'I've got over 100 Doncaster Rovers shirts from last 25 years - but there's one I'm still hunting down'

But one football shirt aficionado has taken it to a whole new level. Matt Turner is an avid Doncaster Rovers fan, whose collection of replica kits is surely unrivalled within the club's fanbase.

What started out as a lockdown project back in 2020 has snowballed into a mammoth treasure chest full of polyester-shaped memories.

"I see shirts as almost like a tapestry of the club's history, whether it be good seasons we've had or bad ones, trophies, relegations etc, South Stand season ticket holder Matt told the Free Press.

"In lockdown I started picking up old shirts that I didn't have and it's just sort of spiralled out of control really! I started a Twitter account (@MattDRFCshirts) and then just started picking up shirts from other countries as well."

Matt admits that he's since sold on all other club and country replicas simply to make up room and focus purely on Rovers. His entire collection dates back from the late 1990s and has easily surpassed three figures.

"I actually did a count recently and I've got 107 Donny ones. Some of them are multiple ones of the same kit, just with different names on the back."

He says the key to building his collection is patience but also being savvy: "I'd say 90 per cent of my shirts, I only paid £20 for - it's usually club shop sales or being patient for them to pop up at the right price somewhere online such as Ebay, Vinted. It's about waiting for the right price. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't but that's all part of the fun."

It would remiss of us to not ask which shirt in his burgeoning collection is his favourite - and which one he doesn't care much for. "The 1992 home shirt, the one with the fuzzy hoops. That's my all time favourite," he adds.

"The worst? I've got one with Nathan Tyson's name on the back. I like him but not that particulat kit. It's the 2014-15 season home shirt. I'm just not keen on it. I suppose it's partly because I was out of the country that season so I've got no memory of it."

Matt, who works as a school caretaker, says he's got every home, away and third strip from 1999 onwards - except one that is proving particularly hard to come by.

"The only one I've not got is the 1999-2000 away shirt," he says, more cheerily than you would expect. "It's sponsored by Beazer and is a blue away kit. I will find it! It's all part of the fun isn't it? Hunting for a shirt that's really hard to find. I'm going to have to start pestering people on Facebook!"

Don't bet against him tracking it down and bumping his number up to 108.

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Our conversation with Matt took place before Rovers released their new strip for the 2024-25 season.

The design - with a crisper hoop pattern and clean white collar - has been generally well-received from Doncaster supporters.

Many have also praised the return of a clean red back, allowing for legible numbering and lettering on the shirts.

And Matt will no doubt also be a happy man, given his pre-release comments when we asked what his perfect home kit looks like

"It should always be black shorts," he says. "For some reason they always seem to play better in those! For the socks it's red and white hoops (another request that has been granted by kit suppliers Oxen).

"I'd also love it to have sleeve taping, and an extra, slightly thinner hoop on it than last season's. I think it should be a red back too, with white nameset so we can actually read them!"