THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FROM EUROS CHAMPION AND BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR BETH MEAD

WINNER OF THE SUNDAY TIMESSPORTS BOOK AWARDS AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR 2023

With foreword by Ian Wright & afterword by Jermain Defoe

Beth Mead is one of the world’s most talented footballers – Golden Boot winner and Player of the Tournament at the UEFA Euro 2022, England Player of the Year 2021-22, Arsenal Player of the Season 2021-22, and runner-up for the 2022 Ballon d’Or. But long before this, Beth was just an ordinary kid from Hinderwell, North Yorkshire who wanted to play football.

From being placed in the local boys’ team as a child because her mum wanted her to run off her boundless energy, to joining Middlesbrough FC’s Centre of Excellence and making her professional debut at Sunderland, Beth and women’s football have come a long way.

Now, Beth shares the challenges that shaped her, what she faced on the journey to the top, and the life events that made her stronger – from being dropped from the England squad and receiving devastating family news, to finding her best form under the guidance of Jonas Eidevall and Sarina Wiegman. Filled with positive lessons and an exclusive account of England’s triumphant Euros campaign, Beth offers readers of all ages a heartfelt, behind-the-scenes look into her remarkable journey to glory.

Empowering, inspirational and honest, this is Beth’s story.

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Over the past fifty years, Gary Newbon has established himself as an icon of sports broadcasting. He interviewed Sir Alex Ferguson after Manchester United clinched a historic treble in 1999. He was in the ring when Gerald McClellan collapsed after suffering life-changing injuries in his fight with Nigel Benn. Nigel Mansell was his neighbour. This is the tale of a man who has spent his life in close proximity to legends; he interviewed them, befriended them and shared their defining moments until he became part of the DNA of Britain’s sporting history. Many of his interviews are still used in TV shows today.

In his highly anticipated memoir, Newbon tells all. Encompassing a plethora of anecdotes that reveal the depth and wit of figures such as Brian Clough, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King and many others, this book considers how these people felt and thought during the pivotal sporting moments of the past half-century. From the Hand of God goal to the Munich massacre, Gary Newbon was there for it all. This, for the first time, is his story.

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Sports Book Awards Autobiography of the Year
Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award
The Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year
The Times Sports Book of the Year
Telegraph Football Book of the Year

‘Ferris’s wonderful memoir represents a twin triumph. He has endured every kind of setback in life but has invariably reinvented himself; and his writing is a pure pleasure.’ The Sunday Times

‘Enough depth and humanity to make your average football autobiography look like a Ladybird book.’ Telegraph

‘A masterpiece of the genre’ Brian McNally

‘Football memoirs rarely produce great literature but Ferris’s The Boy on the Shed is a glistening exception.’ Guardian

‘Fascinating and stylishly told.’ David Walsh, The Sunday Times

The Boy on the Shed is a story of love and fate. At 16, Paul Ferris becomes Newcastle United’s youngest-ever first-teamer. Like many a tricky winger from Northern Ireland, he is hailed as ‘the new George Best’.

As a player and later a physio and member of the Magpies’ managerial team, Paul’s career acquaints him not only with Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish and Bobby Robson, Ruud Gullit, Paul Gascoigne and Alan Shearer but also with injury, insecurity and disappointment.

Yet this autobiography is more than a tale of the vagaries of sporting fortune. It begins during ‘The Troubles’ in a working-class Catholic family in the Protestant town of Lisburn, near Belfast. After a childhood scarred by his mother’s illness and sectarian hatred, Paul meets the love of his life, his future wife Geraldine.

Talented and carefree on the pitch, shy and anxious off it, he earns a tilt at stardom. His first spell at Newcastle turns sour, as does his return as a physio, although obtaining a Masters degree shows him what he could achieve away from football.

When Paul qualifies as a barrister, a career in Law beckons. Instead, a craving to prove himself in the game draws him back to St James’ Park as part of Shearer’s management triumvirate – with unfortunate consequences.

Written with brutal candour, dark humour and consummate style, The Boy on the Shed is a riveting and moving account of a life less ordinary.

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