SHORTLISTED 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 Winter
'A great read by one of sport's good guys.'
Jonathan Liew
'A beautiful love letter to a love no longer felt.'
Adrian Chiles
Square Peg, Round Ball is a candid, insightful reminiscence on a life in football.
From time to time, as I lurched from training ground to player's tunnel, I'd be glared at by Alex Ferguson, clapped on the back by Arsène Wenger, taken out the back by Alan Pardew or banned by José Mourinho. In the time it took for the Golden Generation to come of age, dominate, disappoint and retire, I fell in – and ultimately out – of love with the game, as I was granted a uniquely privileged insight into the backstage comings and goings of the professional football circus.
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 into Steven Gerrard's pristine white carpets, or nearly being pushed into oncoming traffic by a menacing Vinnie Jones, or being chased away from Roman Abramovich's house by some scary looking men on quadbikes – Ned has made a fool of himself to bring us the best tales from his experiences in 90s and 2000s football.
SHORTLISTED 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 Winter
'A great read by one of sport's good guys.'
Jonathan Liew
'A beautiful love letter to a love no longer felt.'
Adrian Chiles
Square Peg, Round Ball is a candid, insightful reminiscence on a life in football.
From time to time, as I lurched from training ground to player's tunnel, I'd be glared at by Alex Ferguson, clapped on the back by Arsène Wenger, taken out the back by Alan Pardew or banned by José Mourinho. In the time it took for the Golden Generation to come of age, dominate, disappoint and retire, I fell in – and ultimately out – of love with the game, as I was granted a uniquely privileged insight into the backstage comings and goings of the professional football circus.
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 into Steven Gerrard's pristine white carpets, or nearly being pushed into oncoming traffic by a menacing Vinnie Jones, or being chased away from Roman Abramovich's house by some scary looking men on quadbikes – Ned has made a fool of himself to bring us the best tales from his experiences in 90s and 2000s football.
Ned Boulting, bestselling author and former football commentator and presenter (now best known for his cycling commentary) reminisces about a life in football.
1. 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
Ned Boulting began his television career in 1997 when he joined Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday. He moved to ITV Sport in 2001, and has covered a range of football events including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and the FA Cup over a period of fifteen years. Ned is the author of five books, including the bestselling How I Won the Yellow Jumper and On the Road Bike. He lives in London with his wife and two children. @nedboulting
BELIEVABLE!
*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*
A bouncy, amusing and honest reminiscence. This is Ned in a
nutshell.
*Jim Beglin, BT Sport co-commentator and former Irish professional
footballer*
A great read by one of sport's good guys.
*Jonathan Liew, sports writer, The Guardian*
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*
A beautiful love letter to a love no longer felt.
*Adrian Chiles*
An elegant, stirring and often joyful journey through football and
masculinity
*Musa Okwonga*
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*
A well-crafted memoir
*Four Four Two*
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