Welcome to the latest edition of The Edit, your matchday programme from The Terrace Apparel. In this article we speak to serial football shirt collector and Norwich City fan, Zeke Downes. As is now customary for The Edit, we speak to Zeke about his favourite players, his earliest football memory and his favourite football memory. We also dig into Zeke’s shirt collection, discussing when it first started and his which of his 160 strong collection is his favourite.
Zeke’s Shirt Collection
Lee: Firstly, thanks for joining us on The Edit, Zeke. Let’s start by hearing a bit more about your interest in football shirts. How did that all start?
Zeke: I’ve always been a collector of football shirts, but it wasn’t until Covid hit that I started my collection properly. Finding out about the community of football shirt collectors on Twitter started to influence my own collection. It made me realise how easily accessible different football shirts were and that is what excited me the most.
I now have 160 shirts in my collection, 82 of which are various Norwich City shirts. The rest vary from teams all around the world, but I have quite a few Borussia Monchengladbach and Barcelona shirts within my collection.
My favourite is a match worn shirt from Max Aarons. I actually got it in a shirt swap with Max himself after finding one of his previous match worn shirts that he’d given to his grandad. For whatever reason it ended up getting lost so I Tweeted him to ask if he wanted it back. He was over the moon that it had been located, and that I had contacted him, so he got my tickets for two upcoming games and entry into the players’ lounge to meet the squad. It’s probably the shirt with the most meaning in my collection and isn’t one that I could ever replace.
My favourite is a match worn shirt from Max Aarons. I actually got it in a shirt swap with Max himself
Finding Zeke on Twitter
Lee: So where can people find your Twitter account?
Zeke: I’m @knockemdownes on Twitter. I tweet about all things football related and football shirts. I’m also into photography so you’ll see a bit of that on my account as well. I love creating content to try and engage followers and get people talking.
Lee: And you also do a bit of punditry as well don’t you. Can you tell us about that?
Zeke: Yeah, so I provide some punditry for @FootballLeagueW. They sent out a tweet asking for a Norwich fan to provide some punditry and insight. I messaged them and they thought I’d be a good fit. I talk about any recent Norwich news, transfers and results. The Twitter account and website give fans an in-depth analysis of the Football League. I think it’s really refreshing to get insight from the lower leagues and not always hear about the Premier League.
Zeke’s Footballing Favourites
Lee: One of the things that we like to do here at The Edit is get to know more about the team you support and your favourite player. We’ve heard you’re a Norwich City fan, so what are you expectations for this season?
Zeke: At the beginning of the season I would have said top 6 needed to be a realistic achievement. It’s been quite an up and down season, but under David Wagner we look a much better side and the top 6 is definitely possible. Gabriel Sara is looking like a really good player and there is definitely more to come from him in the run-in.
Lee: Which one player would you like to see Norwich sign?
Zeke: Oliver Skipp. It’s totally unrealistic given he now features in the Tottenham squad, but we had him on loan a few seasons back and we never really managed to replace the quality that he gave our midfield.
(Photo from Football League World)
Lee: Who would be your favourite non-Norwich player?
Zeke: Messi. I’ve always loved Messi. He epitomises everything that is great about football, and he just brings so much joy to people all around the world when he plays. For me, he’s the best there has ever been and probably the best there ever will be. His playing style is an art. My two favourite Norwich players are Wes Hoolahan and Emi Buendia and they both have similar traits to the way that they play the game.
Lionel Messi T-Shirt
Zeke’s Footballing Memories
Lee: What would be your earliest footballing memory?
Zeke: Unfortunately, being relegated to League One in the 2008/09 season. I’ve had a season ticket at Carrow Road for 17 years, so I did actually see games in the Championship the season before we got relegated, but that relegation itself is the first real memory I have. Incidentally, I think that relegated kick-started our rise and stopped the rot we were in. We got promoted straight back to the Championship and then finished runners-up in the next season to get promoted to the Premier League.
Lee: You’ve seen some good times at Norwich in the last few years, but what would you say is your one favourite footballing memory?
Zeke: It’s hard to pick just one! The first would be the Championship Play-Off Final in 2014/15 which we won 2-0 against Middlesbrough. We scored two early goals through Cameron Jerome and Nathan Redmond, and you just felt like the game was won even that early into the game. Middlesbrough looked lost after that. It was an unbelievable experience and one I’ll always remember.
(Photo from Sky Sports)
The second memory would be our 3-2 win against Manchester City in 2019/20 season. We went into it newly promoted, with loads of injuries, playing against the Champions and arguably the best team in the league and world at the time. I still don’t know how we pulled it off, but it’s a day I’ll cherish forever.
We went into it newly promoted, with loads of injuries, playing against the Champions and arguably the best team in the league.
The sheer elation and shock of those two games just can’t be beaten.
The Terrace Apparel
Lee: Before we let you go, I’d love to get your feedback on the products on offer at The Terrace Apparel.
Zeke: I absolutely love them. Football is all about iconic moments and memories, so to have products with these moments embroidered is fantastic. I love that you have hundreds of designs available. Fans all over the world can enjoy the products that you produce. My favourite is a toss up between Messi and Teemu Pukki!
