PAUL SMITH ON NOTTS - WITH KEYS & GRAY

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

08 Feb

PAUL SMITH ON NOTTS - WITH KEYS & GRAY

Author Paul Smith recently guested on beIN Sports' popular Keys & Gray Show, discussing his book Record Breakers: The Inside Story of Notts County's Momentous 1997/98 Title Win.

The good news: Richard Keys hailed the book as "A really good read. Thoroughly enjoyed it. And Sam Allardyce loved it!"

The bad news: The world's oldest football league club are currently adrift at the bottom of League Two, at serious risk of losing their hallowed, historical status.

Click here to listen to the entertaining conversation - looking back on Andy Gray's time as a Notts player, the great 1997/98 season under Sam, and analysing the club's current predicament.

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from Record Breakers.

Record Breakers: The Inside Story of Notts County’s Momentous 1997/98 Title Win delves into the inner sanctum of a basement-league dressing room in the 90s, as its inhabitants attempt to write themselves into the history books.

Led by future England boss Sam Allardyce, taking some of his first managerial steps, Record Breakers is the inspirational tale of how the world’s oldest Football League club fought back from a plunge down the divisions, falling attendances and financial strife to become the first side in postwar English football to win a title in March.

The momentous feat is relived by the players themselves, lending a unique insight into their record run. It’s packed with characters and anecdotes, and augmented with memories of supporters who lived through this season of tumbling records. From training ground punch-ups to transfer tales and unforgettable celebrations, Record Breakers is a remarkable winners’ story in what now seems a bygone era.

Relive the camaraderie, remember the unique atmosphere and winning mentality that contributed to Notts County’s unforgettable 1997/98 season. Go behind the scenes with Record Breakers and discover:

The financial strife that threatened to pull the club apart before the season had even started
What football used to look like through the eyes of a lower-league English club in the previous millennium
The real reasons behind Sam Allardyce’s acrimonious departure from the club – as told in an exclusive interview with the manager
Which player offered Allardyce out for a fight during a team-bonding night out
The numerous records broken by a special group of footballers in the course of one historic season
The identity of the player whose celebratory antics meant he stayed awake for the duration of Notts’ post-season Marbella jaunt
How ruthless teammates punished losers in training-ground contests – with one player losing a tooth from a flying cone
Which of the class of 1997/98 became a Tesco driver, who emigrated to Menorca and who worked for Formula One’s Mark Webber