Collectors gather for retro football nostalgia

Adam Grocott attended the event for the 30th anniversary of the Corinthian Collectors Club

Thousands of models of footballers have been on display along with kits from the past 50 years as people gathered to remember the football of their youth.

Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Steve Perryman was a special guest at the Retro Football Show in Chelmsford, Essex, on Saturday.

"A lot of people of a certain age have fallen out of love with modern football and as a result they want to immerse themselves in retro football, in nostalgia," said event organiser Greg Lansdowne.

Collectors of the large-headed Corinthian models also attended the 30th anniversary of their conventions.

Corinthian models of players like David Beckham and Steven Gerrard were on display

"It's just amazing to see that 30 years on, people share the same passion and they still buzz off the figures like you do," said collector Craig Robinson, who valued his collection at £250k.

His hobby began with "a routine trip to Woolworths on a Saturday with my dad and brother" when he discovered the figures.

"From that point it was a weekly Saturday trip and my pocket money was spent on those figures."

Mr Landsdowne had a similar experience collecting Panini football stickers in 1979.

"My brother was a pro at West Ham, and he collected all the stickers. Pardon the pun - it's amazing how those stickers stick in your memory."

He said football items used to be a lot more "tactile" before the digital age.

"Some clubs don't even produce programmes any more, which is a sad thing – if you want to look back on a game from the past, you won't be able to.

"Tickets from the past are very sought after now."

Steve Perryman said his favourite football shirt had been a plain white Le Coq Sportif at Spurs

Visitors to the show were not just figure enthusiasts, and some attended for the vintage football shirts.

"Retro football shirts have just gone off the scale," Mr Landsdowne said.

"People in their teens and 20s will be wearing a York City shirt from 2013, then a Celtic shirt.

"A lot of them have no interest in football and they've probably never seen any of these teams play, but they're willing to spend £100 on shirts to show their Instagram channels.

"Although I love people of my age and older, it's nice to have younger crop coming too and appreciating it."

Retro football shirts are proving popular with younger people as well as older fans

Adam Grocott, also a Corinthian collector, said the main reason people enjoyed looking at the mini figures was "the nostalgia".

"It's looking at your figures and knowing that you can get transported straight back to a period of time.

"It's also - and this is just a personal opinion -I think it takes you back to when football was proper," he said.