Booked!

• With Christmas approaching, Rob Carey felt it was a good time to take a look at some of his favourite kit books

Not so long ago, there were no quality football shirt-related books on the market. Fortunately, this has changed, and now you can grab more than a few titles on the subject. Below are some of my favourites – no doubt you’ll have your own!

The Football Shirts Book: The Connoisseur’s Guide

Author: Neal Heard

Published: 2018

Pages: 144

If you’re looking for a general, yet immensely enjoyable, overview of the football shirt world, this hardcover is for you. It contains over 150 famous and super-rare shirts that are a joy to check out. For example, the book shows you the exact model of the shirt that Maradona wore in his ‘Hand of God’ game and gives you a glimpse into other lucky moments in the history of sports.

Besides beautiful full-color photographs, the book contains interviews with shirt design teams, as well as insight into brands, fashion designers, and sponsors who shaped the history of the most-loved football jerseys of all time.

1000 Football Shirts: The Colors of the Beautiful Game

Author: Bernard Lions

Published: 2014

Pages: 304

Getting this book will be a huge deal for anyone interested in the game as a whole and not just football shirts.

It’s the biggest collection of football kits ever assembled as it comes with over 1000 detailed illustrations covering over 100 countries and 500 teams.

It will bring you closer to the history of your most beloved shirts, and remind you of the legendary games and players involved. It’s full of rare information that will make you a much more knowledgeable fan of the beautiful game.

The Spurs Shirt: The Official History of the Tottenham Hotspur Jersey

Authors: Simon Shakeshaft, Neville Evans and Daren Burney

Published: 2019

Pages: 336

Denis has already given this one a full review, and it definitely deserves to be included in this list- especially as I’m a Spurs fan!

It’s similar to The Arsenal Shirt, which Simon Shakeshaft was also invoved in, but I think it’s even better. This coffee table book is priced at around £30, but it’s well worth your money.

If you’re a Tottenham fan, it’s a must-have as it describes the history of the iconic Spurs shirts in detail. Included are beautiful images that show the evolution of the shirt, and remind you of the critical moments of the team’s history. Even if you support someone else and are just a kit aficionado, you won’t be disappointed.

The True Colours series

Author: John Devlin

Published: 2005, 2006, 2018

Pages: More than enough!

What John Devlin doesn’t know about kits is hardly worth knowing and these three volumes will keep you entertained for weeks if not months on end.

The first two mainly look at English clubs as well as the Home Nations – how great an updated version of the PL teams would be! – while the third instalment, released before the 2018 World Cup, featured 20 countries.

Beautifully laid out, each entry includes interesting tidbits about the kit – though I’m not sure how he managed it all!

Shirt Tales & Short Stories

Authors: Derek Hammond and Gary Silke

Published: 2014

Pages: 128

The Got, Not Got series is a wonderful repository of football nostalgia and it’s no surprise that their tome dedicated to kits has some great nuggets.

Using a mix of pictures of real shirts and contemporary posters and collectibles, all of the major clubs – and some not-so-major ones – are featured while each manufacturer has its own special focus too.

Sure to bring back memories of times past and even if you consider yourself to be quite knowledgeable on kits, you will still come away having learned a lot.