SCOTLAND FOREVER

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

14 Nov

SCOTLAND FOREVER

Scotland – Glory, Tears & Souvenirs is an offbeat collection of memories, mementos, rants and aspirations relating to Scotland’s national football team. A ‘look back in hunger’ on the post-war era, with emphasis on the 1970s to date. A reminder of the way football was, the way it is now and the way we’d like it to be!

Here’s Switzerland 54, Denis Law, trading cards, match programmes, Archie Gemmill, Argentina 78, beermats, Kenny Dalglish, vinyl records, Spain 82, Ally McCoist, the Tartan Army, Italia 90, the Kirin Cup, Jimmy Hill, France 98, Panini stickers and James McFaddennn!

Nostalgia and a warped sense of humour are what gets Scotland supporters through in a nightmare world where all our near-neighbours now get to ‘go to the ball’ – France 2016, at least – while we await the arrival of a Fairy Godmother and a defence that doesn’t leak goals. There’s no room for wallowing in self-pity, though. Read this therapeutic comfort blanket of a book, cheer at the good bits and laugh at the bad. We shall overcome...

Nostalgic memories are evoked with Christmas annuals, vintage magazine photos and numerous images of our childhood heroes in the dark blue – and occasional other colours – of Scotland. Read Scotland: Glory, Tears and Souvenirs and you'll also discover:

How to tell your ABCs from your FKSs and Paninis. Find out why we love the Chix, Monty Gum and Topps, too
How we once strove to give the opposition a sporting chance by ensuring that some of our footballers who scored on their international debuts never played for Scotland again!
Who only played 45 minutes for Scotland but is still immortalised in a World Cup card set
How cream cakes and sandwiches contributed to a poor World Cup finals for the Scotland team decades before booze, birds and drugs got the blame
Who are the real heroes in the famous dark blue jerseys and all their colourful variations... except perhaps the pink version
Which player got on a World Cup beermat but not on a plane to Argentina
What are the great Scotland matches which made life just wonderful despite the nation having to contend with the likes of an awful climate, an awful diet and Thatcherism
Why the hunter-gatherer, collecting gene is particularly strong amongst supporters of Scotland's national football team – programmes, trading cards, annuals, badges, beermats, comics, magazines, stickers, ticket stubs, turf, goalposts, and so on...

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