Interview: ShirtsInTheBlood | Shirt Collector & Kit Community Creative | Gillingham Fan.
Meet Matt. As a big part of the kit collecting community, he showcases his very impressive collection of fabulous football shirts on Instagram, so make sure you check out his page (@Shirtsintheblood)! We thought it was about time we had a chat with him to talk all things shirts and his love for Gillingham Football club.
What do football shirts mean to you?
For me, football shirts are almost the same as going to a football match, it’s a break from the norm and an escape from the challenges that life can throw at us. I suffer from anxiety and mental health so shirts are a release, whether that’s just admiring other’s collections or trying to find my latest purchase. And is there a better feeling than getting home from work to find a parcel packed with polyester?
What is it that makes a football shirt so special?
I think a shirt can be special for a variety of reasons. Some may be attached to a particular moment, a certain game, a successful season, an iconic player or just a design that you have fallen in love with.
Do you remember your first shirt?
My earliest memories of football shirts are getting the 1988/89 England away shirt (which I believe came in a display box with little plastic windows) at the age of eight, and then receiving the 1992/94 Sampdoria home shirt for Christmas in 1993 with ‘Platt 4’ on the back.
📸 Matt wearing his beloved 1992/94 Sampdoria home shirt on Christmas day in 1993
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What is your favourite era of shirts?
I think it has to be the 1990s. Gazza mania off the back of Italia 1990 (yes, I have that shirt with his number 19, with the tournament embroidery). Then the launch of the Premier League in 1992. Euro 1996 (yes, I have the home & away shirt with Gascoigne on the back). And, my club Gillingham being successful from 1995 right up to and into the new millennium. Shirts were just bigger, baggier and better back then.
📸 Matt wearing his 1995/97 England home shirt
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How many shirts do you have in your collection, and is there one that particularly stands out?
I don’t know the exact number but I'm sure it's around 350-400! I have around 130 Gillingham shirts, with the rest being a mixture of various different leagues and International teams. If I had to pick just one, then it would be the 1999/00 Gillingham away, which we wore when winning at Wembley to reach the second tier of English football for the first and only time in our history. Although, I do have a soft spot for the various Italian club shirts that I have. I fell in love with the Serie A in the 1990s during that iconic Football Italia on Channel 4 era, which James Richardson hosted. It was THE place to watch the best players playing in the best league on terrestrial television for a few magical hours each weekend!
📸 Matt wearing his 1990/91 Parma home shirt
What sort of shirts do you look for?
My collection is predominantly Gillingham shirts and I've got almost every shirt from every season. I also collect the major European leagues, MLS and International teams, and from there they are a mixture of vintage, modern, pre match and training pieces. Some are bought based on a certain game and the memories attached, others are due to the name on the back, and some just because the shirt looks brilliant!
📸 Matt with Gillingham legend Bradley Dack
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What is it that hooked you to supporting Gillingham?
I think it was the whole buzz of the match day experience. When I was young, it would be the train journey, the walk from the station to the ground, the increase in noise as you got closer to the stadium, the smell of the burger van, the standing on terraces that were full of character, and that camaraderie with your mates. Now that I'm older and football stadia has changed, I love making memories with my daughter, Ava, who has now got the bug. That makes matchdays so special.
Do you remember your very first game?
Yes - April, 1989! My dad took me to Gillingham versus Northampton. We won 1-0, but that’s the extent of my memory of the game, as I was only seven years old!
Do you have a moment from following Gillingham that you'll never forget?
I have two that standout and both came during our most successful period. Firstly, when we came from behind to win 3-1 in the FA Cup against then Premier League side Sheffield Wednesday at Priestfield in January 2000 (check out Nicky Southall’s volley on YouTube!). And then, later that year, our 3-2 win in extra time over Wigan Athletic at Wembley to lay to rest the ghost of the year before and reach what is now the Championship. Both amazing memories!
📸 Matt outside the Gordon Road stand at Priestfield, Gillingham Football Club