The Boy on the Shed

Honest, vulnerable and full of heart, this is a sports memoir like no other. It tells the story of a young boy from Lisburn with a prodigious talent for football whose childhood dreams were set to come true . . . until injury and illness knocked them down. It is the inspiring story of resilience in the face of adversity.

Winner of the Sports Book Awards Autobiography of the Year 2018

'Enough depth and humanity to make your average football autobiography look like a Ladybird book.' - TELEGRAPH

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.

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.

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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*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

Acclaim for The Boy on the Shed

'A masterpiece' 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, bestselling author of Seven Deadly Sins

'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


Readers love The Boy on the Shed

'A journey full of emotion . . . Spectacular' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Honest, insightful and shows how football really has to sort itself out' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Paul Ferris writes from the heart, a wonderful book' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Exceptional' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐