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Just 14
Fiction and fact merge effortlessly in this story of a teenage boy following every game of his beloved Aston Villa's glorious 1980/81 season. As he turns 14 (one year for every Villa player used) his life begins to change in many unexpected ways.
Taking you back to a time of; Star Soccer, Big Ron's Albion, an Old Gold Andy Gray and Cloughie's Forest. This is the book is a must for anyone who followed Midland football in the early 80's.
'Just 14' really has it all; from the shooting of John Lennon, the ripping skirts of Bucks Fizz to a guest appearance from Pele this book will make you laugh, smile and probably even cry.
Taking you back to a time of; Star Soccer, Big Ron's Albion, an Old Gold Andy Gray and Cloughie's Forest. This is the book is a must for anyone who followed Midland football in the early 80's.
'Just 14' really has it all; from the shooting of John Lennon, the ripping skirts of Bucks Fizz to a guest appearance from Pele this book will make you laugh, smile and probably even cry.
393 pages, Paperback
First published July 9, 2015
2 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Andy Dale
5 books5 followersFinally, 25 years after I started writing it, I am published my début novel 'First Years - Piranhas in the Bedroom'. It started in a time long before Google, Sky TV, iphones and X-Factor . Now it ended up being an E-book as well.
For the last four years I have been writing weekly humorous blogs based on SharePoint, but I really always wanted to be, in the words of the Beatles, a 'Paperback Writer'. So finally I have released my first fictional romantic comedy, 'First Years - Piranhas in the Bedroom'. This is the first of a series of nostalgic books about an unfortunate young man called Jonathan Stadler, a Villa fan like me.
The books hope to appeal to the sense of humour of the male reader in his 40's. At some point in our lives we have all found ourselves in the kind of situations that Jon does. My influences have been two terrific authors in Mike Gayle and Nick Hornby.
Now to continue with my mid-life crisis by releasing a series of children books. Is the world ready for 'King Derek and the Wonder Wizards'?
For the last four years I have been writing weekly humorous blogs based on SharePoint, but I really always wanted to be, in the words of the Beatles, a 'Paperback Writer'. So finally I have released my first fictional romantic comedy, 'First Years - Piranhas in the Bedroom'. This is the first of a series of nostalgic books about an unfortunate young man called Jonathan Stadler, a Villa fan like me.
The books hope to appeal to the sense of humour of the male reader in his 40's. At some point in our lives we have all found ourselves in the kind of situations that Jon does. My influences have been two terrific authors in Mike Gayle and Nick Hornby.
Now to continue with my mid-life crisis by releasing a series of children books. Is the world ready for 'King Derek and the Wonder Wizards'?
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 7, 2015
I loved this book! For guys like me of a certain age, it brought back and captured perfectly the complete excitement and all-consuming passion of a teenage boy mad about his favourite football team, wanting to spend all his time following its every move, almost to the exclusion of all else (except girls perhaps!). It's well written, laced with plenty of humour and wry observations of growing up, in addition to giving a flavour of other events of the time. It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane. Highly recommended.
June 28, 2020
Good. I really liked this. It is definitely not for everyone, in fact unless you are a football fan, or especially an Aston Villa fan, or was a teenager in early 80’s, especially a boy, then this book is probably not going to appeal to you. However, I found it full of nostalgia and fun to read. I wish it had a little less detail to the football and a bit more life experience and story, which would also have given it a bit wider audience. The characters are good and the overall story is good. The writing is very much of a 14 year old, almost diary like, so a little bit simplistic. I did enjoy this, but it is not for everyone so I wouldn’t generally recommend it.
April 13, 2020
So many memories of a 15 year old me flooding back . Loved it
July 4, 2015
Centred around Aston Villa FC's glorious 1980/81 Championship-winning campaign, the '14' in question doesn't just concern the sparse number of players used in the Midlands sides' success – but also the age of narrator Jonathan Stadler, a football-mad teenager growing up in suburbia in England's second city.
A prequel to Dale's debut novel 'First Years: Piranhas in the Bedroom' about his trevails at university later in the decade, the story focuses on the life and loves of Jonathan, his trivial, almost quaint concerns, celebrating the joy in the mundane and the worries of any teenager: the day-to-day grind of the school day, his family and the characters within their bubble.
Following a season's diary format from August to May, beginning with the days leading into Aston Villa's first competitive game of the campaign in summer 1980, all the typical hallmarks of the era are noted – the Subbuteo obsession, Roy of the Rovers, black and white TV (Grandstand being a key component of Jonathan’s viewing pleasure) – as well as the local references, the fuzzy medium wave-quality football match commentary and the 'goal claxon' of his local Birmingham radio station when there’s a goal involving one of the local sides. Of little concern for his south-coast holiday surroundings, Jonathan's main worry is of trying to find out the result of his favourite team while his parents could not be less concerned – “why do they always plan holidays for the start of the season” he muses.
Although football is a primary obsession (“with the Villa winning at least I can enjoy Sunday without dreading Monday morning at school” – a sentiment most football fans growing up can empathise with), scholarly issues too provide a focal point to the narrative. Bringing to mind early era Grange Hill – the unhinged school bully, the attractive female teacher, the inept male counterpart plus emerging love interests – we develop an understanding for his environment, of the friends he makes, as well as his hopes and dreams for the future.
Underlying this is family, his relationship with his older brother and the deteriorating health of his grandad as well as music, the often odd intricacies of disco lyrics, as well as an unhealthy obsession for Abba. There's a fair helping of wry observation and the behaviour of adults around him, and his burgeoning relationship with Grace Taylor (there's shades of Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole, as Jonathan notes that her hair “smells really nice. Almost lemony... Probably best not to mention the lemons”).
Littered with pop culture references from the period and dripping in nostalgia, Dale has produced an entertaining read to keep even non-football fans – and non-Villa supporters – amused, harking back to a period when, for all of us, the future was an exciting Internet-free world packed full of possibilities...
A prequel to Dale's debut novel 'First Years: Piranhas in the Bedroom' about his trevails at university later in the decade, the story focuses on the life and loves of Jonathan, his trivial, almost quaint concerns, celebrating the joy in the mundane and the worries of any teenager: the day-to-day grind of the school day, his family and the characters within their bubble.
Following a season's diary format from August to May, beginning with the days leading into Aston Villa's first competitive game of the campaign in summer 1980, all the typical hallmarks of the era are noted – the Subbuteo obsession, Roy of the Rovers, black and white TV (Grandstand being a key component of Jonathan’s viewing pleasure) – as well as the local references, the fuzzy medium wave-quality football match commentary and the 'goal claxon' of his local Birmingham radio station when there’s a goal involving one of the local sides. Of little concern for his south-coast holiday surroundings, Jonathan's main worry is of trying to find out the result of his favourite team while his parents could not be less concerned – “why do they always plan holidays for the start of the season” he muses.
Although football is a primary obsession (“with the Villa winning at least I can enjoy Sunday without dreading Monday morning at school” – a sentiment most football fans growing up can empathise with), scholarly issues too provide a focal point to the narrative. Bringing to mind early era Grange Hill – the unhinged school bully, the attractive female teacher, the inept male counterpart plus emerging love interests – we develop an understanding for his environment, of the friends he makes, as well as his hopes and dreams for the future.
Underlying this is family, his relationship with his older brother and the deteriorating health of his grandad as well as music, the often odd intricacies of disco lyrics, as well as an unhealthy obsession for Abba. There's a fair helping of wry observation and the behaviour of adults around him, and his burgeoning relationship with Grace Taylor (there's shades of Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole, as Jonathan notes that her hair “smells really nice. Almost lemony... Probably best not to mention the lemons”).
Littered with pop culture references from the period and dripping in nostalgia, Dale has produced an entertaining read to keep even non-football fans – and non-Villa supporters – amused, harking back to a period when, for all of us, the future was an exciting Internet-free world packed full of possibilities...
April 14, 2016
What a farfetched story, it’s not Roy of the Rovers – in the real world Ipswich would have walked the league, won the cup and their manager was so good he would have gone on to take England to Euro 96 glory!! First off it’s important to note that this story is ‘written by’ a fourteen-year-old boy rather than an adult reminiscing about their childhood. It can therefore sometimes come across as a bit of an Adrian Mole diary – not that this is a bad thing but should be noted. Just 14 is the story of Jonathan Stadler and how he followed Aston Villa through their successful 1980/81 season, but it is not just about the football and is a great read to see how Jonathan deals with friends, bullies, school, death and of course girls! The story reads like a diary and starts from August 1980 to the season conclusion in May 1981 and doesn't just follow Villa but also the other good Midlands sides (so Birmingham City are excluded) as they take the roller-coaster ride of the season. Jonathan get to visit Villa Park on several occasions but also has to rely on his lucky radio for most of the matches. There are also some very good memories of the year included – were there really that many famous people shot in one year :). Really enjoyed this book and just hope that the author considers a follow up to let us readers know how Jonathan got on in his first full season as a season ticket holder and followed Aston Villa to European glory (as well as how that love life evolved)!!
October 7, 2015
I was pleased to have won this book in the First Reads Goodreads Giveaway. Am disappointed however that this book was not signed, as stated in the Giveaway.
An enjoyable book and one that brought back a few memories. Totally different from the usual genres I read and hope to read more books by this author. One doesn't have to be a football fan to read this book and I do recommend.
An enjoyable book and one that brought back a few memories. Totally different from the usual genres I read and hope to read more books by this author. One doesn't have to be a football fan to read this book and I do recommend.
July 30, 2015
This book would be tedious if you were a Blues fan and not great literature if you were a general reader; but for a Villa fanatic who has followed the team through hell and high water for almost 60 seasons this was a great way to re-live the last league - winning season. I too was there, with my wife, at Highbury when we clinched the title.
September 22, 2015
JUST 14
Not understanding the passion of a football fan I still enjoyed this book. Loved the teen and all the humor within the pages. Thank you Andy Dale.
I received this book through GOODREADS First Reads Giveaway
Not understanding the passion of a football fan I still enjoyed this book. Loved the teen and all the humor within the pages. Thank you Andy Dale.
I received this book through GOODREADS First Reads Giveaway
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews