Two Nines and Other Celtic Stories
The Immortals
Celtic told through the men who wore the number nine — a history of the club's great centre-forwards and the stories that grew around them.
Pitch Publishing · 2022
Publications
Books
Sports writing first — the game's money, its politics and the people who hold its power — then the poetry and fiction.
5 titles
Featured titles
Browse the covers
Sports books
Manchester United, Michael Knighton and the Football Revolution 1989–2019
The Visionary
Thirty years in the making: the never-before-told inside story of Michael Knighton's doomed attempt to buy Manchester United, the axis he forged with Alex Ferguson, and the financial blueprint the board used to build the club's unparalleled success.
Pitch Publishing · 2019
Poetry & fiction
Poetry
Radio Free Palestine
A resurrection of a poetry career, gathered into a single collection.
Stories in Honour of Eric Brown — contains 'The Neglected Bookshop'
To the Stars and Back
Edited by Ian Whates. A celebration of the life of Eric Brown, with new stories from the friends and collaborators who knew him best.
NewCon Press · 2023
Anthology — contains 'The Adventure of the Missing Master'
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
My Holmes, to the eternal bewilderment of Watson, has been reincarnated in the twenty first century, and is on the trail of a missing Tibetan spiritual master.
Mango Publishing, USA · 2021
The author
Phillip Vine
Ghostwriter, teacher, football club secretary — and, for the last decade, a writer full-time. Two books about football, politics and power, a resurrected body of poetry, and stories that demanded to be told.
1970s–80s
Ghostwriter, north-west England
A weekly newspaper column on football, its finances and its powerbrokers — written for other men's bylines.
1980s
Teacher, Holyhead
Chalk, rain and a godforsaken Catholic school on the Anglesey coast.
1990s
Club secretary, Carlisle United
Inside the Football League, fending off creditors and the bailiffs at the door.
2010s
Writing full-time
Poetry resurrected, short stories published on both sides of the Atlantic, awards and commendations.
2019
The Visionary
Michael Knighton, Manchester United and the revolution that money made.
2022
The Immortals
Celtic's Lisbon Lions, the nines and the other Celtic stories.