Hi, I’m Simon Goodyear. I’ve written over a dozen books since 2008 and a variety of other titles, all met with glowing reviews from the media and sports fans.
The lives of many top-level pros are filled with breathtaking highs, and excruciating lows which mostly don’t make the papers or broadcast media. With my books, you’ll get insight into the rollercoaster careers of many household names.
Whether you’re about to go on holiday and need a gripping book to read by the pool, or you simply want to delve into the life of a top-level professional, why not choose one of my books? Written with in-depth research and in close contact with the person I’m writing about, each book delivers an accurate, engrossing account of his life and career.
Modern day football produces such diverse stories; humble beginnings, daily commitments and overcoming challenges. I’ve loved writing them and often found inspiration in the stories of triumph through sheer hard work. I hope you do too.
I am now the agent for Rob Carless, a new author who I am steering along the path of writing exciting football books.
A top media journalist wrote:
“I loved the books on Peter Withe and Brian Little, both of whom are childhood heroes. Peter explained how he and his young wife Cathy would literally go to the ends of the Earth to build his football dream – and it ended with Peter becoming a European champion with a club he dreamt about - literally. Pure inspiration! Brian came down to Birmingham from County Durham and never left! He’s an absolute legend, our Georgie Best with so many great Villa stories through our most decorated years.”
Author of a dozen books and counting.
Author of Three Games in May (out March 2023) and Shaun Teale autobiography (TBC).
It all started by chance really, shortly after my father passed away in the autumn of 2008. While searching through my father’s house, I discovered a scruffy, old plastic bag with what appeared to be a t-shirt in it. On closer inspection, I discovered it was an old England football shirt. Not knowing who this 1960s’ football shirt belonged to, I later discovered a host of old photos and identified the person on the photos as the late Gerry Hitchens. Putting two and two together, I assumed the England shirt also belonged to the ex-Aston Villa, Inter Milan, and England legend. Indeed, it did.
It didn’t take long for me to contact the Hitchens family, and a few weeks later I returned the photos and the England shirt to its rightful home. However, it wasn’t by coincidence that the shirt was in my father’s possession; my father was in fact a friend of the Hitchens family, and was in the process of trying to get the shirt displayed in a museum.
In the meantime, I had gained permission of the family to write Gerry’s long-awaited biography. Not having any experience in writing, I set about the task of trying to fill a book with the memories of his family and information taken from newspaper articles, which had been compiled by my father. It could be said that I went into it ‘blind’, but no more than six months later, and after many trips to North Wales to interview Gerry’s widow, Meriel, and eldest son, Marcus, a book was published called ‘The Gerry Hitchens Story: From Mine to Milan’. The rest, as they say, is history.
Much publicity was secured from the publication of the book (and the subsequent discovery of rare 8mm cine film shot by Gerry Hitchens during the 1962 World Cup in Chile), including appearances on the BBC™, Sky Sports™, and talkSPORT™ radio. It did not take long for me to acquire a taste and passion for writing.
In the years that followed, I’ve written more books, and my latest books document the life stories of football legends Peter Withe (2017) and Brian Little (2018). Other projects are also in the pipeline, so watch this website for further updates.
Oh, and watch out for the movie version of the Peter Withe book....yes, it's in the early stages of being made into a film.
Incidentally, that England shirt is now being displayed at St George's Park, England's training HQ.