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Striker!
As newly-appointed manager and coach of Leddersford Town, Steve Barnes has been charged with the task of leading the club to the Premier League.
When his promising young striker is found murdered in the locker room Steve becomes prime suspect. He sets out to prove his innocence. At the same time he has to prepare the team for an important six-pointer on the coming Friday. Steve has just five days to do what seems the impossible.
This novel by Steve Bruce, former captain of Manchester United now an esteemed manager, is fast and exciting. It will be enjoyed by all ages and both sexes.
STRIKER! is the first novel in the Steve Barnes series. It is told in Steve's own words and set firmly in the world of modern football.
When his promising young striker is found murdered in the locker room Steve becomes prime suspect. He sets out to prove his innocence. At the same time he has to prepare the team for an important six-pointer on the coming Friday. Steve has just five days to do what seems the impossible.
This novel by Steve Bruce, former captain of Manchester United now an esteemed manager, is fast and exciting. It will be enjoyed by all ages and both sexes.
STRIKER! is the first novel in the Steve Barnes series. It is told in Steve's own words and set firmly in the world of modern football.
- GenresMystery
128 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 1999
7 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 3, 2021
Why not? It's an attractive murder mystery.
September 11, 2021
Straddles the line between being so bad it's good and being simply bad. The writing, plotting and characters are all dreadful and Bruce writes at around the level of a fairly good eleven year old. Yet I still thoroughly enjoyed reading this in spite of all its flaws, mostly because Bruce's amateur writing reveals a lot about him. My favourite moments came when he swerved into Alan Partridge territory when describing the climate control system of his Jaguar despite being in the middle of trying to solve a murder.
April 19, 2024
2/5 for plot and structure. 5/5 for entertainment
September 27, 2021
It’s a great book
June 3, 2024
Having sat through every brutal moment of his 2.5 seasons in charge at St James, I cannot fathom that I’m saying this, but Bruce should stick to managing football clubs.
It’s possible Bruce is an alien, with only the most limited understanding of the human experience, human emotions, story construction, and the basics of police procedure, in which case this is an admirable attempt at fiction writing. It is on that assumption that I award five stars.
I will also echo another reviewer, that the book is fascinating for the insights into Bruce the man because there is only the thinnest filament between him and his protagonist. For example, his character’s internal monologue random digressing onto utterly unimportant descriptions of minutiae like peat bogs in the middle of theoretically important plot sequences like BEING KIDNAPPED AND SHOT AT goes a long way to explaining how he failed to manage Newcastle to a win in the first four months of the 2021 season.
Also, I love the fact that at no point in time does it occur to the author, despite his character pausing numerous times to lecture the reader about the importance of PR in the modern game, that its a tad unlikely that any manager charged with murdering one of his players would be left in charge of the squad for that weeks game, given free run of the training grounds, and whose talks with the owner would focus on transfer plans. Even Mike Ashley would’ve gotten involved.
It’s possible Bruce is an alien, with only the most limited understanding of the human experience, human emotions, story construction, and the basics of police procedure, in which case this is an admirable attempt at fiction writing. It is on that assumption that I award five stars.
I will also echo another reviewer, that the book is fascinating for the insights into Bruce the man because there is only the thinnest filament between him and his protagonist. For example, his character’s internal monologue random digressing onto utterly unimportant descriptions of minutiae like peat bogs in the middle of theoretically important plot sequences like BEING KIDNAPPED AND SHOT AT goes a long way to explaining how he failed to manage Newcastle to a win in the first four months of the 2021 season.
Also, I love the fact that at no point in time does it occur to the author, despite his character pausing numerous times to lecture the reader about the importance of PR in the modern game, that its a tad unlikely that any manager charged with murdering one of his players would be left in charge of the squad for that weeks game, given free run of the training grounds, and whose talks with the owner would focus on transfer plans. Even Mike Ashley would’ve gotten involved.
January 1, 2022
Wow! What a book!
The whole audiobook with superb commentary is available on the quickly Kevin podcast (although the striker chapters are behind a pay wall - it's well worth the money!)
It could fairly be rated from 1 star to 5, but I had to go for five as I enjoyed it so much.
The plot and the story line are wafer thin. There are some moments of suspense, but these don't last long due to some inadvertent comedic writing. The writing is generally awful, but in a hilarious way.
The story is so disjointed and the ending happens in a flash with lots of details hastily ties up (or not at all).
Saying all that, the book is really enjoyable. The random details about the Jag, the tripe factory and his camomile tea to name but a few really add completely unnecessary and pointless detail. But it is the unnecessary bits that make this book what it is - a modern literary classic!
The whole audiobook with superb commentary is available on the quickly Kevin podcast (although the striker chapters are behind a pay wall - it's well worth the money!)
It could fairly be rated from 1 star to 5, but I had to go for five as I enjoyed it so much.
The plot and the story line are wafer thin. There are some moments of suspense, but these don't last long due to some inadvertent comedic writing. The writing is generally awful, but in a hilarious way.
The story is so disjointed and the ending happens in a flash with lots of details hastily ties up (or not at all).
Saying all that, the book is really enjoyable. The random details about the Jag, the tripe factory and his camomile tea to name but a few really add completely unnecessary and pointless detail. But it is the unnecessary bits that make this book what it is - a modern literary classic!
December 13, 2024
It’s so shit it’s good. I must admit I listened to a podcast reading this and Ivo Graham and Josh Widdicombe definitely added to the enjoyment. However, it is just such an entertaining story! Sadly I don’t think Steve will ever find success as a writer but I do love this, some legendary lines
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April 19, 2025five words: "quickly, Kevin will he score?".
like pretty much everyone, i listened to it through the podcast, ivo graham, the literary correspondent, was divine. book is like one star, the experience five stars, average comes to, don't ask me how, five stars. can't wait to do the second part!
like pretty much everyone, i listened to it through the podcast, ivo graham, the literary correspondent, was divine. book is like one star, the experience five stars, average comes to, don't ask me how, five stars. can't wait to do the second part!
October 7, 2023
I heard on a podcast but they read the entire book. Well, all I can say is Steve Bruce was a better soccer manager then a writer and I support Hull City.
September 15, 2024
I don't say this lightly, but this may be the greatest book ever written
January 6, 2025
This book changed my brain chemistry. Bruce is a literary genius. It’s like if Alan Partridge was a baller. I am now a Leddersford Town ultra
April 6, 2025
Look, if you know, you know.
QKWHS ❤️
QKWHS ❤️
November 1, 2025
So bad it's almost good at times. Worth reading if you want a laugh. But I can't in good conscience give it more than 2 stars.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews