Achievements of world record-breaker Nathan Pond greater than he thought, book reveals

The 40-year-old, now a coach at Highbury, made history by turning out for the same club at seven levels of the pyramid – from the North West Counties to League One over 15 years (2003-18) – and Mitchell's account of his amazing career is on sale now.

The author's researches also revealed that Preston-born Pond's club appearance record is due for an update.

David told the Weekly News: “Pondy's official record is 498 and he was always a bit frustrated to think he missed out on 500 because two matches against Farsley Celtic were expunged (when that club disbanded during the 2009-10 National North campaign).

“Phil Brown (club vice-chairman) and I managed to get his total up to 574 (with cup games and other matches which had slipped through the net in non-league days), which was good news for Pondy but he has 498 tattooed on his leg!”

A Fleetwood headteacher (at Rossall Juniors and Charles Saer Community Primary), David went on to work for the media team at Highbury before focusing on his writing.

His 14th book in 15 years took longer to come together than most as he explained: “Pondy was a very quiet and private person but it was becoming more and more obvious that he had a unique story to tell.

“He slowly warmed to the idea of the book but I had to be patient. He was pleased with it in the end and said it would make his dad proud.”

It's Cheshire-based Mitchell's second book on Fleetwood Town, after 2015's Living The Dream covered those historic six promotions in a decade.

“Of course I had to cover those highlights with Nathan but I didn't want this book to read like a series of match reports,” he adds.

“I spoke to a lot of people and got a really good reaction. There are a lot of anecdotes – from his first captain, Frank Cygal, managers such as Tony Greenwood, Micky Mellon and Graham Alexander, club staff and fans.

“I really wanted a line from Jamie Vardy (a teammate when Town won promotion to the EFL in 2011/12) for the cover and eventually got something from Leicester when we played them in the FA Cup. I called their press office and Jamie just happened to be in the room.”

If that was a case of right-place-right-time, the author feels Pond's success story could perhaps be summed up the same way. “The club and the player worked well for each other. As Fleetwood improved, so did Pondy and the club enabled him to play at higher and higher levels.” says David.

“The book also covers race, an important part of Pondy's background, his clubs after Fleetwood (including AFC Fylde) and international experiences with Monserrat.”

PONDY: Captain, Leader & Legend is available at £9.99 from the Fleetwood Town shop and website, and direct from the author at [email protected]