Book Review: One Game at a Time by George F. Brown
The blurb on the back of a book is the opportunity to summarise the plot and lure in potential readers, letting them know what to expect. For George F. Brown’s debut novel, there were three phrases from that information that leapt out.
- One Game at a Time is a love letter to the lower sometimes forgotten, tiers of the English football pyramid.
- Gifford [the Bucknall manager] discovers that management is not just about what happens on the pitch and has to deal with the darker side of the game.
- George [F. Brown] has created a narrative that celebrates the tactics and spirit of the world’s most beloved sport.
And for this review these are the starting points to discuss.
First up, the book as, a love letter to the lower…tiers of the English football pyramid. The author has created a fictional team, Bucknall, playing in the National League, the top division of the non-league game, and from which clubs can progress to the ranks of the Football League. And whilst the opponents that appear within the book are ‘real’ clubs who have or are playing in the National League (aside from the other fictional team within the book, Trosley United), there is little else within the narrative that is really typical and indeed illustrates the reality of the lower tiers of the game. The National League is one dominated by full-time clubs, many with Football League experience with grounds and budgets to match and as such aren’t representative of the rest of the non-league pyramid. Indeed it is a league which sees and wants to align itself more with the Football League than the rest of the non-league pyramid.
Next, Gifford discovers that management is not just about what happens on the pitch and has to deal with the darker side of the game. Brown does indeed explore through a number of plotlines, genuine issues with the game at all levels, which includes racism and gambling, as well as the impact that a career in football can have on an individual’s personal and homelife.
And lastly in terms of the third highlighted points, George has created a narrative that celebrates the tactics and spirit of the world’s most beloved sport. The author certainly does this and displays a coach-like quality in the description of the training and match action as well as getting across the highs and lows of the beautiful game for owners, management and players alike.
What else can readers expect? Well, the main story focuses on the appointment of Gifford an ex-player of Bucknall, who with no experience of managing at senior level tries to change the fortunes of the club as it languishes at the bottom of the National League. Along the way he signs the talented but wayward and ageing forward in Tommy Pearce to resurrect both the players and Bucknall’s fortunes.
Not every game is detailed as the season progresses, instead certain fixtures are described all with an impact on the team and crucial to the plotlines.
At less than 200 pages this is not an overly long book or taxing read, and with 45 short chapters moves quickly through the season to its conclusion.
Football fiction or indeed, Sports fiction in general, is not an easy genre to get right. George F. Brown in this book demonstrates a passion for the game and an easy writing style, however, this reader was left with the feeling that the greatest stories and drama still come from the real-life football of the past, the present and indeed the future.
(Publisher: DB Publishing. September 2023. Paperback: 192 pages)
Buy the book here: One Game at a Time