Pass Master: Football, Fergie, Big Jack and My Life in the Beautiful and Sometimes Brutal Game

Former Newcastle, Manchester United and Ireland midfielder Liam O’Brien lifts the lid on his eventful playing career and shares previously untold behind-the-scenes stories.

Written with veteran journalist Jimmy Geoghegan.

Liam grew up in working-class Dublin, but he didn’t become a full-time professional until signing for Manchester United at age 22. Two years later, despite being offered a new contract by Alex Ferguson, Liam made the brave call to leave Old Trafford and join struggling Newcastle United instead.

Read this gripping memoir to discover:

• What life was like at Manchester United in the 1980s
• What it was like to play under Sir Alex Ferguson as he rebuilt Manchester United
• What it was like to play for the Magpies as Kevin Keegan sparked a dramatic change in the club’s fortunes – to this day, Newcastle fans still sing a song about Liam and the famous goal he scored against Sunderland
• An insider account of playing under Jack Charlton, Jim McLoughlin and Johnny King as well as Ferguson and Keegan
• The story of his spells playing for Bohemians, Shamrock Rovers, Tranmere Rovers and the Republic of Ireland
• What day-to-day life in football was like for a player in the 1980s, before the game was flooded by money
• How Liam fought back from a serious leg injury that threatened his career, and how he made a new life for himself, in and outside football, after his playing days were over

A must-read for Manchester United and Newcastle fans, this is a story of 1980s and 90s football, of exhilarating highs but also crushing lows.