Next up – Adam Barlow
Lincoln City home 00-99
To me, this is everything a Lincoln City shirt should be, just nice and thick red and white strips. It was a very nice design for City to enter the new millennium in although the side never lived up to the shirt finishing in lower midtable on their return to the 4th tier. The fact that this shirt had an internationally know sponsor on the front and “Imps” written across the bottom on the back gave it even more credibility in my eyes. Add in a decent quality material and you are left with a timeless classic that I feel never really gets the credit it deserves. Maybe it was because the team at the time were so non-descript. The home win over Rotherham in the first match of the season was probably this shirts highlight.
Lincoln City away 95/96
My favourite Imps away kit. 95/96 was the first season that I had a season ticket at Sincil Bank so that season has a special place in my heart. This was also around the time that I started my apprenticeship so for the first time i knew what it was like to have my own money of which I would say 80% went on Lincoln City stuff. This kit being one of my wardrobe staples between the ages of 16 20 is still one of my favourite kits just because of how bright it was especially as the shorts were the same shade of yellow, and there were the players who wore it. When John Beck dragged the club of the bottom of the football league, he signed some real characters who wore this shirt the likes of Ainsworth, Fleming, Whitney, Holmes etc the list goes on. My favourite Imps memory in this shirt would have been the away game at Doncaster on a cold evening early in 96 when despite being awful for 93 minutes the Imps salvaged a draw with the last kick of the game. “Scenes” as the cool kids say today.
Lincoln Ladies 2013
It was watching and writing about Lincoln Ladies that started my journey in woman’s football. This was the only shirt I ever bought of theirs and I purchased it a couple of days before the rebrand to Notts County ladies was announced. When I see this shirt, I think of the great group of friends that I watched the games with that season despite knowing it was to be the last season the side represented Lincoln. The shirt just about still fits although it doesn’t get worn very often.
Sheffield United away 94-96
We are going back to a time when shirts for teams in the top two divisions often lasted for two seasons for this one. Before I really got into football, I hopped around a bit on which team to support. Up until the age of 15, I knew very little about the game. At the time Sheffield Wednesday were going through a golden spell (by their standards) and as such quite a few people at school supported them. I have always gone against the grain so it was only natural to ask dad for a Sheffield United shirt and as this one had 2 seasons to run he got me this one which I was fine with The Blades also had a much better badge than Wednesday and cooler nickname so that was me sold . At the time Umbo was the name in kit manufacturers and knocking out some great designs this being a case in point. This isn’t the one I had as a teenager but one I bought a couple of years ago; I have never worn it but it sits in my wardrobe as a reminder of my youth.
Inter Milan home 94/95
Another quality shirt from Umbro. As with most people my age in the mid-nineties Football Italia on Channel 4 was a staple TV show of mine. AC Milan were the best team in the world at the time so naturally, I picked Inter as my side. At the time they were pretty rubbish by their standards nowhere near winning the league and having to make do with a place in the UFEA Cup most years. I did own this shirt and it was at a time when you didn’t often see people walking around in non-British football shirts. Since 1999 Nike have made Inter shirts but they have never got the shade of blue as smart looking as the ones Umbro produced. I would also say they haven’t made a home shirt as good as this one for the club either. Grande Umbro, Grande!
Dont know why we cant have a Lincoln Green colour kit.