'JOHNNY HAYNES' EVENT AT THE COTTAGE

Pitch Publishing is a fantastic imprint.
They do all the great Got, Not Got series
and plenty of other 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 aficionado
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, Good Old Sussex by the Sea, Orient to the Emirates, 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 the sport of triathlon.

Andy Holgate, Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run & Can't Sleep, Can't Train, Can't Stop

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!, Natural

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 series of books

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

19 Oct

'JOHNNY HAYNES' EVENT AT THE COTTAGE

On Saturday before the Fulham-Preston match Johnny Haynes author, James Gardner, enjoyed a successful signing event at Craven Cottage. Thanks go out to Fulham FC for their hospitality and kindness, and of course to the clubs' fans for their enthusiasm about the book.

Here, James reports on an exciting and emotional day...

"I arrived at the Fulham store at midday with my brother Steve. We were warmly greeted by Carmelo, Fulham’s media manager, and the store manager Jackie. I was brought quite a few books to sign and also signed some for customers present. This included a young boy who asked me to sign his football shirt in the mistaken belief that I was the ex-Fulham star, Brian Mcbride, who was coming in at 12.30 to do some signing! Fortunately, his mother persuaded him that a copy of the book would be a good Christmas present. Other older fans came in and told me they planned to buy the book nearer Christmas. During my time in the store, Les Strong, the ex-Fulham player who missed the 1975 Cup Final through injury, came in and shook my hand and wished me luck with the book. And other staff told me they had heard it was a 'tremendous book' and were looking forward to reading it.

"Afterwards we met Avril Haynes, her niece Sar, and Melvin Tenner (ex-Fulham Supporters Club Chairman who knew Avril and Johnny) and had some photos taken in front of the Johnny Haynes statue.

"As we entered the Director's Lounge we were greeted by Fulham’s chief executive, Alistair Macintosh, and then were provided with fine refreshments. During our meal, David Daly, a non-executive director, came and introduced Brian McBride to Avril. He was over from the USA to open a bar named after him. After the meal, for the match we had very good seats in the 'Chairman’s Box'. On one side of us sat Martin O’Neill, the Republic of Ireland manager and in front were McBride and his wife. I assume O’Neill was there to study one of the Preston players as none of Fulham’s were qualified to play for his team.

"After being 2-0 down at half time, Fulham managed to level the scores at 2-2 in the 96th minute so my day had come to a perfect end. I was very grateful for Fulham’s hospitality and the friendliness of the staff which couldn’t have been bettered. As a last thought, it was fitting that Preston had been the opposition for Sir Tom Finney, their all-time star player, had been Johnny Haynes’ favourite player and someone he had learned so much from when playing for England."

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