Bradford City Shirt Collection

So following on from last weeks post about my women's, England & random football shirts today we have my Bradford City shirts, in this post there is a mix of shirt, training shirts & match worn shirts.


First up we have a match worn Hope Akpan shirt, granted it is from the season we were relegated but I love having match worn shirts in my collection and it is something which I want to add more of in the next few years, I need to get this framed as it is currently hung on our staircase.


The other year Bradford City were auctioning off these Darby training shirts that were worn during warm ups then signed by the full team to raise money for the Darby Rimmer foundation. I was lucky enough to get one for Christmas that year as my parents managed to win a bid. Again I need to get this framed as it is hung in our hallway. 


When I picked up the Akpan shirt there were also some training tops for sale too so I got a couple of pieces from that range too. I picked up 3 jumpers and 1 t-shirt.


Of course I have this years home shirt, I got this for my birthday from my parents and I love it. I love it when we playing vertical stripes and to me this is a proper City shirt.


My parents also got me this seasons 3rd shirt for my birthday, I love this one as it is so vibrant and definitely stands out. This has definitely become one of my go to shirts and is one of my most worn recently.



Possibly one of my favourite shirts in the collection is this 1997/1997 shirt. This will have been one of my first ever football shirts and it is signed by some of my favourite players & even the City Gent.



You will see in the next few weeks a common theme, when it is a big birthday for me I always get a shirt with that age and my name on the back. This was the last big birthday I had and I loved the simple black shirt we had that year so of course I picked this one although I did pick up the home shirt for that year too (but it seems to have disappeared).


As well as last seasons Akpan shirt I already had the home shirt. This one definitely didn't feel like a city shirt though as it just felt so plain.


I also picked up the away shirt for last season too as I loved the colour of this one. It was just different to any we had before This was also my nephew's 1st Bradford shirt because of course we had to have matching when he was born.


The 17/18 season is actually the first time I had bought all 3 shirts but this white one was reduced to £10 towards the end of the season so I thought I might as well finish off the collection.


I actually quite liked the 17/18 home shirt the block stripes, with the block for the sponsor going across the middle it didn't disappoint. I actually really liked the bottom of the sleeves on this shirt with the stripes.


The 17/18 away shirt gave me Barcelona vibes so it was bought straight away. It also gave me vibes of that 01/03 away shirt which was one of my favourites. 


A different take on the classic stripes with them going vertically instead of horizontally. My only problem with this shirt is that the JCT600 logo keeps sticking together, I wouldn't mind if it was only on one of them but it has happened on Liam's too.


This one just had to be added in due to the fact that we have gone from beating Chelsea to being back in League 2. I will definitely be keeping this one in the collection for as long as the collection is going as it will be a miracle if we do something like this again.


This was one of the first Bradford City shirts I had purchased for a long time so of course I had to get it with my favourite player at the time on the back. 

There are definitely plenty of shirts missing from this collection, that may still be round at my parents so there may be a part 2 coming in the future.
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A Variety Of Football Shirts In My Collection


I think once you start buying football shirts you just can't stop & over the next few weeks I will be bringing you my football shirt collection. Today we are going to take a look at my women's shirts, random shirts and the very few England shirts I own.



First up we have the USA training top which I bought to show my love of the USWNT because I couldn't find a UK supplier of their shirts and I definitely wasn't paying the prices to get one from the USA. I have to admit though this is one of my go too t-shirts for when I am lounging around.



I absolutely love FIFA as I am really into gaming so when I saw this FIFA shirt in  my local game I had to pick it up. I need to find the FIFA 20 shirt now.



I was lucky enough to win this Equal Playing Fields shirt from a Man City Women Fancast competition during the world cup, I love having this in my collection as it is so different. 



Speaking of different shirts that is the reason I bought this Adidas Tango football shirt, I love the blanked out badge and sponsor. It is definitely totally different to anything else I own. 


Next up we have my USWNT Tobin Heath short which we are still debating authenticity of, to be honest I don't think it is real but Liam picked this up for me as a gift a few years ago and it is going to be the closest I get to a Heath shirt until I get to America on holiday.



I was very kindly sent this Miskits shirt from Miskits themselves and I love it, the design is so unique and the quality is fantastic. Unfortunately this is a little bit tight on me at the moment but as soon as it fits you will be seeing it more often. 



Oh look another FIFA shirt I couldn't just get one version could I? I love the pink on this one and it was one of my go to's in FIFA 19.


I finally got my Roma shirt I had been hunt for at the start of this year. I managed to pick this up from our local Nike outlet and I absolutely love the chain link detail on it.



This is probably one of my most prized possessions, my signed Lucy Bronze Man City shirt, I got this signed when I met her at a Bradford City Women's event. This shirts actually only originally cost me £4 from a Nike outlet so it was definitely a bargain and even better now it has been printed.



Another Man City shirt I have in the collection is of course for one of my favourite players Jill Scott. As soon as I saw this shirt announced I knew I wanted one thanks to the colour of it. So when me and Liam went to a game I called into the shop and picked it up.


Another bargain from the Nike outlet was this Man City shirt, no name on the back but I had to pick it up. I love the fluorescent yellow (volt) detailing on this shirt. It just works so well with the rest of the shirt.



Another shirt I picked up from the Man City store was this Houghton one, I managed to get this on one of my first visits to the Academy stadium. This is one of the first Man City shirts I picked up so of course I got the captain's name on the back.


My final Man City shirt is this orange and purple 3rd shirt. Again this is another outlet bargain and I definitely wasn't going to leave it there. This was under £10 and I had said at the start of the season I wanted this one but unfortunately I never got around to it. So to see this on the rail in the outlet, it was definitely coming home with me.


You will see through the rest of this post that I don't own many England shirts, especially not recent ones. But this Navy Umbro one is probably the last one I got. I loved this shirt and I wish they would do something similar these days, especially with the collar.



This is a close 2nd in the favourite England shirts because the close up details are absolutely fantastic. This is a shirt that my parents surprised me and my sister with although I can't remember who she got on the back. The details are definitely what makes this shirt stand out, with the badge faded into the design.



Finally we have my Rooney England shirt, I usually picked the away shirts for England but I loved the little collar on this one and back then Rooney was definitely one of my favourite players. This shirt is so simple with the white design and little bits of red on the shoulders and sleeve.

So there you have it those are my women's, England and random football shirts that are in the collection. Make sure to check back next week to see a whole other set in the collection.
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Hope Solo : Solo A Memoir Of Hope



I love reading books written by my favourite football players and you will know from my 'I only read football books' blog post recently that I have quite the collection to get through. One of the first books I tackled was Carli Lloyd's When Nobody was Watching and then I moved onto Hope Solo's book Solo : A memoir of Hope.

To me Hope is definitely one of the greatest goalkeepers the women's game has ever had and to be honest I think she is even better than some of the men's 'keepers. I was really excited to sit down with this book as it is safe to say it was going to be an interesting read as Hope has definitely had an interesting life.

The book isn't just about her playing football, it also delves into her family life and especially her relationship with her dad, which is great to look into as it goes to show you that even the strongest players have issues off the field but continue to play at their best. It also gives a little bit of an insight into what made her into the person she is today which certainly isn't the pantomime villain she is painted out to be. 

It also gives you an insight into the behind the scenes of previous USWNT teams which was possibly the most shocking part for me. Having to read about what Hope was put through by her teammates due to her giving her opinion, no player should have to go through that and have to deal with it for a long period of time.

Hope is not afraid to stand up and speak out to defend what is wrong which caused rifts with other players but the Federation also seems to target Hope more than anyone else as she gets heavy punishments compared to others who get let off lightly. Take a section from the book as an example, Hope was fined for speaking out against an official, she got a $2,500 dollar fine, a game suspended & community service where as just a year previous Tony DiCicco only got a $200 dollar fine for a similar issue. 

The book also goes into a bit more detail about Hope's shoulder injury and the pain she went through when playing and training. I knew she had surgery on her shoulders in the past but I didn't realise just how bad it was but you get more of an insight to how bad and to me it just makes me appreciate Hope a whole lot more.

Like I say though it isn't just football that is spoken about in the book, you also find out more about her journey through Dancing with the Stars which she definitely surprised people with her 4th place finish whilst still playing football at the same time as the competition. But even on that show she was made out to be the villain with scenes edited to make her the bad guy once again but by reading this book you really do get her side of the story which you wouldn't see on screen.

Reading this book has just given me more admiration for Hope but I really would love an updated version as this book was published in 2013 so not long after the Olympic win. I would love to see her take on the 2015 World Cup win, her dismissal in 2016 and that legal battle that was eventually dropped.

Hope had definitely been through a lot but she always comes back fighting, if you can I would highly recommend giving this book a read for yourself.
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My Current Top 5 USWNT Players

There might not be any football on at the moment, which is definitely driving me mad, but we have recently had the She Believes Cup which once again the USWNT won. But it got me thinking over the years the USWNT have had some absolutely fantastic players and there are some players that definitely stand out from the crowd but who are also overlooked sometimes as they don't get the game time they deserve. 

With the caliber of players the USWNT has and the depth of their squad it is no wonder they are such a driving force of the women's game. But here are the players that stand out for me and are currently my favourite players for the national team...


Christen Press

Christen is really starting to show her form under Vlatko and is really showing people what she is made of. Her pace is absolutely outstanding and she really gives defenders a hard time. Christen was surely going to make that Olympic roster due to her form and the fact that Alex Morgan may not have been ready to come back from her pregnancy however, with the Olympics being delayed I hope that doesn't effect her chances with Morgan surely due back by next year. Christen has really stepped up and touch the opportunities given and everyone is finally getting to see what she is capable of.


Tobin Heath

Tobin is an absolutely outstanding player. Her skills can tie defenders in knots and she is capable of setting up so many opportunities as well as scoring for herself. Tobin has bounced back from plenty of injuries but I really do believe she just gets better and better each time she bounces back as she knows there is competition for her spot and you can see she genuinely wants to give 110% to each game she plays. It is great to see Heath & Press playing together more often too as they have a great link up that really benefits the USWNT. 


Emily Sonnett

Ah Sonnett one of those players who doesn't get as much of a chance on the field but has so much potential. She has shown at club level she is a fantastic right back & centre back and I honestly don't think it will be too long until she cements herself into a USWNT starter. All it is going to take is a few retirements or injuries and she is in. Sonnett can be there for those crucial tackles to stop the opposition scoring but she can also be a bit of an attacking threat when it comes to set pieces. It wont be long until Sonnett becomes a big name just like O'Hara and Krieger as she takes over the defensive role in the future.


Kelley O'Hara

One of the best right backs in the world without a question, Kelley O'Hara has really adapted to her role in defence, looking at how well she does in the back line some people could easily forget she was once the all time scorer for Stanford University. A bit like Heath O'Hara has had her fair share of injuries with her ankle been one of the main issues, but she is still playing such a fantastic game. I am just hoping that her ankle stops giving her so much trouble so that she can continue playing for many more years as I believe she has so much more to give to the squad.


Lindsey Horan

Lindsey has really stepped up her game in the past few years and is really solidifying her place in that midfield spot. Need someone to move the ball around with ease? Get Horan. Need someone to attack a set piece? Get Horan. As an opponent the worst thing you can do is let Horan head the ball as those are lethal and will mostly likely end up in the back of the net. The best thing is Horan is showing improvement year by year, but she is also young so unless an injury happens she should be around for a long time. I really do believe in the future she is going to be a household name for the USWNT just like Carli Lloyd. 

So there you have it those are my favourite USWNT players currently who are yours? As I say the squad has such a depth that it was actually quite difficult to narrow down my favourites but these are the ones who for me stood out above the rest and deserve a lot more recognition.
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