Paul Ferris (born 10 July 1965) is a Northern Irish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...

for Newcastle United, barrister and author.

Biography

Ferris was born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. In 1981, he signed for Newcastle United from Lisburn Youth in Northern Ireland and became the club's youngest ever debutant when he appeared aged just 16 years and 294 days. He scored his only senior goal against Bradford City in 1984. A medial ligament injury meant he played just 14 matches and moved to Barrow F.C., with whom he won the FA Trophy at Wembley before moving into local non-league football with Gateshead. In 1993, he returned as physio under Kevin Keegan. He remained there until 2006, during which time he gained a master's degree in History of Ideas. He also studied law before leaving to pursue a career as a barrister and was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 2007. He returned to the club in April 2009 as part of Alan Shearer's management team. He wrote his first novel ''An Irish Heartbeat'' in 2011. He formed a health and fitness company ( Speedflex) with Graham Wylie and Alan Shearer, with Ferris as Chief Executive. He suffered a heart attack in 2013. He wrote his memoir ''The Boy On The Shed'', which went on to be a highly acclaimed, multi-award-winning bestselling book (British Sports Book Awards - Autobiography of the Year / Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year / Times Sports Book of the Year / Daily Telegraph Football Book of the Year / Shortlisted for William Hill Sports Book of the Year). He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and recovered following treatment. He lives in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, England, with his wife Geraldine and has three boys and a granddaughter. He continues to write and has given several well received talks on his life story to date.

References

External links

Paul Ferris
a
Post War English & Scottish Football League A – Z Player's Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Paul 1965 births Living people Association footballers from Lisburn Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Men's association football midfielders English Football League players Newcastle United F.C. players Gateshead F.C. players Association football physiotherapists Newcastle United F.C. non-playing staff Barristers from Northern Ireland Writers from Lisburn