Underdogs

What if… England’s greatest footballer of the past 20 years had a less talented brother? Now 40, BARRY BICKERS is a swaggering oaf with an insatiable drive to prove, at this late stage, that he’s a winner too. His grand tour of football’s backwaters has been a spiral of mediocrity and has brought him finally to Slurry FC. Once the pride of the former mining town it serves, the club’s future is as black as a slag heap. Barry however doesn’t know the meaning of capitulation (quite literally). But despite the unwavering support of club owner Malcolm Piper, he only succeeds in confirming what the coaches told him years ago – he’s got three left feet, including the one in his brain. Barry’s assistant is former player CHESTER MANN. Useless under pressure, he is relieved to be past his prime and out of the spotlight at last. His one tilt at glory on the football pitch ended in total disaster for him, his family and Slurry. His missed penalty doomed his entire home town to a dismal fall from grace and put his dad in a coma. Nobody every chopped down a small poppy, reasons Chester, so he’ll stay hidden away amongst the weeds, thank you very much. Better to accept your fate gracefully than to ignore your inadequacies and line yourself up for a conveyor-belt of failures. Which means the last thing he needs is Barry Bickers pitching up and pushing him to make his mark on the world one last time. MALCOLM PIPER is the chairman and owner of Slurry FC. A kindly old man, his mind is shot to pieces thanks to the trauma of seeing his pie business go down the pan, swiftly followed by the club. Unable to face up to reality, he’s unhinged – one eye’s on the past and the other is blinded by Barry’s ‘star’ quality. Enter the frustrating maze of his mind at your peril. When we find Slurry FC strapped for cash once again and desperate for a new security system thanks to a spate of break-ins, BARRY, CHESTER and MALCOLM pull an all-nighter to wheel and deal in the transfer market – only to come face-to-face with the burglar who’s been causing havoc in town. The break-in becomes a hostage situation when the burglar realises Barry has famous connections, but there's another twist when local guy Chester recognises the criminal for who he really is – a promising young footballer who could save the club thousands. We just need Barry to tread softly as the negotiations take shape.