Most Norwich City fans have a few old replica shirts around their houses, but Billy Pointer's collection is over 600-strong and is a walk through 30-years of Canaries history.
Stored inside his Norfolk house, the City fan's collection spans two rooms and plenty of eras. The biggest challenge is maintaining and updating his mass group of match-worn shirts.
The ever-increasing number of competitions and variations has made his job even harder every season, but after 10 years of collecting, Pointer explains how it all began with a Youssef Safri shirt and an online sale.
"As any fan, you normally get the replica shirts each season, and as the years went on, I had a bit of a wardrobe full of replicas. I was casually looking on eBay and saw a Youssef Safri poppy shirt, which was covered in mud, so I bought that," Pointer said.
"It snowballed from there. It's coming up for 10 years now. I've got 30 years' worth of shirts, just because it's easier to display them in order. It's a good amount to look back on, and we've had lots of ups and downs during that time.
"As a collector, I like to have all the different variants - so short sleeve, long sleeve, Carabao Cup, FA Cup, the poppy, the charity sponsor - when you add them all together, you end up with quite a few. Last season, there were 19 different variants.
"It's always a talking point in the family and with friends. It's a hobby and passion. It keeps me happy, and I'll keep it going.'
Visiting Pointer's collection is an immediate walk through City history and transports you back to iconic moments and differing eras, including that famous European run, promotions, and relegations, while provoking memories of specific matches and players.
It is a treasure trove of all things yellow and green - and that impact is one shared by visitors when they view the collection, according to Pointer.
"You could say that it's a bit obsessive, but once you start it and keep it going, it does click together on its own accord," he said.
"I'm super proud. Everyone that comes to look are always really impressed with it and congratulate me for it, even other collectors. It's not an easy task to keep it going and to have them on display rather than in boxes, but it's worth it."
Pointer has teamed up with another local collector to display some of the most iconic shirts in a new book titled 'Canary Threads', which is available for purchase now with all profits going to the Community Sports Foundation.
"Over the summer, a fellow collector called Kevin Goodings approached me and asked me if I'd be interested in doing a collaboration with some of my shirts and some of his to make a Norwich City book," Pointer said.
"I was well up for that and it's now out. It's available on www.canarythreads.com, in the Forum at On The Stall City or eBay."
Billy's top six Norwich City shirts from his 600-strong collection
We asked Billy to select six of his favourite shirts from his epic collection of Norwich City shirts - in no particular order, here are his picks:
Youssef Safri poppy-embroidered shirt v West Brom
Mo Leitner v Manchester United 2019
"This is the shirt that we wore in the Premier League versus Manchester United at home. We changed the sponsorship to 'Build the Nest' for the one game. As you can see, the 'D' (on Dafabet, then sponsors) is upside down. To me, because it was worn in the game, it is a unique shirt. As a collector, you like oddball shirts. This one stands out compared to the others, because there aren't any others like this."
Chris Sutton matchworn shirt - 1992/93
"This is Chris Sutton's matchworn, long-sleeved shirt. He wore it quite a bit, and it's even had a repair because back then, they didn't change their shirts every game. It doesn't have the mud on it, but it's well-worn. These are harder to find and keep in good condition, especially with the sponsor. This one - someone contacted me on Instagram and said they were given it by Chris Sutton at the end of that season, and wanted to part ways with it and I happily paid for it. This is just the Premier League one - not the European shirt. It's iconic around the world."
John Polston - 1992 FA Cup semi final shirt against Sunderland
"This is the FA Cup semi-final shirt with Sunderland that belonged to John Polston. He recently auctioned it off on the club website, which I was lucky enough to win. Delighted to add it into the collection because it was one that I was missing. Unfortunately for us, it's as far as we've got in the FA Cup. This shirt design is a fans favourite so it's a double winner for us. It's a paler yellow, and the writing makes it even more special because it was worn just in that game. I'd love them to make this design again."
Grant Holt - match worn shirt against Manchester City in 2013
"This is Grant Holt's final Premier League-worn Norwich shirt. It was versus Manchester City when we won 3-2. They wore the next season's shirt in the final game of the previous season, but he was sold in the summer, so he didn't wear it the following season. This is the only time that he was seen in this shirt, and it's a unique shirt. It was actually given to the referee after the game, and then he decided to part ways with it, and I managed to buy it."
Josh Sargent - match worn shirt against Derby County in 2024
"Josh Sargent wore this in the away win at Derby where his assist to Borja Sainz for the opening goal went over the line. There is even a bit of white paint on the back. I love a long-sleeved shirt, and this is a top favourite, especially because of the situation and the fact the game is so memorable."
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