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Saturday Bloody Saturday
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 Chelsea away.
Footballers fall into two 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.
Footballers fall into two 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.
416 pages, Paperback
First published February 8, 2018
14 people are currently reading
181 people want to read
About the author
Alastair Campbell
108 books201 followersAlastair John Campbell is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster, and activist, who is known for his political roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director in opposition (1994–1997), then as Downing Street Press Secretary, and as the Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson (1997–2000). He then became Downing Street's director of communications and spokesman for the Labour Party (2000–2003).
Since his work for Blair, Campbell has continued to act as a freelance advisor to a number of governments and political parties, including Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania. He was an adviser to the People's Vote campaign, campaigning for a public vote on the final Brexit deal. He is the editor-at-large of The New European and chief interviewer for GQ. He acts as a consultant strategist and as an ambassador for Time to Change and other mental health charities. Throughout his time in Downing Street, Campbell kept a diary which reportedly totalled some two million words. Selected extracts, titled The Blair Years, were published in 2007. He expressed an intention to publish the diaries in fuller form, which he did from 2010 to 2018. In 2019, Campbell was expelled from the Labour Party after voting for the Liberal Democrats in that month's European elections. In 2022, Campbell launched the podcast The Rest Is Politics with Rory Stewart, which has been the top politics podcast in the UK in the Apple rankings since its launch.
Since his work for Blair, Campbell has continued to act as a freelance advisor to a number of governments and political parties, including Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania. He was an adviser to the People's Vote campaign, campaigning for a public vote on the final Brexit deal. He is the editor-at-large of The New European and chief interviewer for GQ. He acts as a consultant strategist and as an ambassador for Time to Change and other mental health charities. Throughout his time in Downing Street, Campbell kept a diary which reportedly totalled some two million words. Selected extracts, titled The Blair Years, were published in 2007. He expressed an intention to publish the diaries in fuller form, which he did from 2010 to 2018. In 2019, Campbell was expelled from the Labour Party after voting for the Liberal Democrats in that month's European elections. In 2022, Campbell launched the podcast The Rest Is Politics with Rory Stewart, which has been the top politics podcast in the UK in the Apple rankings since its launch.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
February 13, 2018
Probably only for those that like their football...
The premise is strong for this book, a football manager in the 70s is struggling to keep his team and his job together when an away game brings him to London, where an IRA terrorist cell is planning its next atrocity.
However, the problem I had is this book spent far too much time on the minutiae of the football team which meant that the pace felt very slow. I like my football and recognise the need to spend time detailing the characters and their relationships, but it was about half way through the book before we met the terrorist cell.
I can't fault the writer for the quality of the descriptions and the characterisations. There's some great details of 1970's English football with appearances from the like of Don Revie, Peter Osgood and Ron "Chopper " Harris. However, that wasn't enough to keep my interest and this book just didn't work for me.
I was given a review copy of this book by Netgalley, but was not obliged to write a positive review.
The premise is strong for this book, a football manager in the 70s is struggling to keep his team and his job together when an away game brings him to London, where an IRA terrorist cell is planning its next atrocity.
However, the problem I had is this book spent far too much time on the minutiae of the football team which meant that the pace felt very slow. I like my football and recognise the need to spend time detailing the characters and their relationships, but it was about half way through the book before we met the terrorist cell.
I can't fault the writer for the quality of the descriptions and the characterisations. There's some great details of 1970's English football with appearances from the like of Don Revie, Peter Osgood and Ron "Chopper " Harris. However, that wasn't enough to keep my interest and this book just didn't work for me.
I was given a review copy of this book by Netgalley, but was not obliged to write a positive review.
March 5, 2018
I am shocked and disgusted by the 'personalities, chefs, footballers and media folk who are happy to publically endorse this book. The fact that a number of politicians also do so is less surprising.
Lets be clear, the author of this fiction used his same skill in creating, faking, embroidering and editing vital and official intelligence' dossiers directly resulting in the Blair Bush Iraq war:
His part confirmed officially in thus causing the deaths of US and UK troops...and tens of thousands of civilians, the suicide of David Kelly a globally respected peace promoting weapons expert...not to mention the on going chaos in the region. I note that of the many reviews on amazon 'just three' are from confirmed purchasers. The book is a re-hash of a number of pre used plots mixing the 'passion of football (or for Bush people-Soccer) and the then daily dangers of terrorist action on London streets by Irish extremists. So a thrilling read, but very much in the same bracket as 'Hitler was a great painter and orator.' Referring to those many endorsements, now that we know where Delia Smith, Tommy Docherty, Johnny Giles, Ron Harris and even Bertie Ahearn's allegiances lie then we can make our judgments as to their recipes and writings. Memo to A Campbell, I understand Max Mosley likes to read, why not see if you can get a glowing review from him. I have -given, Campbell's on going devious connections with the truth and media, probably consigned myself to a future of acerbic or vicious reviews...but that perhaps better than an endorsement from Tony Blair. Wait to read it until it 99p on Kindle.
Lets be clear, the author of this fiction used his same skill in creating, faking, embroidering and editing vital and official intelligence' dossiers directly resulting in the Blair Bush Iraq war:
His part confirmed officially in thus causing the deaths of US and UK troops...and tens of thousands of civilians, the suicide of David Kelly a globally respected peace promoting weapons expert...not to mention the on going chaos in the region. I note that of the many reviews on amazon 'just three' are from confirmed purchasers. The book is a re-hash of a number of pre used plots mixing the 'passion of football (or for Bush people-Soccer) and the then daily dangers of terrorist action on London streets by Irish extremists. So a thrilling read, but very much in the same bracket as 'Hitler was a great painter and orator.' Referring to those many endorsements, now that we know where Delia Smith, Tommy Docherty, Johnny Giles, Ron Harris and even Bertie Ahearn's allegiances lie then we can make our judgments as to their recipes and writings. Memo to A Campbell, I understand Max Mosley likes to read, why not see if you can get a glowing review from him. I have -given, Campbell's on going devious connections with the truth and media, probably consigned myself to a future of acerbic or vicious reviews...but that perhaps better than an endorsement from Tony Blair. Wait to read it until it 99p on Kindle.
April 12, 2021
Having read the reviews this is obviously a marmite of a novel. One either loathes or loves it. I loved it mainly for the football coverage. I agree that the terrorist side did not delve very deep and the author is certainly no Seymour however I thought it caught the mood of the time very well. Principally I believe there are so few good novels that deal with British football and this is arguably the best.
David Peace meets Gerald Seymour with Peace scoring a late hat-trick in the last quarter to win easily.
David Peace meets Gerald Seymour with Peace scoring a late hat-trick in the last quarter to win easily.
May 20, 2018
Why do so many hate this? It’s a brilliantly told story with characters you have to love. I suspect the politically charged terrorists from the IRA make people dislike it and the many blurbs on the cover does not help. But I really loved it, and the football environment from the 70’s is right on The spot. It’s plain and simple a great story and I love it!
March 30, 2018
Well I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book but how wrong can you be. A must have for football fans, it combines football and politics of the 1970s. A really good read.
May 1, 2024
I selected this book primarily because of the author. I did not enjoy his turgid first volume of diaries, which showcased Campbell's narcissistic personality. I hoped that his fiction would be better...if anything, it was worse.
The jacket promised a tale of football in 1974, set amongst the February election and an IRA bombing campaign. My hope was for some insight to events at that time. Unfortunately, what I got was a tired tale of footballing cliches, telling me nothing that I did not know. There was very little about the election of the IRA campaign. At times, I was reminded of Brian Glanville's 'Goalkeepers are Different' and this phrase appears in the dialogue. Whilst Glanville skillfully targeted his novel at the young adult market, this book is unintentionally at that level. In addition, there are a number of references to events and behaviours that may occur now, but certainly didn't in 1974.
The ending was ridiculous.
The jacket promised a tale of football in 1974, set amongst the February election and an IRA bombing campaign. My hope was for some insight to events at that time. Unfortunately, what I got was a tired tale of footballing cliches, telling me nothing that I did not know. There was very little about the election of the IRA campaign. At times, I was reminded of Brian Glanville's 'Goalkeepers are Different' and this phrase appears in the dialogue. Whilst Glanville skillfully targeted his novel at the young adult market, this book is unintentionally at that level. In addition, there are a number of references to events and behaviours that may occur now, but certainly didn't in 1974.
The ending was ridiculous.
May 22, 2018
Regardless of what I think of Alastair Campbell as a human being I borrowed this novel from my local library as I am a fan off 70's football. On reflection I felt that there were potentially two books in one novel and my preference would have been for an entertaining novel on the pressures and pitfall of a football manager in the 1970's. More care and attention seemed to be spent with football manager and his team characters entwining this with a story about a IRA cell operating in London and organizing a hit on a government minister seemed a little OTT. As for the final chapter where the bomb maker finds out that the victim was his long lost father well that stretched my suspension of disbelief to the point that it made the Dodgy Dossier seem credible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2022
1/5 Poor
Clunky, slow 1970 football story. There is a back story hidden away about an assassination attempt by the IRA on a prominent figure but essentially this is 400 very long very detailed pages about being at a football club in the 70s
The drink. The girls. The gambling. The drink. The girls. The gambling. The Drink….. yes it’s just monotonous.
It drags on like this until the very inevitable ‘big game’ which has a very unsurprising result and the end of the book which has the final reveal was completely and utterly expected.
Unless your absolutely obsessed with 1970s football don’t bother and if your after crime don’t bother as there is very little in this documentary on football. And I love football!
Clunky, slow 1970 football story. There is a back story hidden away about an assassination attempt by the IRA on a prominent figure but essentially this is 400 very long very detailed pages about being at a football club in the 70s
The drink. The girls. The gambling. The drink. The girls. The gambling. The Drink….. yes it’s just monotonous.
It drags on like this until the very inevitable ‘big game’ which has a very unsurprising result and the end of the book which has the final reveal was completely and utterly expected.
Unless your absolutely obsessed with 1970s football don’t bother and if your after crime don’t bother as there is very little in this documentary on football. And I love football!
November 15, 2018
I love Alistair Campbell and admire his career. I have also enjoyed his other books like Winners, a great deal. I am also a huge football fan and have been since the 60's. The other thing is I can count on one hand the amount of books I have started but not finished. However, this book was terrible and I gave up halfway through. The lengthy chapters about the smallest detail, the boring and one dimentional characters and worst of all the dialogue. Bloody hell. The dialogue between the characters is absolutley brutal. Wooden like you wouldn't believe. Poor job Alistair. Stick to non-fiction mate.
September 29, 2021
The best novel I have ever read using football as a central focus for the action. Every tackle made me wince in the 21st century way that looks back at the 70's style of hard knocks football. The IRA plot isn't so well worked out and felt a bit PC in parts - a Provo female character allowed to take an equal status role and a lot of (sob, sob) background explanation to the motives of the would-be killers. That aside, this is a really good read and I was hugely surprised by how good it was as I cannot stand Alastair Campbell - so, well done Paul Fletcher for the footie insights!
April 8, 2018
A 2 star rating because you've really, really, REALLY got to have loved '70s football to enjoy this. It's absolutely my era, my passion and my team so I found it engrossing. However some of the plot strands were over-complicated and unnecessary. Unfortunately you get a real sense of 'co-authorship' (Paul Fletcher is the one with the sporting background). It would be a lot better if one author had the sense to tell the other author : 'Enough, already!'. The ending is terrific though.
December 10, 2019
This should have been a book which worked for me – set in 1974 just around the time when I was a football mad teen, watching Match of the Day with my Dad, reading Shoot magazine….. – but it wasn’t.
I found the whole adolescent professional footballer thing, while not exactly a mystery, very trying and long drawn out. The evolution of match statistics and analysis of set play was interesting but I was glad when it was all over.
I found the whole adolescent professional footballer thing, while not exactly a mystery, very trying and long drawn out. The evolution of match statistics and analysis of set play was interesting but I was glad when it was all over.
March 29, 2024
The author was an effective spin doctor for the Blair government, and this reflected his journalistic skills.
So a novel by him, with football, politics and football politics will give readers high expectations.
These expectations are well satisfied.
A number of football tales, life stories and a story that links a number of sub-stories, all tied together in the closing chapters.
Down to earth, using real names, and a number of realistic stories of the time, made this an enjoyable read.
So a novel by him, with football, politics and football politics will give readers high expectations.
These expectations are well satisfied.
A number of football tales, life stories and a story that links a number of sub-stories, all tied together in the closing chapters.
Down to earth, using real names, and a number of realistic stories of the time, made this an enjoyable read.
March 30, 2018
I won an arc of this in a goodreads giveaway.
A bit too much about football and not the actual suspense elements or plot. It really slowed down the pace. It would be good for fans of football for sure. But for me the slowness, too much concentration on football, and of course the sour taste the authors name gives me. I didn't like the book, or even the characters.
A bit too much about football and not the actual suspense elements or plot. It really slowed down the pace. It would be good for fans of football for sure. But for me the slowness, too much concentration on football, and of course the sour taste the authors name gives me. I didn't like the book, or even the characters.
November 16, 2024
Not my usual, but decided to trust Alastair Campbell’s seeming tendency to put all he’s got into whatever he does …. Slowish start, and limited artistry in the writing, but slowly I came to care about the characters and the story pulled me in. In the end, I was up until 3am reading the last 100 pages, which I guess is a sign that ultimately, I enjoyed it.
October 28, 2025
A very clever slow-burn novel. Set in the early 1970s it brings together football and terrorism.
I nearly gave up because the beginning is a lot of football but I'm really glad I stuck with it. The pace gets quicker and quicker as the story races towards the collision of an important cup match and a bomb plot.
P.S. I'm not a football fan but learned a bit along the way!
I nearly gave up because the beginning is a lot of football but I'm really glad I stuck with it. The pace gets quicker and quicker as the story races towards the collision of an important cup match and a bomb plot.
P.S. I'm not a football fan but learned a bit along the way!
March 22, 2018
I received this book free from Good Reads.
Not really my kind of book. I am not particularly interested in foot ball or politics. I gave it a go, but could not be bothered to finish it, as it was not my cup of tea.
Not really my kind of book. I am not particularly interested in foot ball or politics. I gave it a go, but could not be bothered to finish it, as it was not my cup of tea.
April 1, 2018
If you are a football fan then this will be an interesting read for you. I picked it because of the era - 1970s - and the promise of a story about an IRA cell operating in England. The story of the cell was limited although woven in well enough. Am not even sure why I finished it.
January 15, 2022
It felt like a chore getting through this, however it was okay with an ending which could have been a lot more bloody. The football side was told better than than that of the terrorist side but it never really gelled feeling unrealistic. As for the ending it wasn't entirely unexpected
April 10, 2022
Good twist at the end and detailed segments around the day to day running of a football club and the stress that comes with it. Felt it dragged a bit and went through bland spells which is probably why it took me a while to finish it. Decent enough book for footy fans.
March 23, 2018
Great read. Entwines personal, football and political themes brilliantly giving insight into some of them. Will follow.
October 6, 2019
Not bad, but (1) could do with losing 50-100 pages and (2) undermines itself by making the IRA plot part of the story centred on a real politician who one knows wasn't murdered.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2020
Pulp football fiction with a sprinkle of current affairs. The characters are paper thin, but you gt drafgged into the joint plots.
Read
April 6, 2021Great story and a wonderful ending
November 10, 2021
3 out of 5 is a but harsh on it. Decent pager turner
March 26, 2023
Would have been a lot better if it had been 25% shorter. Some interesting insights into 1970s football in the UK.
April 7, 2023
Great book which I really enjoyed. Nothing clever just an old fashioned yarn with mentions of quite a few soccer players and managers. Thought it was a great ending.
April 25, 2023
A times seemed to go on a bit. I did enjoy it though and it had a good, unexpected twist at the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2023
Slow start but gripped by the end
July 8, 2023
9.8/10
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews