His mum wanted him to be a dentist (like her father) while his father wanted him to work alongside in an electronics factory. Though he played at representative and semi-professional level he never achieved his ambition of becoming a full-time pro. He now scouts in London for a northern Premiership club.

Writing, like football, is a passion he has had since childhood. He wrote his first book length manuscript in his late teens. 'A load of pretentious tosh' it is browning at the edges in a cupboard in his study! However, it was, he admits, good practice. Unable to separate his obsessions he writes mainly about footballers, having had published two biographies and a social history.

pitch, as both a sportsman and a gentleman, were recognised in the press by one journalist, reporting on a match against Manchester United, who stated "Tull is so clean in mind and method as to be a model for all white men who play football whether they be amateur or professional."

Discover more >

French is awarded a prestigious and big-money contract by the corrupt bursar of Archer College, Cambridge.

As a quietener roofer Billy French is awarded a prestigious and big-money contract by the corrupt bursar of Archer College, Cambridge. Billy’s gypsy wife and business partner, the hard-nosed, finely curved Franka has secret plans for the pot of gold. They’re on their way … until a posse of middle class duckers and divers intervene.

Dani Nkpagayee, Ogoni activist and torture victim, is forced to escape his polluted homeland of the Niger Delta, where oil companies have free reign. He finds spiritual solace with Azikiwe the goat. Yet, seeking political asylum in the UK, he enters a world even more insane.

keeps his head from exploding. However, Billy’s generosity in employing his friends – and Simeon’s subsequent muleing for the manor’s middle-class drug barons, Belinda and Henry - lays bare the irrepressible contradictions in Simeon’s life. Using uncharacteristic violence, Billy risks all to rekindle some peace and harmony in his troubled son’s life.