Nowhere to Run

The Ridiculous Life of a Semi-Professional Football Club Chairman

De: Jonathan Sayer

Narrado por: Jonathan Sayer

Brought to you by Penguin.

On the second oldest football pitch in the world, Jonathan Sayer stands atop a beer crate to address the assembled fans of Ashton United FC. As his initial optimism and disillusionment begin to slip through his fingers, the new co-chairman and co-owner (alongside his dad) starts to realise the scale of the challenge ahead.

Battling to keep the club afloat, a record number of games without a win sees hope turn to despair as Jonathan contends with a mutiny from a group of octogenarian supporters, constant battles with the local council and a star striker who arrives on crutches despite somehow passing his medical.

As the on-pitch form continues to deteriorate and rifts appear between him and his father, Jonathan begins to make some increasingly desperate decisions: dressing as a seven-foot robin in the local market in an effort to drum up larger crowds, sinking his savings into an ever spiralling wage bill and even contemplating bringing in a local priest to lift the 'Boxing Day Curse' by performing a late-night exorcism on the pitch.

Chronicling the euphoric highs and bitter disappointments of the less glamourous side of the beautiful game, Nowhere to Run is the hilarious, heart-warming tale of life in the hot seat of a non-league football club.

©2023 Jonathan Sayer (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Entertaining listen!

Emotional rollercoaster as the author/narrator/owner takes us behind the scenes of taking on the responsibilities of owning a football club. The highs the lows and everything in between. No matter how big or small a club is there are always the magnificent stories they have to tell. This was a fun one to listen to. I would love to see Ashton play one day.

Delightfully heartwarming and funny

Amazing story about turning your passion into a family business. You will really enjoy even if you are not a sports fan, but fans will definitely resonate with the highs and lows of loving a team. This book is filled with fun characters who will feel like friends by the end of the book. Jonathan’s honest description of imposter syndrome and trying to deal with it really resonated with me, and was quite encouraging. A really engaging, laugh-out-loud read with lots of heart!