Paul Ferris (footballer)

Paul Ferris (born 10 July 1965) is a Northern Irish former footballer, physiotherapist for Newcastle United, barrister and author.

Paul Ferris
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-07-10) 10 July 1965
Place of birth Lisburn, Northern Ireland
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Lisburn Youth
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1985 Newcastle United 14 (1)
Gateshead
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Biography

Ferris was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. In 1981, he signed for Newcastle United from Lisburn Youth in Northern Ireland and became the club's youngest ever debutant when he appeared aged just 16 years and 294 days. He scored his only senior goal against Bradford City in 1984. A medial ligament injury meant he played just 14 matches and moved to Barrow F.C., with whom he won the FA Trophy at Wembley before moving into local non-league football with Gateshead.

In 1993, he returned as physio under Kevin Keegan. He remained there until 2006, during which time he gained a master's degree in History of Ideas. He also studied law before leaving to pursue a career as a barrister and was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 2007. He returned to the club in April 2009 as part of Alan Shearer's management team.

He wrote his first novel An Irish Heartbeat in 2011. He formed a health and fitness company (Speedflex) with Graham Wylie and Alan Shearer, with Ferris as Chief Executive.

He suffered a heart attack in 2013. He wrote his memoir The Boy On The Shed, which went on to be a highly acclaimed, multi-award-winning bestselling book (British Sports Book Awards - Autobiography of the Year[2] / Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year[3] / Times Sports Book of the Year [4] / Daily Telegraph Football Book of the Year[5] / Shortlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year[6]). He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and recovered following treatment.

He lives in Northumberland, England, with his wife Geraldine and has three boys and a granddaughter. He continues to write and has given several well received talks on his life story to date.[7]

References
  1. Dunk, Peter (1987). Rothmans football yearbook 1987-88. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 294. ISBN 978-0356143545. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  2. "Autobiography of the Year 2019". Sports Book Awards. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. Pitt, Nick (25 November 2018). "Best sport books of 2018". The Times. The Times. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. Crampton, Robert. "Books of the year 2018". www.thetimes.co.uk. The Times. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  5. Briggs, Simon (18 December 2018). "Sports books of the year 2018: Our verdict on the best reads of the last 12 months". www.telegraph.co.uk/. The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  6. "The William Hill Sports Book Of The Year Shortlists". William Hill. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  7. "Paul Ferris Back In Toon". nufc.co.uk. 3 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
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