For football fans and especially those of Newcastle, Paul Ferris, was a player in their team during the 80’s and seen as a new talent compared to George Best. Ferris signed for Newcastle In 1981, coming in from Lisburn Youth 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. He led his new club to win 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.
Ferris 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 / Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year / Times Sports Book of the Year / Daily Telegraph Football Book of the Year[5] / Shortlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year.
In The Boy on the Shed, Paul charts a playing career that brought him into contact with stars like Kevin Keegan, Ruud Gullit and Alan Shearer — and tries to make sense of his upbringing in Troubles-torn Northern Ireland. He was the youngest player, at 16 years and 294 days old, to play for the Newcastle United’s first team, but then a freak training ground injury ended what everyone believed would be a glittering career as a professional footballer.
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