Season 2003 - 2004 the story continues..... |
From early September, the new players shirts sported the regulation box on the back which contained the name and number. Again, because of the restrictions caused by Administration, each player was issued only one shirt. This makes things much easier if you're a collector because if you have a player shirt, its probably going to be the only one ! This caused much amusement when Dearden refused to let his players swop their shirts after the all important Chelsea game because they didn't have a replacement.The only exception to this was Kevin Nicholson (who swapped his shirt with longtime mate Joe Cole after the Chelsea match) Similarly, there were reports of some swops made after the Middlesborough game a little later. However, as these shirts didn't generally come up for sale at the end of the season, the only ones available tend to be loanees or released players. |
The 'new look' 2003-4 shirt with block. Jenkins captained Notts against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in this partuclar one, |
Shirt of Kings ! |
Not subject to restyling halfway through the season, the second shirt was simply blue - the same blue as the edging on the home kit. Because the last game of the season was a home match, the club (who had quickly cottoned on to the money making potential of authentics) put the players kit into the shop for the final day - no chance of letting the team go home with it then ! The round Nationwide epaulettes on the sleeves were not readily available so if they're on, its probably not a replica. As with the homes, the Notts badge got better once the club came out of administration. |
The Second Shirt |
The Third Kit |
The club announced it intended to continue the use of the popular yellow second team shirt into the 2003-4 season as the third kit. Wrong ! The basic colour was the same but the introduction of black trim and the loss of the white side panels meant the finished item was very different. Not only that but, still watching the pennies, Notts never produced a replica of the new design. Most fans probably didn't even see it until some of the players shirts - worn only a couple of times, appeared in the club shop at the end of the season. The rest have cropped up on QXL (still courtesy of the club) and fetch a fair bit because they remain in short supply - strictly only player issue, and therefore very collectable. To spot the kit you need to know the cuffs and collar have additional black and white trims - the latter was a fold over in the previous season style but in the 2003-4 version, its a V neck. Got that ? OK, just check the piccy.... |
The V necked collar was tight, so sometimes it was ripped by the players |
The Squad 2003 - 2004 1. Steve Mildenhall 2. Nick Fenton 3. Ian Baraclough 4. Steve Jenkins 5. Tony Barras 6. Ian Richardson 7. Clive Platt 8. Darren Caskey 9. Mark Stallard 10. Paul Heffernan 11. Kevin Nicholson 12. Stuart Garden 14. Paul Bolland 15. Michael Brough 16. Simon Baldry 17. Tony Hackworth 18. Paul Riley 19. Saul Deeney 20. Danny Livesey 22. Shane McFaul 23. Willis Francis 25. Shaun Harrad |
