It was while commentating on a Goal of the Month competiton that Dan Walker uttered the immortal line: 'What a strike from Mike Sheron - what a thronker!' He'd coined the term to describe a long-range shot that blasted into the net, threatening to annihilate any passing pigeon. Since then, he has been trying to get the word accepted - if not by the OED then at least by Countdown. Hence this book has become a Thronkersaurus, a book that tells the hilarious stories of the great and not-so-great moments in footballing history.

Taking his own experiences as a starting point, Walker journeys to obscure areas of football to find the most extraordinary tales. He still worries that the Barcelona scouts lost the trail when his local newspaper reported his two goals as having been scored by David Wacker instead. But then again, who was Joe Kinnear talking about when he referred to Charles Insomnia? Whether it is players sacrificing lizards to bring them luck, or the moment when Walker yelled at Pele to stop him signing some merchandise for him, this is a brilliant collection of wonderful moments and hilarious anecdotes that will surprise and and entertain all who read it.

There's something special about cup football, and Dan Walker has had a privileged seat for some of football's greatest knockout dramas, getting close to the action in World Cups and FA Cups. Who wouldn't want to play a knockabout game of beach football on Copacabana beach with Clarence Seedorf? But there have also been moments when things haven't quite gone according to plan, as when he rubbed out the names on Wrexham's honours board live on Football Focus, or when he was halfway up the famous Wembley arch on FA Cup final day, only to be interrupted by his mum ringing him up to ask what he wanted for his tea.

Dan's own personal highlights reel is a jumping-off point for some of the funniest and most bizarre football stories of cup success and failure, from the most outrageous dressing-room dust-ups to Maradona's greatest rants. Then there's those moments that show footballers in a new light, such as Ipswich Town's Paul Anderson, who paid to repair a fan's ceiling after the fan punched a hole in it when celebrating a vital goal scored by Anderson. Packed with brilliant photographs, and told in Dan's unique style, the book also features a collection of his hugely popular team line-ups to make this the perfect gift for football fans everywhere.