We're going to have to change tack here, as instead of giving a synopsis of City's season as well as a rundown of the kits, this will focus almost fully on the clothing, as there were just so many fucking variations, 29 of the home kit by our estimation, though research was heartbreaking and possibly led to a dilution, if not complete erosion, of sanity. The salient facts are that Brian Lennox sold the club, initally we though to a man called Jim Little, who then "rolled his investment into" a hedge fund entity called Arkaga, leading to what would turn out to be a very dark time in the history of the club, directly contributing to the upheaval at the end of the 2009 season.

On the field, a second successive fourth-placed finish was achieved, though this would surely have been better had pre-season signings Colin Healy and Gareth Farrelly been available, but FIFA's rule about players not playing for more than two clubs in a 12-month period ruled them out until July. There would be some joy in the FAI Cup, more of which below. Strip-wise, local stout Beamish replaced Nissan as sponsors after the car manufacturer pulled out of its deal early, though the shirts were otherwise unchanged (above left). By the start of the league, sleeve patches for the new FAI League of Ireland appeared (right and above right), though oddly a few sets of socks with green-red-green striping - as opposed to red-green-red - were being worn alongside the previous design so any variations are illustrated with both sock styles.

For the trip to the Brandywell to face the white-socked Derry City, the change green pairs were donned (left), as they had been in the final league game of the previous season. Then things got even stranger as short-sleeved shirts with a different RedFM logo, in red rather than white, popped up, first without the league patches and then with them (left and below left). Throughout the season, long-sleeved home shirts would only have the white logo.

When Healy and Farrelly signed, the announcement coincided with the launch of the new grey away kit, but that was not ready for the game at Bray Wanderers, when the previous black kit was used, the Beamish logo affixed over the Nissan one (far left). The grey strip was eventually able to be worn away to Shamrock Rovers (left), though it was a darker shade than initial publicity pictures had indicated, while red numbers on the back were a very odd choice.

The fourth-placed finish in 2006 had earned City a spot in the Intertoto Cup again, and in the first round they were drawn with Valur of Iceland. Due to Icelandic law preventing the advertising of alcohol, the Beamish logo could not be carried on the shirts in the first leg, a 2-0 away win, though given that O'Neills screen-printed all logos, making the stripes continuous would have been a far better idea. The green change socks were also worn (far left of top row).

For the second leg, a 1-0 home defeat, the home shirt had the Beamish logo back, with the sleeves absent of any other accoutrements as per UEFA regulations, with both styles of socks on show as usual. That 2-1 aggregate win set up a tie with Hammarby of Sweden, with Farrelly and Healy finally available for the first leg, though an own-goal by the latter would eventually prove priceless. the same shirts worn at home to Valur featured, though the previously-sponsorless ones had a smaller Beamish logo attached (left).

For the away leg in Sweden, a 1-0 loss, the change strip was worn, and again the prohibition of alcohol advertising meant a vacant white rectangle on the front of the shirts. Even though Hammarby's shorts were green, for some reason City wore a white set, in the same style as the home design but with grey, rather than green and red, trim/

Back in the league, shorts with a small Beamish logo were briefly worn (right and above right), before the shorts worn in Europe, with bigger numbers, began to be used for domestic games (below right, shown with all variants of shirts and socks). Drogheda United eventually won the leage with 68 points, seven clear of second-placed Shelbourne, but City could claim third with a win over Bohemians in the final game, the

Dublin club also on 55 points going into that clash. A spectacular Seán Kelly own-goal resulted in a 1-0 loss and fourth place again, but a previous 2-0 win away to Bohs had earned City a spot in the FAI Ford Cup final, where their opponents would be Longford Town.

By now, the O'Neills contract had run out and the club had agreed a deal with Danish sportswear firm Hummel. With promises of a bespoke design for 2008, it was announced that an interim white strip would be worn for the final (even though Longford

wore red and black), but for a warm-up friendly against Cobh Ramblers an interim-interim kit, a stock Hummel design, was used. The cup final kit was not that far different, with the famous chevrons down the side of the body rather than the sleeves, but sales ahead of the game appeared to be strong. In the game itself, Denis Behan's goal gave City a 1-0 win for a second win in the competion, but it would be Damien Richardson's last game in charge, as he was sacked not long after. New owners, same old drama.