Once Upon a Toon cover art

Once Upon a Toon

18 Years Inside Newcastle United

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Once Upon a Toon

By: Paul Ferris, Alan Shearer - foreword
Narrated by: Ruairi Conaghan
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Once Upon a Toon: 18 Years Inside Newcastle United by Paul Ferris read by Ruairi Conaghan, with the foreword read by Alan Shearer

‘A must-read for any Newcastle fan.'
ALAN SHEARER

‘A brilliant read.'
SHAY GIVEN

‘A triumph... Beautifully written'
LES FERDINAND

Fascinating chronicles of an utterly unique life in football and 18 years at Newcastle United, with a foreword by Alan Shearer.

Once Upon a Toon offers a unique perspective on life behind the scenes at one of England’s most famous football clubs. No other individual has had the immense privilege of working at Newcastle United in the capacity that Paul Ferris once did: as a player between 1981 and 1986, as a physiotherapist between 1993 and 2006, and finally as a key member of Alan Shearer’s management team in 2009.

This is a light-hearted, often hilarious and sometimes unbelievable retelling of the events Paul experienced and characters he encountered. His numerous, otherwise forgotten, tales from the bygone era of 1980s football include the likes of Kevin Keegan, Jack Charlton, Arthur Cox, Paul Gascoigne, Peter Beardsley, George Best and more. Ferris’s chronicles from 18 years at Newcastle United also feature managers such as Graeme Souness and Sir Bobby Robson, the tumultuous 1993–2006 period and Alan Shearer’s ill-fated short tenure.

If you are a Newcastle United supporter, football fan or loved The Boy on the Shed, this book is the ultimate way to revisit the club’s precious glory days of football.

©2025 Paul Ferris (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Football (Soccer) Sports Funny Heartfelt Witty

Listeners also enjoyed...

My Story in Black and White cover art
Paul Gascoigne: Eight cover art
The Boy on the Shed cover art
My Life in Football: The Autobiography cover art
Joe Cole, Luxury Player cover art
Newcastle United Stole My Heart cover art
Saturday Afternoon Fever cover art
Toxic cover art
Freddie Flintoff: Coming Home cover art
The Changing Game cover art
On the Edge cover art
How to Be a Football Manager cover art
Whatever will be, will be cover art
Peter Kay’s Diary: The Monthly Memoir of a Boy from Bolton cover art
Only Here for a Visit cover art
Naughty: The Story of a Football Hooligan Gang cover art
All stars
Most relevant
A brilliantly written series of short stories that covered every emotion possible. A great insight into Newcastle United and football in general and also the personal relationships created over a career in football. Brilliant from start to finish.

Incredible

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Listening to this fantastic story Paul as always has had me laughing then crying at his many stories.
I love all of the stories about Big Al I see Alan Shearer in a different light now and what a bloke he is a genuine friend to many.
The way Paul writes is from the heart with pride and feeling.
This book is the third he has written and Paul has left me hoping there is a fourth.
I have been lucky enough to have met Paul himself and my daughter described him as “ My mam’s famous footballer friend much more famous than Alan Shearer” and I know people will disagree but in my heart he is.
Thank you Paul for an amazing story and like you I am super proud to be a Geordie you have touched me again with your wonderful words.

From the heart

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A witty and uplifting book. No surprise, from my favourite author and Toon player/physio

An awesome hat trick

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Paul may have been a star footballer for a short period, his hard graft to get through good and not so good times is truly inspirational and his deification to Newcastle and Newcastle United is nothing short of amazing. Thank you Paul.

True Geordie Legend

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.