AT LAST, MOTD BOSS TOPS THE BILL

Pitch Publishing is a fantastic imprint – they do all the great Got, Not Gots and retro sports titles.

James Brown, The Late Tackle, talkSPORT

Pitch Publishing show the way for enterprising sports book publishers and remains a beacon of hope for sports authors aspiring or established.

The Sports Bookshelf.com

Pitch Publishing, an outfit whose "pitch perfect" commissioning of boxing material stands as a rebuke to more established houses

Boxing Monthly

Pitch capture the real spirit of sport with entertaining and clever ideas. They work out what the aficianado would want to read, then deliver it with great verve.

Paul Hayward, The Daily Telegraph

Pitch have enabled me to write in the ways I enjoy most. Their production support is superb, delivering eye-catching designs, attentive proof-reading, energetic marketing and helpful advice.

Tim Quelch, Bent Arms & Dodgy Wickets, Underdog!

Pitch are willing to back out-of-the-blue and innovative ideas and turn them into viable, entertaining books. They do so with great presentation and editorial flair.

Justin Parkinson, Then Came Massacre

Pitch saw the potential in my story, used their expertise to polish it, published it and helped inspire thousands around the world to get into triathlon.

Andy Holgate, Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run

The process of working with Pitch to produce Picking up the Threads was enjoyable and rewarding, with the final edition surpassing expectations and becoming a resounding success.

John Chandler, Picking up the Threads

Pitch will take a chance on books that other publishers won't and realise that interest in football extends beyond the Premier League and the top 20 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Steve Menary, Outcasts!

Pitch have the vision to look beyond the obvious, seeking out interesting ideas and subjects and matching them with the right target audience.

David Tossell, Tony Greig, The Great English Final, Grovel!

Pitch have been an absolute joy to work with, contributing their passion, expertise, knowledge and experience to help produce a brilliant book.

Sam Pilger, Ashes Match of My Life

Pitch took our original concept and further enhanced it, using their knowledge, experience and expertise, and helped make Got, Not Got one of the football books of the year for 2011.

Derek Hammond, Got, Not Got

Pitch bought into the concept of development through football, channeling profits and proceeds from Eleven into helping some of the most disadvantaged young people in the world.

Steve Fleming, Eleven

In the highly competitive world of sport publishing,
Pitch have consistently demonstrated the happy
knack of spotting, nurturing and promoting winners.

Neil Dunkin, Anfield of Dreams

20 Feb

AT LAST, MOTD BOSS TOPS THE BILL

Former Match of the Day boss Paul Armstrong tops the running order on talkSport's H&J Show and a recent This Football Life podcast.

Now's your chance to catch the highlights! Hear what Paul has to say about accidental swearing on air, the three years when ITV stole the Beeb's thunder, the doomsday scenario of no more terrestrial football on Saturday night - and controversial MOTD running orders.

All this and much more in a lively discussion between Paul Armstrong and talkSport's ever-popular Hawksbee & Jacobs.

Click here to hear the show broadcast on talkSport...
Click here to hear Paul discussing how MOTD is made on This Football Life podcast.
Click here to view video footage of Paul on Look North.
Click here to view archive footage of Paul hard at work on Match of the Day.

Click here for more information, or to read a sample chapter from Why Are We Always on Last?

Why Are We Always on Last? Running Match of the Day and Other Adventures in TV and Football is a ﬂy-on-the-wall account of Paul Armstrong’s career working on Britain’s favourite TV sports show (including nearly 15 years as the editor, defending his running orders) and a lifetime spent around sport, and football in particular.

From a virtual BBC monopoly of sports coverage and working at the Hillsborough disaster, to the era of Sky, social media and megaclubs, Paul takes us behind the scenes at MOTD and chronicles the joys and pressures of seven World Cups and live broadcasts of varying quality. He provides an honest and humorous account of the seismic changes he’s seen, both in broadcasting and the football industry.

He also shares inside stories of working with everyone from David Coleman to Brian Clough and Thierry Henry to Alan Shearer – all infused with the pessimism and jaundice acquired during almost five decades following Middlesbrough FC.

Read the memoirs of the former boss of Match of the Day to discover:

Why Japan fell in love with Ian Wright, while Robbie Savage’s ﬂuorescent orange shorts were less popular in Brazil
How an expletive in his ear alerted a half-asleep Alan Hansen to the fact that he was live on the air at Molineux
What happened when an old-school, politically incorrect cameraman insulted the great Jürgen Klinsmann
How a row involving Doctor Who almost took the classic Steven Gerrard FA Cup Final off the air mid-match
Why it’s best not to run an @motdeditor account, or tell a licence-fee paying blog respondent to ‘get stuffed’
Which varieties of Kit-Kat John Motson would and wouldn’t eat on the commentary gantry
Where and why Noel Gallagher and Spike Lee delivered a post-World Cup Final debrief
And, above all, how a simple weekly running order manages to provoke widespread angst and fury