The most important United man you may never have heard of
HOW PAUL FERRIS CAME TO HAVE A HUGE INFLUENCE ON TOON LEGENDS’ CAREERS
IT is a crisp winter afternoon on Newcastle’s Quayside. Outside, some Spanish tourists marvel at the bridges along the Tyne while law workers weave between them to grab a sandwich and a coffee for lunch.
Inside the plush Malmaison hotel, couples peruse the menu and smartly-dressed businessmen tap into the wifi in comfort.
What nobody apart from me knows is that sat in the middle of the room is a man who was once dubbed “the next George Best” before injury cruelly denied him a top-level career with Newcastle United.
Yet his story did not end there. In fact, that was only the beginning.
Sitting in the hotel restaurant is the guy who was United’s invisible man for the best part of 18 years.
Only a certain generation may recognise Paul Ferris at second glance but he has been more than just a former player during his time on Newcastle’s books.
He was a vital cog in the wheel during better days for the club.
While Joe Public may not know who Ferris is, some of the most iconic figures in Newcastle’s history know exactly what he means to the club.
Kevin Keegan, Alan Shearer, Paul Gascoigne, Rob Lee, Philippe Albert, David Ginola and Les Ferdinand will tell you exactly how important Ferris was in the back-room team.
Without Ferris, you wouldn’t have a successful rehab story for Shearer back in 1997.
Without Ferris we may not have experienced Albert’s chipped wonder goal against Manchester United and without Ferris players like Ginola, Lee and Ferdinand may not have settled so well in the city during the Entertainers era.
After spending some time with Ferris it is easy to see how he made such a big impact behind the scenes without being overstated - a skilled operation if ever there was one.
I am meeting Ferris because he is about to release a book which, once opened, you will be unable to put down.
There is no fanfare as Ferris arrives alone with no PR people to tell me why he has decided to write his life story.
It is a story which takes you back to Newcastle in the 1980s when it was a very different place and it will take you on a gentle meander through some of the major characters at the club down the years.
It is unique, interesting, extremely emotive and gives some insight which supporters have never heard before - including a detailed account of how Shearer was left in the cold by Mike Ashley back in 2009.
However, this is more than just a football story, it is a life tale and a serious one at that.
It starts with the brutal backdrop of his childhood which unfolded during the troubles in Northern Ireland with one of Ferris’ biggest battles coming before he signed for United.
He has overcome plenty of battles since then.
When asked why he decided to publish a book, Ferris says: “It is pretty simple really, I think if you are lying on a hospital bed, wired up, at 48 years old after a heart attack and you cannot reflect on your life at that point, I don’t think you ever will.
“It is called The Boy on the Shed because when I lying on the hospital bed this forgotten past kept coming back to me.
“My life, my mum, my childhood and how you ended up being an Irish person lying on a bed in Newcastle at 48. Then I built it from there. I have three kids who were all born in Newcastle.
“All of their family live in Ireland and I wanted them to know who
their mum and dad were and how we got here. My wife always tells me off for not having the courage to talk about where I have been. “I think it is an Irish working-class thing. When I look back on it, and hopefully there is more to come, I have been on a unique journey. “It is a unique journey I have shared with people who know me because most of my life has kind of been spent in the background, in the shadows. “I have played a significant part but not in the public eye – and I kind of like it like that really.” In writing the book, Ferris is arguably propelling himself into some limelight for the first time since he emerged as one of Newcastle’s best young prospects in the 1980s before injury claimed his career. His story is raw and will