions League.

Shirt No.94

 Mexico 1998/99 Home Kit

This shirt is iconic! This was one of my first shirt investments and it is a holiday football shirt stable. The Aztec design is everything about this Mexico shirt. The bold green and lighter green Aztec design pops, the fabric white collar and red trim works really well. The embroidered Mexico national team badge is beautiful. It all links and works so well together and is iconic for all football shirt collectors. This shirt, like many Mexican football shirts, is perfectly designed. This shirt was created by ABA sports that are a pretty non-existent football/sports making shirt. 

This shirt was worn by Mexico during the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. Mexico were able to gain qualification from Group E against Netherlands, Belgium and South Korea. But the dream was not to continue after being knocked out by Germany after a 2-1 defeat in the knockout stages. There were three outstanding performers in top goalscorers Luis Hernandez, Ricardo Perez and Alberto Garcia Aspe.

Shirt No.95

 Northern Ireland 1967 Away Kit (Remake) ‘#11 Nameset’

This shirt is a remake and was one of the shirts I bought at the beginning of my football shirt collecting journey. This shirt is a 1967 remake that is an iconic bold blue with white accents as well as collar and cuffs. This shirt was worn by many outstanding players in this generation. Just some of these players are Best, Clements, Craig, Crossan, Dougan, Elder, Harvey, Irvine, Jennings, Neill, Nicholson. This shirt pays homage to the iconic players of Northern Ireland but with the fabric number 11 sewn into the shirt in reference to one of the most iconic names in world football in George Best. 

George Best is the best Northern Irish footballer that has ever been and will forever be remembered for his iconic skills and potentially the beard and long hair combination throughout his footballing career. Best was born in Belfast on the 22th May 1946 and unfortunately passed at a young age of 59 years old. This legend passed on 25th November 2005 at home in Kensington, London. It is well known that Best had a lifelong addiction to Alcohol, this for a long period did not affect his footballing career, it was a different generation and with his skills he was able to get away with pretty much anything. Best spent 11 years of his career at Manchester United. During this time he gained 361 appearances with 137 goals. He left United to start a random football journey going to Jewish Guild in Johannesburg in 1974 making 5 appearances. He returned to the UK to play for Stockport County in 1975 only making 3 appearances but scored 2 goals. Then onto Cork Celtic for 3 appearances. Then in 1976 he moved to Los Angeles to play for Aztecs making 23 appearances scoring 15 goals, back to the UK to play for Fulham making 42 appearances with 8 goals. He then returned to LA with the Aztects making a further 32 appearances scoring 12 goals then moved onto Fort Lauderdale Strikers making 28 appearances with 6 goals. He then moves to Scotland playing for Hibernian in 1979 making 17 appearances with 3 goals, the next year he signs for San Jose Earthquakes making 56 appearances with 21 goals, then a final return to the UK to AFC Bournemouth in 1982 making 5 appearances and his final move of his career was to Brisbane Lions making 4 appearances. Best really did a Beckham before Beckham was walking. He really paved the way for other footballers to take on America and Australia. He made a total of 616 career appearances and scored 246 goals. He was able to achieve the pinnacle of footballing career, while at Manchester United he won two First Division titles, the charity shield in 1965 and 1967 and finally he managed to win the European Cup in 1968. While at Hibernian he won the East of Scotland Shield in 1979 and finally within his 37 appearances and 9 goals for Northern Ireland they won the British Home Championship 1964 which was played with the teams of the UK. This included Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland. They won in the final against Wales with a 3-2 win with goals from Harvey, McLaughlin and Wilson. George Best will forever be remembered as a UK and worldwide footballing legend. 

Shirt No.96

 Portugal 2004/05 Away Kit

This shirt follows the 2000s Nike template and is a beaut. This was another shirt that was my brothers that I had to wait until another growth spurt before I was able to run around the living room playing football, kidding that I was Luis Figo. This shirt has a subtle cross pattern with gold accent and trim and a navy blue collar and nike tick. The Portugal national team badge is iconic and embroidered with a gold trim to match. This shirt was worn during the 2004 European Championships in Portugal but unfortunately the dream was not to be accomplished on home soil as they would be beaten 1-0 by Greece in the final. You have to feel that this team could have done better, they had players such as Luis Figo, Deco, Rui Costa and the breakout of the footballing legend of Crisitano Ronaldo. This shirt follows the classic Nike template that was a massive hit with football fans around the globe. This shirt reminds me so much of my childhood memories and will forever remain in my football shirt collection.

Shirt No.97

 Romania 2008/10 Home Kit

This is a bizarre shirt to have but it was one of my Uncle George’s football shirts that he would wear every weekend away from his 9-5 office job. This is a great shirt with the classic colour combination of a mustard yellow, red and blue accents and Adidas football stripes. This shirt was worn by Romania as they qualified for the 2008 European Championships that were hosted in Austria and Switzerland. Unfortunately Romania were drawn in a group with Netherlands, Italy and France but they did manage to finish third with 2 points gained from a draw with France and Italy. This was a great achievement for Romania and this shirt will remain a classic. The Adidas logo in the centre was an odd choice but standard for the early 2000s and then a bold but simple embroidered badge to the left of the shirt. Another shirt that will remain in my collection forever as it is was my Uncle George’s.

Shirt No.98

 Scotland 1991 Leisure Kit

Wow! This shirt is very bold and is everything you want from a football shirt. This shirt was not worn during a game and from the 1990s it would be called a Leisure shirt unlike nowadays as football clubs just say it is a third or fourth kits that will never be worn. This shirt is everything. Umbro made a few iconic football shirts for Scotland in the 1990s. This shirt follows a bold 3D box pattern design of yellow, pink and black. This shirt is outstanding. It has the bold black fabric collar and the bold white Umbro logo with the embroidered iconic Scotland national team badge. This shirt is a beautiful example of a bold, striking shirt but unfortunately the Scotland national football team has not been known to have a lot of success. But in 1990 Scotland did qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. Scotland were drawn into a group with footballing giants Brazil, Sweden and Costa Rica. Scotland did manage to finish third in their group with three points from a 2-1 win against Sweden. Scotland had some of their best players during this generation with our captain Roy Aitken, Alex McLeish, Paul McStay, Mo Johnston and Ally McCoist.

Shirt No.99

 Scotland 2020/21 Away Kit

This shirt represents a new generation of Scottish footballers. This is where we broke the mould and really started to achieve the heights that we deserve as a footballing nation. This represents the year that fans of Scotland’s football team dared to dream and really believe in their country. The Tartan Army finally get the results they deserve, I am biassed but what a fan base and what an atmosphere they have been creating for years at a below standard football stadium and with a below par team, well until now. A bold Adidas shirt with a beautiful white and light blue pattern with navy blue accents, v-collar and Adidas logo. This shirt features the new version of the Scotland national team and is embroidered with the yellow, white and navy colourway. 

This shirt was worn during a time where Scotland gained qualification to our first European Championship since 1998. The tartan army had to wait 22 years. They did not qualify the easy way and had to gain qualification through the play offs. Everyone in Scotland was on the edge of their seats watching the play off match. Scotland v Serbia in Belgrade (Serbia), the bookies favourite was Serbia, no one expected Scotland to qualify, we had waited so long. But Steve Clarke has done it, he created a team that was able to break the mould. Scotland went ahead as Callum McGregor assisted for a Ryan Christie strike in the 52nd minute but Serbia equalised in 90th minute pushing this game onto extra time and finally penalties. Scotland won 5-4 in penalties as the hero of the evening David Marshall saved their final penalty and sent Scotland through to the 2020 Euros. Scotland managed to score every penalty, the ability from the players to be composed on such a momentus occasion is legendary in itself. These players will go down in Scottish Football history, Leigh Griffths (Celtic), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Scott McTominay (Manchester United), Oli McBurnie (Sheffield United) and Kenny McLean (Norwich City). This shirt will be an important piece of history and what a shirt is as well. It will forever be in my collection.

Shirt No.100

USA 2015/16 Away Kit 

This kit is a Nike classic. The partnership between the USA National Football Team and Nike has been going strong since 1995. This is another classic playing on the blue, white and red of the American flag. This shirt shows colour, line fading from bold darker blue transitioning into a lighter shade of blue using a simple line design to transition into bold white at the top of the shirts around the shoulders. This shirt has a bold red V shape at the bottom of the V-neck collar. Then with the bold white embroidered Nike logo and embroidered USA badge just pops on the shirt design. 

This shirt was worn by USA Men’s Soccer Team during their 2015 Gold Cup run. The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup is played in July with 12 teams involved in the tournament. This year’s tournament was held in the United States with two matches being played in Canada. This was the first time the US had hosted this tournament however the fairytale did not work out for the US team as they finished fourth in the tournament losing out to Jamaica in the semi-finals being beaten 2-1 with a consolation goal from Michel Bradley for the USA. They then were beaten in penalties by Panama in the third place play off match. This was the first time there had been a 3rd play off in this tournament since 2003. Jamaica went on to get beat by Mexico in the final of the Gold Cup with a final result 3-1. This was to be Mexico’s 7th Gold Cup title that was won in front of a crowd of 68,930 at the home of the NFL team Philadelphia Eagles, the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Shirt No.101

Wales 2018/19 Home Kit 

This shirt follows a classic clean Adidas template with the classic Welsh red with the bold white accents at the collar, cuffs and down the side of the kit in simple lines. This shirt features a beautiful Welsh football badge of white, red, green and yellow. This features the team’s motto of ‘Gorau Cwarae Cyd Chwarae’ which means ‘Best Play is Team Play’. This resonates throughout the Welsh national football team, may this is because they are such a small nation, maybe the country as a whole has this togetherness, who knows but for any football fans that watch the Welsh football team you know they are in it together. Since their qualification of recent major tournaments their motto has transgressed into ‘Together Stronger’. This shirt features a green and gold loop at the back of the collar inspired by the tramlines that were featured on the front of the Wales 1976-79 shirt. This shirt is simple in design but it is a class. 

This shirt was worn by players such as Gareth Bale, Joe Allen, Aaron Ramsey, Sam Vokes and Harry Wilson. They’re manager during this time was a Welsh footballing legend that is Ryan Giggs who played a total of 64 appearances and scored 12 goals for his country. This appointment was the start of a turnaround of the Welsh national football team. They were able to reach the final of the 2018 China Cup only narrowly losing to Uruguay. They were beaten 1-nil with a Cavani goal in the 49th minute. Gareth Bale finished this tournament as a top goal scorer. 

Shirt No.102

Germany 2019 Women’s Home Kit (Women’s World Cup)

This shirt is one of my women specific shirts that I have in my collection. This shirt was one of the catalysts for more and more football teams and kit manufacturers to create women specific kits. This shirt follows the classic German colourway of white, black, red and orange. The bold design of what looks almost like brickwork in each colour and a very faint continuation of this design within the white majority of this kit. It features the black Adidas accents, stripes and embroidered manufacturing logo. The German football badge is in black and white embroidered onto the shirt material. One of the main differences that you will notice with this shirt is the difference in the stars above the badge. The German men’s team features 4 stars above their badge to represent their achievement of World Cup Champions in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014. However this shirt is for the women’s team and therefore has only 2 stairs above their badge to represent their achievement of World Cup Champions in 2003 and 2007. 

This shirt was worn by the Germany women’s football team during their 2019 Women’s World Cup campaign. They were able to reach the quarter-finals of this tournament that took place in France. Germany were knocked out by Sweden after a 2-1 defeat in Rennes. Sweden would go out to win 3rd place after beating England 2-1 in the playoff. Germany were overall disappointed with their performance during this tournament and were touted to reach the final if not win the tournament. Ultimately, the USA would go on to win back to back World Cups with an outstanding display in a 2-0 win over the Netherlands in the Lyon final. This tournament was momentus for USA and two of their footballing legends were Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan were 2 out of 3 tournament top scorers with 6 goals each.

Shirt No.103

Germany 2019 Women’s Away Kit (Women’s World Cup)

This kit is one that is made for the women’s Germany team only. Germany is one of the main nations that have been leading the way in creating women specific football shirts. I am going to make it my mission to collect as many of these women’s specific football kits as I can. This shirt is a bold choice for Adidas. The unusual circular design with an unusual tone of red, to be coupled with bold white collar and then the Adidas three stripes that are usually down the outside of the sleeve are not down the inside of the shirt. This for me works really well. This is one of the main selling points of this shirt for me. This will remain in the collection as more and more football teams around the globe create women’s team specific football shirts. One of the main differences that you will notice with this shirt is the difference in the stars above the badge. The German men’s team features 4 stars above their badge to represent their achievement of World Cup Champions in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014. However this shirt is for the women’s team and therefore has only 2 stairs above their badge to represent their achievement of World Cup Champions in 2003 and 2007. 

This kit was worn by Germany during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. This year’s Women’s World Cup was held in France. Germany’s women’s team, like the men’s, is a footballing powerhouse. But this 2019 World Cup was to be a poor overall performance from this footballing great. The stand out player for Germany was Giulia Gwin who won the Best Young Player Award. Gwin at the time of the tournament was playing for SC Freiburg and after this tournament was able to seal her big move to the German giants Bayern Munich. She left SC Freiburg, making 83 appearances and scoring 29 goals. She will play down the right either as a right back or a right midfielder. Germany were to be knocked out in the Quarter-Finals by Sweden that going into the match was a game that they would have been expected to win. Alexandra Popp was the attacking force for this German team, like many years before and many years since. She is the Best German Women’s Footballer from this generation and she continues to thrive despite remaining in Germany to see out her full footballing career and has been playing for VfL Wolfsburg since 2012 making 177 appearances with 87 goals (and counting). She has been capped by Germany 135 times and has scored 67 goals (as of January 2024) and captains both club and country.

Shirt No.106

AC Milan 2012/13 Third Shirt

AC Milan had a 20 year partnership with Adidas from 1998 to 2018. For me growing up Adidas was synonymous with the legendary teams and the players that set the footballing world a light. This third kit was the poorer design out of the three available for this season but is still classy. The black kit with the large collar, three red Adidas stripes down the outside of the sleeves and the white sponsor ties in so well with the bold design choice of what is meant to look like a painted Italian flag on the inner right area of the chest under the collar. To make this bizarre kit design slightly worse, the painted Italian flags lead to a small fabric pocket that has the embroidered manufactures logo on it. Have you ever seen a pocket on a football kit before? This shirt features the embroidered Adidas logo and AC Milan badge. The AC Milan badge features one gold star above it to represent their 10th Serie A title in 1979, which is customary in the Italian league. This shirt was to be worn during a poor season overall for the team finishing 3rd in the Serie A. 

This season would end without any trophies for a team with players such as Mexes, Robinho, Pato, Boateng, de Jong, Flamini and El Sharaaway. This team failed to thrive as expected finishing 3rd behind Juventus and Napoli, being knocked out in the quarter finals of the Coppa Italia being beaten 2-1 in extra time by Juventus and being knocked out in the round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League were they were eliminated by Barcelona who won 4-2 over the two legged round of 16 game. Barcelona were beaten in Milan 2-0 but came back with a 4-nil win at the Nou Camp with goals from Messi with 2, Villa and Alba. AC Milan would finish the season with Stephan El Sharaaway scoring 16 goals in the league and 19 total goals for the whole season. 

Shirt No.107

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 2020 Away Shirt ‘Gory #10 Nameset’

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, known as Consa to the fans, is a Japanese top-tier football club that was founded in 1935 as Toshiba Horikawa-cho S.C. They play their football in the Japanese island of Sapporo, at the Sapporo Dome in front of 40,000 fans. Although in Japan football or soccer is not their number one sport, surprisingly this is Baseball. There is a massive investment in the progression of the football game in Japan and the teams within each tier of their football league. The Japanese season runs from February through to December. This is unusual compared to many other leagues around the world but is similar to the American league. This season was to see Consa finish 10th out of 14 teams in the J1 League. The Brazilian Lucas Fernandes was their best player and highest value player.  

This shirt caught my eye, not really for the team but for another one of the Kappa shirts that follow the simple lines and skin tight shirts that work so well. This shirt was part of a 16 year partnership between Consa and Kappa. The simple navy with bold white and red accents just works. This shirt will remain in my collection as I will continue to try and get access to as many Japanese football team shirts and complete my Japanese collection. Japan has always been somewhere that has fascinated me, ever since Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift it has been my dream to take an adventure through this amazing country taking in a few football games and stadiums as I go. The Japanese connection that has been thriving with Celtic has made this even more of a dream and I know one day we will be able to take in all of the sights from the Mount Fuji landscape to the robot driven cars in Tokyo.

Shirt No.108

Yokohama F Marinos 2006 Home Kit ‘Sakata #11 Nameset’

Yokohama F Marinos, known as Marinos or Tricolor to the fans, is a Japanese top-tier football club that was founded in 1972 as Nissan Motor FC. They play their football in Yokohama which is part of the Greater Tokyo area. Their home ground is the Nissan Stadium with a capacity of 72,000. Marinos finished 9th in the J-League, reached the quarter-finals of the Emperor’s Cup and semifinals of the J-League cup. Their top scorers for the season with 6 goals each were Brazilian Magrao Rodrigues and Japanese Koji Yamase. 

This shirt features the Yokohama blue with red and white accents. The blue, red and white are the tricolours of this team. This shirt features the white Adidas manufacturers logo and embroidered Yokohama F Marinos badge featuring the 3 gold stars above the badge representing the three league wins they have achieved. The red and white accents continue down the outside of the sleeves with the Adidas three stripes. Then of course as 80% owners of the football club Nissan motor company are the main kit sponsors. This shirt will remain in my collection as I will continue to try and get access to as many Japanese football team shirts and complete my Japanese collection.

Shirt No.109

Glasgow City Shirt 2021 – Adidas City Pack

This shirt is part of an outstanding collection created by the masterminds of Adidas. This pack provides an apparent timeless look created by a brand with no pressure from any governing body. The retro vibes are combined with three stripes stylings across jerseys for Rome, Paris, Los Angeles, Dublin, Glasgow, Munich, Copenhagen, Baku and Bucharest. The same template is tweaked across all shirts, with national team colours being a huge influence on each. These shirts are sublimated three stripes are found shining within the body of the design, combining with retro collars and cuffs for a tidy and timeless blast from the past. There are rumours and glimpses of further shirts for the likes of London, Bilbao, New York, Amsterdam and St Petersburg are floating around, so whether this is followed up with a second collection we’ll have to wait and see. For now though, what you see is what you get. This is the Adidas Glasgow Jersey, part of a limited-collection pack that highlights famous sporting cities. This jersey apparently celebrates a vibrant Scottish city with a long history. Dressed in familiar colours, it reaches into the Adidas archives for a memorable look. To finish these shirts off there is a flock-print name and number on the back add a 90’s finish. There are many in this collection and this is something I will be able to progress on and collect them all on the used kit market as the initial price tags are way out of my budget. 

Shirt No.110

Dublin GAA 2007/08 Home Kit

For me growing up with an Irish Da, Gaelic football was part of our lives. As a youngest my Da says he was pretty good and could have been a professional Gaelic footballer. He always says the same about his Soccer skills so you can never really know. The evidence was their growing up that he could hit a ball and taught me and my brother all we know about both versions of football. This is the reason for my Dublin kit collection, growing up you could only get your hands on a Gaelic football shirt from Ireland and it was our main present every visit to my Dad’s hometown Balbriggan. Balbriggan was a small fishing town in County Dublin. I have had a few amazing visits to Croke Park. The hill being an all standing area that is an experience in itself. Although unlike many areas there is no segregation of home and away, you can be sitting next to a County Mayo fan with no animosity between the sides or fans, it is a cheerful, happy, friendly experience all round and a treasured memory of mine. Dublin are a dominating force in the Gaelic footballing world. They play in the Irish capital city in front of 82,000 fans at a mammoth stadium. Gaelic football is played within the All-Ireland football shirts. This season was not to finish in the title but it remains as a stunning kit. The GAA kits are mainly made by the Irish manufacturing giants O’Neills. These kits are something to behold. The bold ombre pattern, bold fabric collar and similar three stripes on the front and sleeves of the kit gives it that 90s feel. The striking light dublin blue pops against the dublin navy and white accents. The only downfall of this kit is the printed double badge instead of embroidered. The badge is iconic with the symbolism of the crest is three castles in flame which signifies the city of Dublin; a raven which signifies the county of Fingal; a Viking longboat which signifies the county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown; a book which signifies the county of South Dublin. The name Áth Cliath in Irish replaces the previous name “Dublin”. This shirt will remain in my collection that will continue to grow with more and more Dublin GAA kits of those amazing childhood memories.

Shirt No.117

Hope United 2022 – EE Against Sexism 

This shirt is a charity shirt with 100% of profits from each shirt sale will be donated to The Cybersmile Foundation. This season’s kit was the second of its kind. Hope United is a team of footballers from across the Home Nations, coming together to tackle online hate. Featuring the likes of Ellen White, Lucy Bronze, Jordan Henderson, Rebecca Sellar and Demi Stokes in a squad managed by Gareth Southgate. This kit is a black shirt with what can only be described as matrix like designs throughout the kit in green and yellow. Most definitely to represent computers and the focus on online communications. This shirt was created in line with the EE communication company that is the main shirt sponsor. This kit will remain in my collection as a collectible of the ones of its kind.