Attention Film-makers
Is there a filmmaker out there looking for some good stories that could be woven into the bigger tapestry of the world’s most followed game, beset by burgeoning problems of corruption and fraud.
Each of the seventeen stories continues the theme of good and evil, building the tension as all attention becomes focused on the chief protagonist, the Agent. Ideal for television series.
There follows a brief summary of the stories.
There follows a brief summary of the stories.
For those interested in ‘diversity’, these stories feature all walks of life.
The George at Bustington
By
SYNOPSIS
The headline in the Daily Mail 4th
February 2013, read:
Champions League match in England was
'rigged' by Asian crime gang: Europol launches biggest-ever match-fixing
investigation into 380 games
- EU crime agency say 425 match officials, club officials, players
and criminals are suspected of being involved
- Champions League fixture in England in last three to four years
was targeted
- Asia-based crime syndicate paid individuals up to £120,000
How apposite that ‘The George at
Bustington’ should appear at this time, a novel that contains as a continuous
thread throughout, the twin themes of corruption and tragedy.
Every professional team, around
the world, in sports, ranging from football, rugby, American football to ice
hockey, have in common a group of players, assembled, trained and otherwise
prepared by the Club Management, who are collectively called the ‘Squad’.
This book tells the stories of
some members of one such ‘Squad’ and others connected to the Bustington
Wanderers football team as narrated, principally, by the landlord, in the
public bar of his inn, the ‘George’.
Although the public perception of these players is
as a team, a collective body of skills and abilities, they have, however,
personal lives and private stories, and as such these tales are not necessarily
about football although the game appears from time to time. It would be unusual
if it did not do so.
When author, Jack Lord, meets his
Literary Agent to discuss the subject of his next novel, he faces stern
opposition to his idea that he writes about the game of football. His agent,
Geoffrey Fuller-Smythe suggests they go and meet Henry Bagshot, former player
and landlord of the ‘George’, an inn in the Saigh Valley town of Bustington to see
if he can offer advice.
Following a reunion of the old
friends, they agree to meet regularly at the inn to hear Henry’s stories of
Club personnel, past and present, and see if any of them could form the basis
of a novel. However as the stories of, for example, incest, homosexuality,
gambling, the supernatural and piracy, emerge, Geoffrey recognises their
diversity mirrors life in a way that would engage the reading public’s
attention. He proposes that Jack writes a book consisting of, not one, but several
stories, punctuated with commentary. It has been a successful format in the
past, he suggested; Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron’, Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’ and
the ‘Pickwick Papers’ by Dickens are all examples of the genre.
As the seventeen ‘novels’, to use
Boccaccio’s designation, are told and dutifully written down by the author they
are unaware that they are gradually being sucked into the biggest story of them
all; that of the wicked football agent, Chanda Abassi. As he becomes ever more
entangled in his own web of corruption and deceit that embraces the Mafia and
gambling syndicates from Asia, the ‘George’ moves to centre stage in Novel 17,
The Agent, and becomes the setting for a dramatic conclusion.
Novel
length: 130,000 words
Genre: General fiction. An anthology of novellas
Storylines
The Referee
Referee, Mike Todds, brought up in an East London
crime family, considered himself to be a fair and just person with a strong
sense of right and wrong.
When confronted with the
opportunity to make immoral money by betraying the game he loved, he decided to
take on the gangs head on with horrific consequences.
The Goalkeeper
Jim Bennion, besides being a top-class goalkeeper is
also a thief. He regarded a shopping trip as the course of a game of football,
full of chances but ever mindful of keeping a ‘clean sheet’. However, Bennion
is a marked man and always likely to score an ‘own goal’.
The Club Owner
Mike Truckwell, always seems to
fall on his feet. Although trained for Church Truckwell made his fortune
selling, among other things, porn and bought the Club, Bustington Wanderers,
for the specific task of laundering money.
The Centre Halves
Simon Cawdell is a predatory
homosexual. John ‘Roy’ Rogers falls under his spell having split from his wife
and finding his true sexuality. However, Cawdell has an agenda that exploits
his fellow player with disastrous consequences.
The Right Winger
Alan Parsons attracted girls as flowers attract
bees. He didn’t differentiate, he enjoyed the company of all shapes and sizes
but he had a particular craving for the young. In this story, Parsons discovers
that his latest conquest is family and the outcome is dire.
The Left Back
Two friends fall out when a young lady moves into
their neighbourhood causing an irrevocable rift. When Veronica becomes pregnant, both boys claim paternity leading
to a surprising but disastrous outcome.
The Striker
Gareth Smith followed his father, Dan’s advice in
most matters but struggled to ignore his plea to ignore his long-term girl
friend, Wendy. When Dan dies in the stands, following a match, Gareth discovers
papers that expose the old man’s sins, leading to the suicide of Wendy’s father
and other disruptions.
The Right Back
Somalian player, Abukar, is blackmailed into giving
cash to buy armaments for terrorists in his native home. The only solution
seems to be to rescue his mother and sisters from war-torn Mogadishu. Using the
expertise of an ex special forces soldier, the footballer embarks on a
hazardous journey that depends on the efforts of a mercenary US agent and his
private army. A story of betrayal and the best of human nature in one.
The Left Winger
Alan Ives was disappointed when his father, Ray took
another wife and thereby risking the familial harmony. However, his dismay is
exacerbated when Margaret, the new wife turns her amorous advances on him much
to the annoyance of his sister, Penny. The local Church has the answer.
The Physio
Club physio, Diana Andrews, has an admirer within
the Club who will go to any lengths to secure her affection, including kidnap.
In a race against time, the police identify her place of confinement but can
they save her from a bizarre death ritual.
The Ex Player
Landlord, Henry Bagshot, narrator of the stories
tells how his generosity towards a young boy led to a nightmare confrontation
with his mother, a woman who hadn’t come to terms with the loss of her husband
in the Falkland war with Argentina.
The Apprentice
Apprentice footballer, Stephen Norris, was in the
habit of visiting his girlfriend
Millicent King unaware that her father was an addicted user of prostitutes.
Millicent’s mother, bored with empty evenings during her husband’s many
absences, slowly and almost imperceptibly began a flirtatious campaign to lure
the youngster to her empty bed.
When Millicent found her boyfriend in the arms of
her mother she committed suicide unable to cope with her mother’s betrayal. It
was the day when her father decided to address his problem and returned home
early to find a scene of nightmareish proportions.
The Manager
The team manager, Harry Little, besides being an
indifferent manager, was also a gambling addict made worse by the fact that he
was a loser. When his system to break the bookies failed he resorted to
borrowing money from some known crooks, a move that cost him and wife, Sandra,
their home. However, a minor mishap at Cheltenham races allows Harry to dream
of reversing his fortune at the Grand National meeting at Aintree.
The Left Half
Graham Wells was a footballer. He also thought he
was Jesus. So strong was this feeling that he considered the team as his twelve
disciples, with Judas on the bench.
When he decided to leave home, the house and its
occupant, a young girl called Rose, chose him to be the new owner. However as
the story of the house and Rose unfolds, Graham learns that being Jesus isn’t
an easy option as he’s called upon to make difficult judgements especially
concerning his own family.
The Right Centre
Miles Shawcross, was the Club’s most stylish player.
Consummate in his approach to every facet of the game he even practiced falling
over at every little touch by the opponents so as to gain free kicks from
gullible referees. Miles also had an acute sense of right and wrong. If he was
pushed, no matter how hard, it constituted a foul. He had the same attitude to
life and its injustices so that when he was asked to help a family in financial
difficulties because of a mutual adversary, he rose to the challenge
The Centre Forward
Roberto da Vinci was the dream signing for reasons
that only partially touched on the Italian’s footballing skills. Unbeknown to
him he carried on his person the key to unlocking the secret of the Vatican’s
missing millions, sought after not only by the Holy See but, the agent, Chanda
Abassi, the Mafia, East London gangs and the Asian, gambling and crime
syndicates.
The Agent
Chanda Abassi was, despite the gathering of his
enemies, optimistic about retrieving the missing Vatican money and marrying,
Fiona, the daughter of Club owner, Mike Truckwell. But his plans begin to
unwind, culminating in a dramatic showdown on his wedding day.
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