Saturday Bloody Saturday
by Alastair Campbell; Paul Fletcher
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Pub Date 8 Feb 2018 | Archive Date 2 Mar 2018
Orion Publishing Group | Orion
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Description
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
Football manager Charlie Gordon is struggling with one defeat after another at the club he loves. Only a decent Cup run is keeping him in work, but tensions are running close to the surface ahead of the next round: Chelsea away.
Footballers fall into two categories: artists or assassins. Soon Charlie is going to find out which players can deliver - and just how much pressure they can all stand.
Meanwhile, as the country prepares for a general election, one of the most dangerous political assassinations in the IRA's history is being planned in London. An active service unit await the critical signal to proceed...
Both sides will converge on the capital for a result that will shake everyone's lives, with consequences far beyond football.
Advance Praise
'Alastair Campbell and I spent hundreds of hours together during the peace process and, fair to say, a lot of the downtime was spent talking about football. A story that brings together so brilliantly football in the 70s and the dark days of the terrible violence we worked so hard to end is a must-read for any fan of football or any friend of Ireland.’
Bertie Ahern, former Taoiseach of Ireland
‘With a lot of football and a fair bit of Ireland, this book was made for me.’
Johnny Giles
'A gripping combination of football (as we used to know it) and terrorism (as we still know it). And no, I didn't anticipate the explosive climax.'
Delia Smith
‘A brilliantly told story about football when it was a proper mans’ game.’
Ron Harris
'A great book. It has everything - thrilling suspense, intrigue, funny - and what an ending. I couldn’t put it down.'
Brian Flynn
‘I nearly bought Paul Fletcher from Burnley when I was manager at Manchester United. It could have been my biggest mistake!! Great book, though, all about my era.’
Tommy Docherty
‘Magical story of football in a wonderful era, fascinating ending.’
Tom Watt
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781409174530 |
| PRICE | £18.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 416 |
Featured Reviews
Greville W, Reviewer
This book did not augur so well, a hybrid novel combining football and political terrorism so I began it with limited hopes and expectations but my fears were allayed when I thoroughly enjoyed Alastair Campbell & Paul Fletcher's ambitious novel.
They totally capture the feel of 70s football and the violence that lurked near the surface. The characters are well drawn, particularly the flawed hero, Charlie Gordon, one defeat away from the sack from an unnamed small Northern town first division club perhaps not a million miles away from Burnley!
The football action is authentic as is the behind the scenes shenanigans and politicking.
There is also a linked IRA terrorist plot which seems unnecessary but really works extremely well in a totally unexpected ending which cleverly and neatly draws all the strands together.
All in all an excellent novel covering a topic where the bar has previously been set extremely low.
Good to be reminded of so many long forgotten footballers from that era. One minor editing quibble: The FA Cup match at Stamford Bridge which plays an important part in the latter stage of the book seems to have been refereed by both Jack Taylor and Neil Midgely, hopefully a mistake that will be rectified.
