January always feels like a long month, but it is firmly in our rear-view mirror now, meaning we can cast our eyes over what City branded cotton and polyester goodness was available and sold under the virtual hammer in the first month of 2025… (writes Mike Carter)

It wasn’t until the eleventh hour that we had a player specification shirt to bring you, but noted collector and friend of HCK Andrew brought this one to our attention! MatchWornShirt auctioned off shirts worn in the remembrance fixture against West Bromwich Albion in November 2024.

However, the shirt worn by since departed winger Ryan Longman was re-listed, likely due to the original winning bid not being committed to. In the first instance, the shirt sold for £205 but the second time around £168 was enough to secure the shirt.

Starting the Auction Action replica section in 1999 feels strange, but here we are! This 1999/00 change shirt by Avec in size medium sold for £41.72. Other than some damage to the internal neck tag, it looks in decent condition for a shirt that is 25 years old.

In a time where long-sleeved shirts are at a premium, I’m pleased to be able to cover four long-sleeved shirts that have been available since the turn of the year. This first one was the most expensive of the trio and is a 2003/04 change shirt by Patrick in size XL. A shirt fondly remembered for the Yeovil game which saw the Tigers secure promotion to League One, this one sold for £59.99.

Another long-sleeved shirt is up next, and this time it is the 2006/07 primary shirt by Diadora, once again in size XL. This shirt sold for £39.99, which feels like an okay price when you factor in the shirt’s condition. It could have easily sold for more should it have been in better nick.

This 2011/12 home shirt by adidas, which was officially modified for Andy Dawson’s Testimonial in size XXL, that sold for £19.99 was probably the bargain of the month. It looks brilliant sans-sponsor, and with the addition of Dawson’s ‘celebrating 10 years’ appliqué and Daisy Appeal logo, it has a few differences from the standard primary shirt.

A 2002-04 primary shirt by Patrick, printed with #10 on the back was available in January. £75 was paid for the shirt, which is size XL and another long-sleeved shirt that sold this month. Sadly there is some damage to the number appliqué, something that is quite common with this era, as amplified by the next shirt.

The final of four long-sleeved shirts is this 2002/03 change shirt by Patrick in size large, which was printed with Allsopp and #10. Once again, there is some significant damage to the number here. A fee of £50 was paid by the shirt’s new owner. Shirts with these appliqués are very difficult to store safely.

A 2021/22 change shirt by Umbro printed with Huddlestone #23 was available this month. It sold very quickly, after being listed as a buy it now for £79.99. I thought this was a steal at first, thinking it was a player-issue shirt until Les pointed out to me that Tom wore size XL, and this one is size medium.

Eagle-eyed viewers will also note the lack of an EFL ‘TOGETHER’ patch on the sleeve. We’ve placed this with the replica shirts, as we feel it isn’t a player-issue shirt, even though it has the OLG sponsor applied. Hopefully, the buyer wasn’t outfoxed by this shirt!

That’s your lot for January! We’ll be back in March with February’s offerings.

Caveat emptor!