Pat Nevin

We are delighted that football writer, pundit, broadcaster, and bona fide legend, Pat Nevin will be joining us in Edinburgh for his brilliant new memoir Football And How To Survive It.

Pat takes us on a journey to the less glamorous side of football. From Tranmere to Kilmarnock, he plays some of the best football he's ever played. Then, in an unprecedented twist of fate, finds himself both player and Chief Executive of Scottish First Division club Motherwell.

What follows is an entertaining and revealing story about the side of football that you hardly ever see. Pat's struggles never end—from attempting to contain simmering tensions between owner and manager to flying on Lear planes one day and selling half the squad the next! So much is madness, like being the manager's boss, and his player at the same time; or discovering that the ground's goalposts are higher on one side than on the other!

And with challenges at every corner, such as learning that his son is autistic, and the club hurtling towards administration, Pat strives to walk the impossible line between player, parent and boss.

Starting at Celtic Boys Club, over a 20-year career, Pat Nevin has played for Clyde, Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere Rovers, Kilmarnock and Motherwell. He has won 28 caps for Scotland across a ten-year international career. Nevin was chair of the Professional Footballer's Association and since retiring as a player has worked as chief executive of Motherwell. He is now a football writer and broadcaster for Radio 5 Live, BBC World Service, Chelsea TV, BBC Sport website, and Ireland's Newstalk Radio.