David Peace

My father used to say, 'If you want to know the artist, look at the art'. He was usually talking about Stanley Matthews or Don Bradman when he said it.

He once told me, Instead of scoring thirty goals a season, why don't you score twenty-five and help someone else to score fifteen? That way the team's ten goals better off.

How you harangue referees. How you fall over when you've not been touched. How you make a meal out of every tackle to try and get the other player booked. How you protest when you have nothing to fucking protest about _

Age does not count. It__ what you know about football that matters.

And I didn't think you believed in god or a heaven.''Having been here thirty-four days,' I tell him, 'I've changed my mind, Sydney.''Why's that then?' he smiles.'Well, if there's a hell like this place, then there has to be heaven somewhere.