So, you fell into football by accident. You’ve played for Chelsea, Everton and your country at an international level. But what happens when you discover you’re in so deep that football has taken over your whole life?

In his brilliant new memoir, Pat Nevin takes us on a journey to the less glamorous side of football. From Tranmere to Kilmarnock, he plays some of the best football he’s ever played. Then, in an unprecedented twist of fate, finds himself both player and Chief Executive of Scottish First Division club Motherwell.

What follows is an entertaining and revealing tale of the side of football that you rarely see as Pat tries to keep the lid on simmering tensions between owner and the manager; travels in Lear jets one moment, but has to sell off half the team, the next. So much is madness, like being the manager’s boss, and his player at the same time; or discovering that the ground’s goalposts are higher on one side than on the other!

And with impossible challenges at every corner, such as learning that their son is autistic, and the club hurtling towards administration, Pat strives to walk the impossible line between player, parent and boss.

FOOTBALL AND HOW TO SURVIVE IT is a real one-off, uncovering the sport in all its complex, confusing and calamitous glory. Once you’ve read it, you may never look at the game in the same way again.

So, you fell into football by accident. You’ve played for Chelsea, Everton and your country at an international level. But what happens when you discover you’re in so deep that football has taken over your whole life?

In his brilliant new memoir, Pat Nevin takes us on a journey to the less glamorous side of football. From Tranmere to Kilmarnock, he plays some of the best football he’s ever played. Then, in an unprecedented twist of fate, finds himself both player and Chief Executive of Scottish First Division club Motherwell.

What follows is an entertaining and revealing tale of the side of football that you rarely see as Pat tries to keep the lid on simmering tensions between owner and the manager; travels in Lear jets one moment, but has to sell off half the team, the next. So much is madness, like being the manager’s boss, and his player at the same time; or discovering that the ground’s goalposts are higher on one side than on the other!

And with impossible challenges at every corner, such as learning that their son is autistic, and the club hurtling towards administration, Pat strives to walk the impossible line between player, parent and boss.

FOOTBALL AND HOW TO SURVIVE IT is a real one-off, uncovering the sport in all its complex, confusing and calamitous glory. Once you’ve read it, you may never look at the game in the same way again.

Remarkable Football Grounds is a collection of some of the most memorable places to watch and play football around the world.

Ranging from the stellar stadiums of the Premier League to windswept islands in the Scottish Hebrides or the far-flung Pacific, including stadia that resemble flying saucers, a crocodile and an armadillo! Remarkable Football Grounds features a range of the oldest, biggest, highest, quirkiest and furthest flung stadia and the stories behind their existence. Italian Serie B team Venezia can be reached by canal, with moorings nearby; Bamburgh Castle football ground lies in the shadow of a Game of Thrones-scale fortress, while Estadio Silvestre is a full-size pitch on the roof of a building in Tenerife.

Some of the oldest, storied stadiums are here, including Anfield for Liverpool, Fulham, which has a tunnel under the pitch and the two Dundee football clubs, that have sizeable grounds, Tannadice and Dens Park, just 183 metres (200 yards) apart.

At the quirkier end of the scale, the Aveiro stadium in Portugal looks like a giant children’s playset, while in Gangwon, South Korea, the football pitch doubles as a ski jump landing area.

Many of the stadiums come with spectacular views. The Faroe Islands have produced some strong football teams in the past and many of their grounds are set in picture perfect landscapes. The same can be said of Norway’s Lofoten Islands where flat land is at a premium and the pitch sides are used for drying fish. In Slovakia, the Janosovka football pitch has a narrow gauge railway that runs between the pitch and the grandstand.

Others are located in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. Nobody loves the ‘away’ fixture at Coroico which entails tackling the ‘Death Road’.

Grounds include: the impressive new Qatari World Cup venues, Wembley Stadium, Camp Nou, Monaco, Old Trafford, Allianz Arena, Petrovsky (Zenit St.Petersburg), Trogir in Croatia, Longgang in China and the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘A heroic outsider – a pleasure to read.’ – The Guardian

‘A fulsome evocation of football before the Premier League.’ – The i

‘Such a good storyteller…joyous.’ – Financial Times

‘Honest, raw, revealing and very funny. How to live a life and career to the full. Insightful book about the most successful outsider inside football ever…’ – Henry Winter, Chief Football Writer, The Times

‘Pat is a wonderful one-off…and this is the story of why that is.’ – John Murray, Chief Sports Correspondent, BBC Radio 5 Live

‘Unusually vibrant and elegant with heroic doses of humour, insight and self-effacement, this is an absolute must-read for the football connoisseur.’ – Omid Djalili

‘The biggest influence of my professional career both on and off the pitch.’ – Graeme Le Saux

‘I grew up captivated by Pat Nevin the player. As a man he taught me even more about the beauty of the game. One of football’s great mavericks, and Chelsea’s greatest players. And he can spin a mean tune too.’ – Sam Matterface

‘I used to walk miles to see Pat Nevin play football and I’d do the same now to read his thoughts. Always challenging, always entertaining.’ – Lord Sebastian Coe

‘A refreshingly honest and thought-provoking autobiography. As deftly delivered as some of Pat’s ball skills in his 1980’s heyday.’ – ToffeeWeb

Pat Nevin never wanted to be a professional footballer.

His future was clear, he’d become a teacher like his brothers. There was only one problem with this – Pat was far too good to avoid attention.

Raised in Glasgow’s East End, Pat loved the game, playing for hours and obsessively following Celtic. But as he grew up, he also loved Joy Division, wearing his Indie ‘gloom boom’ coat and going on marches – hardly typical footballer behaviour!

Placed firmly in the 80s and 90s, before the advent of the Premier League, and often with racism and violence present, Pat Nevin writes with honesty, insight and wry humour. We are transported vividly to Chelsea and Everton, and colourfully diverted by John Peel, Morrissey and nights out at the Hacienda.

The Accidental Footballer is a different kind of football memoir. Capturing all the joys of professional football as well as its contradictions and conflicts, it’s about being defined by your actions, not your job, and is the perfect reminder of how life can throw you the most extraordinary surprises, when you least expect it.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘A heroic outsider – a pleasure to read.’ – The Guardian

‘A fulsome evocation of football before the Premier League.’ – The i

‘Such a good storyteller…joyous.’ – Financial Times

‘Honest, raw, revealing and very funny. How to live a life and career to the full. Insightful book about the most successful outsider inside football ever…’ – Henry Winter, Chief Football Writer, The Times

‘Pat is a wonderful one-off…and this is the story of why that is.’ – John Murray, Chief Sports Correspondent, BBC Radio 5 Live

‘Unusually vibrant and elegant with heroic doses of humour, insight and self-effacement, this is an absolute must-read for the football connoisseur.’ – Omid Djalili

‘The biggest influence of my professional career both on and off the pitch.’ – Graeme Le Saux

‘I grew up captivated by Pat Nevin the player. As a man he taught me even more about the beauty of the game. One of football’s great mavericks, and Chelsea’s greatest players. And he can spin a mean tune too.’ – Sam Matterface

‘I used to walk miles to see Pat Nevin play football and I’d do the same now to read his thoughts. Always challenging, always entertaining.’ – Lord Sebastian Coe

‘A refreshingly honest and thought-provoking autobiography. As deftly delivered as some of Pat’s ball skills in his 1980’s heyday.’ – ToffeeWeb

Pat Nevin never wanted to be a professional footballer.

His future was clear, he’d become a teacher like his brothers. There was only one problem with this – Pat was far too good to avoid attention.

Raised in Glasgow’s East End, Pat loved the game, playing for hours and obsessively following Celtic. But as he grew up, he also loved Joy Division, wearing his Indie ‘gloom boom’ coat and going on marches – hardly typical footballer behaviour!

Placed firmly in the 80s and 90s, before the advent of the Premier League, and often with racism and violence present, Pat Nevin writes with honesty, insight and wry humour. We are transported vividly to Chelsea and Everton, and colourfully diverted by John Peel, Morrissey and nights out at the Hacienda.

The Accidental Footballer is a different kind of football memoir. Capturing all the joys of professional football as well as its contradictions and conflicts, it’s about being defined by your actions, not your job, and is the perfect reminder of how life can throw you the most extraordinary surprises, when you least expect it.