Description
Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 - SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR''What Ned hasn't seen on a sports TV channel isn't worth knowing about.''
Gabby Logan''From falling out with Mourinho to flying with Gerrard, this is a wonderful journey through football.''
Henry WinterSquare Peg, Round Ball is a candid, insightful reminiscence on a life in football.Although best known as ITV''s commentator on the Tour de France, Ned Boulting has spent most of his professional life covering football.Follow Ned''s journey from football supporter to reporter from criss-crossing the country in a banger of a car hoping for a word or two from the latest big signing, to the glamour of the Champions League. Ned really has been there, done that, and got the Sky Sports jacket to prove it.Witnessing the shenanigans, the machinations and the idiocy of football at close quarters Ned shares his best stories with affection. Whether it''s treading mud int
Trade ReviewBELIEVABLE! * Chris Kamara *
From falling out with Mourinho to flying with Gerrard, this is a wonderful journey through football. Insightful and funny * Henry Winter, chief football writer, The Times *
Full of stories told with great affection -- the Telegraph
A great read by one of sport's good guys. * Jonathan Liew, sports writer, The Guardian *
A beautiful love letter to a love no longer felt. * Adrian Chiles *
A bouncy, amusing and honest reminiscence. This is Ned in a nutshell. * Jim Beglin, BT Sport co-commentator and former Irish professional footballer *
A funny, warm and wise book about football and the perpetual struggle to reach adulthood * Harry Pearson *
Ned's perspective on football was always like no other – on one hand an amusingly stubborn refusal to succumb to its self-importance; on the other, a fascinated engagement with its narratives and culture. I promise you – nobody saw the game quite like he did * Peter Drury *
Ned has seen it all from the excesses and madness of Sky Sports in the early years to the revolving door of ITV Sport which he stayed firmly on the right side of. What Ned hasn’t seen on a sports TV channel isn’t worth knowing about. * Gabby Logan *
An elegant, stirring and often joyful journey through football and masculinity * Musa Okwonga *
Table of Contents1.
Anpfiff 2. Football is the Game 3. The Man With the Cone Upon His Head 4. Brown and White Dynamite 5. Football Factory 6. First Dance 7. Access Codes 8. Best 9. The End of the Day 10. Monkey Business 11. Gap Year 12. A Good Out 13. Wednesday's Child 14. Championship Form 15. The Colour Blue 16. The Skipper 17. Fußball Comes Home 18. Trans-Europe Express 19. Fick FUFA 20. Euro Exit 21.
Abpfiff Epilogue Acknowledgements
