Nowhere to Run: The ridiculous life of a semi-professional football club chairman

Description

A hilarious account of life at the helm of a non-league football club, offering a candid insight into the on-field misfortunes and off-field disasters in the lower tiers of the football pyramid. On the second oldest football pitch in the world, Jonathan Sayer stands atop a beer crate to address the assembled fans of Ashton United FC. As his initial optimism and disillusionment begin to slip through his fingers, the new co-chairman and co-owner (alongside his dad) starts to realise the scale of the challenge ahead. Battling to keep the club afloat, a record number of games without a win sees hope turn to despair as Jonathan contends with a mutiny from a group of octogenarian supporters, constant battles with the local council and a star striker who arrives on crutches despite somehow passing his medical. As the on-pitch form continues to deteriorate and rifts appear between him and his father, Jonathan begins to make some increasingly desperate decisions- dressing as a seven-foot robin in the local market in an effort to drum up larger crowds, sinking his savings into an ever spiralling wage bill and even contemplating bringing in a local priest to lift the 'Boxing Day Curse' by performing a late-night exorcism on the pitch. Chronicling the euphoric highs and bitter disappointments of the less glamourous side of the beautiful game, Nowhere to Run is the hilarious, heart-warming tale of life in the hot seat of a non-league football club.

Jonathan Sayer is an award-winning comedy playwright and screenwriter; he is the co-author of The Play That Goes Wrong (Henry Lewis, Henry Shields), Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Groan Ups, Magic Goes Wrong (Penn & Teller), The Mind Mangler Member of The Tragic Circle and The Goes Wrong Show (BBC One- series 1&2). He is a writer, performer and Creative Director of Mischief Comedy. His work has been performed internationally in forty-six territories including The West End and Broadway. As a footballer Jonathan played his only competitive game for AFC Stanley Tigers U13's in the late nineties. He was brought on as a half time substitute and substituted again shortly after gifting the opposition three goals in five minutes. After his debut Accrington Stanley ended its official ties to the team and Jonathan took the decision hang up his brand new boots for good.