Life's a Pitch - and then you start doing a podcast

Michael Calvin’s latest book venture launches next month and this time the award-winning sports journalist has invited some friends along for the ride.

The Independent on Sunday’s Last Word columnist is editing a football anthology entitled Life’s a Pitch, the same name as the BT website which produces articles, blogs and vodcasts on the beautiful game.

Calvin, who hosts the BT vodcasts, has asked Life’s a Pitch’s regular panellists to shelve professional neutrality and to reveal their private passion for the sport. The result is a pot pourri of personal anecdotes, memories and in-sights from some of the top writers in the business.

Calvin reveals the torment of torn loyalties, People chief sports writer Dave Kidd explains why Fulham fans do not take themselves seriously, author Jonathan Wilson pays homage to Malcolm Crosby. Twitter devotee Iain Macintosh may, or may not, profess man love for Stan Collymore while Mirror colleagues John Cross and football correspondent Martin Lipton serve up a north London derby duel.

The Guardian’s Dominic Fifield writes about Crystal Palace in China, Derby legend Ted McMinn grabs the attention of The People’s Tom Hopkinson, and Sunday Mirror sports editor David Walker provides an unprecedented glimpse into life at Leeds United.

Other contributors include Ian Ridley, Rory Smith of The Times, Luke Moore of thefootballramble.com, former Arsenal pro Adrian Clarke, multi-lingual Laure James, Rob Smyth, Life’s a Pitch editor Dan Willis and SJA committee member Janine Self.

The book is launched on September 17, priced at £10.99, but pre-release copies are available by clicking on this link. The anthology will also be available on ebook, priced £6.49.