Clark fears No football until next year, says Raith chief.

A Scottish football historian has published a biography of one of the leading characters in a new Netflix series, The English Game.

Andy Mitchell has written the life story of Arthur Kinnaird, whose clashes with Fergie Suter have been dramatised by Julian Fellowes to tell the story of the birth of professional football in the 1880s.

Kinnaird was football’s first superstar and captained Old Etonians to FA Cup glory after their famous cup tie against Darwen in 1879.

Described as “without exception, the best player of the day”, he took part in nine FA Cup finals (a record to this day), played for Scotland and was Football Association president for 33 years.

He was such an influential figure in football in the Victorian era that he was presented with the original FA

Cup in gratitude, and “did more to popularise soccer than any man who ever lived”.

Kinnaird’s extraordinary life and crucial contribution to the formative years of football are revealed by Andy Mitchell, a former SFA head of communications, who has written several books on sporting history.

He was a consultant to the Netflix series because of his expertise on early football.

He said: “Many people will have seen Arthur Kinnaird brought to life in The English Game and I think they will be fascinated by his true story.

“He was much more than a bit of a toff who dabbled in football. He first played primitive football in the 1860s, and became a major influence in the development of the game.”

Arthur Kinnaird: First Lord of Football is published at £8.99 (paperback) or £3.99 (Kindle).