Darwen (Lancashire), 1879. James Walsh, a local businessman, boss of the football team, hires two players from a Scottish team, Fergus Suter and Jimmy Love. He pays them, breaking the rules of the Football Academy (FA). Professional players were not allowed. Football was initially played by gentlemen only, who were not exhausted by their workday (if they had any…). The few aristocratic clubs had no intentions whatsoever to face workers and commoners on the field ! The best club, the Old Etonian, suspects a trickery and decides to eliminate Darwen’s club. But their captain, Arthur Kinnaird, son of a lord, understands that the living conditions of workers do not give them the same opportunities as aristocratic players. While Suter and Love improve considerably the level of their club, Kinnaird will side with them to ensure that the competition is fair.
When fair play meets a sense of history
This beautiful mini-series shows a transition. The aristocrats who invented soccer never imagined that the masses would take to it. They tried to stick to their game, and felt dispossessed, threatened even, by these teams of popular workers. Kinnaird was able to see that Football’s rapid democratization could not be stopped. He loved soccer so much that was prepared to let it evolve and transcend the narrow boundaries of the bourgeoisie. There is another evolution too. As soon as money was involved in the game, violence (the beginning of hooliganism) and trickery appeared. The Old Etonians were right to fear these dirty manoeuvres. But that could not been helped.
Heroes of all social classes
Julian Fellowes (creator of Downton Abbey and the Gilded age) explores his favorite theme of the coexistence of a privileged class and a working class. There’s nothing Marxist about the narrative ! The style remains “so British”. Although the series takes a few liberties with the true story of Suter and the championship, it brilliantly depicts the late 18th century. It shows a realistic version of the life of workers, small businessmen and aristocrats. The cast is impeccable, with well-written characters. We can only regret that the handsome, chivalrous Kinnaird is too perfect.
Mini-series, 6 episodes (50 mn), 2020, on Netflix
Created by Julian Fellowes, WITH : Edward Holcroft / Arthur Kinnaird, Kevin Guthrie / Fergus Suter, James Harkness / Jimmy Love, Charlotte Hope / Alma Kinnaird, Niamh Walsh / Martha Almond, Craig Parkinson / James Walsh, Ben Batt / Cartwright, Gerard Kearns / Tommy Marshall, Henry Lloyd-Hughes / Alfred Lyttelton, Daniel Ings / Francis Marindin, Kerrie Hayes / Doris Platt, Anthony Andrews / Lord Arthur Kinnaird, John Askew / Jack Hunter, Kate Dickie / Aileen Suter