In 2014 I wrote and self-published my first book, titled My Cup Upset. Me and my friend Mark decided to spend a season watching the FA Cup together, picking a non-league team in the very first qualifying round, then following whoever won that game into the next round, and whoever won the next game all the way to the FA Cup Final. What was supposed to be a light-hearted football travelogue turned into a tale of woe and broken friendship. And cream cakes. So many bloody cream cakes.

It’s hard to really explain without giving any more away, but to answer the question I’m asked most about it: yes, you’ll like it even if you don’t like football. One of the most common pieces of feedback I heard was that it really wasn’t essential to your enjoyment or understanding of it. It’s available to buy as an ebook from Amazon, and Google Books have it too, and you don’t have to have a Kindle either—you can just download the app and read it on your smartphone or tablet. Or, if you’re really keen but that all sounds a bit much, drop me an email and I can just email the PDF to you.

I also told the story live as part of a stand-up show, which did a small tour of football clubs, including the Notts County dressing room, probably the height of my comedy career!