A United home shirt is red. The trim changes — white collar, black collar, a white sleeve cuff — and the exact shade has drifted over the decades, but the identity has not moved. That is why a United shirt is recognisable to people who have never watched a match.

The interesting designs on this shelf are the away ones. United change strips have produced blue, white, black and a yellow that people still ask for by year. If you already own a red one, that is where to go next.

The list of players who have worn 7 at this club is the reason the number means what it means. It is not a position, it is an expectation, and everybody who follows the club knows exactly what it implies.

Which is useful information: printing a 7 on a United shirt is a statement, and it will be read as one. If you want something quieter, print a surname. If you want something that will still make sense in ten years, print the player who is actually there now.

First: home or away. Home if it is a gift or a first shirt; away if they already own the red one. That single decision removes most of the shelf.

Second: season or era. The current shirt is the one that fits like a modern shirt. An older design is the one people ask for by year, and it will sit closer to the body — between sizes, go up. Third: printed or plain. Printed if you know the player, plain if you do not, because a plain red United shirt is not an unfinished purchase.