the struggle for success Bridgewood High FC
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the struggle for success Bridgewood High FC Written by Dave Spurdens
This edition published in Great Britain in 2008 by Quest, an imprint of Top That! Publishing plc, Marine House, Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AP, UK www.quest-books.co.uk 0246897531 Editorial Director – Daniel Graham Creative Director – Simon Couchman Art Editor – Matt Denny Written by Dave Spurdens All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Neither this book nor any part or any of the illustrations, photographs or reproductions contained in it shall be sold or disposed of otherwise than as a complete book, and any unauthorised sale of such part illustration, photograph or reproduction shall be deemed to be a breach of the publisher’s copyright. ISBN 978-1-84666-697-1 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed and bound in China This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
the struggle for success Bridgewood High FC Written by Dave Spurdens
Published by Quest. Quest is an imprint of Top That! Publishing plc, Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AP, UK www.quest-books.co.uk Copyright Š 2008 Top That! Publishing plc. All rights reserved
Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com Follow the team online and keep up to date with the latest Bridgewood High FC action. The fan site includes player profiles, photographs, a player blog, league tables and fixtures, free downloads, match reports, polls, competitions, Bridgewood High FC merchandise & much more!
the struggle for success
Foreword by Timothy Houghton-Smith I can’t believe what a fantastic first term I’ve had at Bridgewood High. I’ve made loads of great friends and am already overloading my timetable with all sorts of extras. My parents are amazed I am so happy. I wouldn’t say they’re snobs exactly, but they do have a rigid view of life. They expect you to pronounce your ‘t’s and ‘h’s and say every bit of a word properly. Their dread, when I came to Bridgewood, was that I would start speaking with a cockney accent. I had to laugh. I mean, what would actually be so awful about their son Timothy speaking like that? ‘Yor ’avin’ a giraffe!’ I can imagine the look on their faces! My dad was also struggling to understand why I love football so much. ‘Don’t you miss playing Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
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rugby, Timothy?’ he asks. ‘Like a hole in the head,’ would be the true answer, but I’ve never actually said it yet. ‘Don’t you miss all your old school friends?’ he asked the other day. The same reply would fit: like a hole in the head. But because I didn’t want to hurt his feelings I just told him I’m too busy to miss anybody from my old school. My parents have never seen me so keen to get back to school after a holiday. I’m going back early, too, because the football team are going to Amsterdam. We’re only playing in an international tournament, in the Dutch capital! How cool is that? Some of the team have never been on an aeroplane, let alone travelled abroad to play against teams from Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain and Holland. Everyone’s really excited. Twenty-four of us are going. We’re staying at Amsterdam University, which is supposed to be ii
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the struggle for success
fabulous. Think of any facility you like and chances are they’ve got it – even an ice-rink and an Olympic size swimming and diving pool. Actually, there are twenty-five players going now because George Lucas is fit enough to join up with the squad. He was out of action last term after having part of his liver removed to be grafted onto his brother’s. His brother, Harry, had been the victim of a callous hit and run accident. Fortunately, the life-saving operation was a great success and his brother’s quality of life has improved dramatically. I’ve been on a sort of Internet scouting mission, scouring the Web to find out about the schools playing in the tournament. Everything I’ve read has been about them being the top teams in their areas. Every single one has either won their regional league or cup. The funny thing is, Bridgewood High FC has never played in a league or a cup competition. We ought to be nervous, yet we’re all strangely Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
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confident that we’re going to do well. It was terrific to see everybody as we met at the school gates to catch the coach to Stansted airport. Everybody was congratulating George, not just for fighting his way to fitness in time for the tournament, but because the people who were responsible for his brother Harry’s accident had been caught. Three members of the notorious Chapman family would soon be facing trial for their crime. George Lucas wasn’t the only person who was happy that the criminals would be brought to justice. The same set of villains had made Jack Mayhew’s life a misery, and he was praying that they would be going to prison for a very long time. Both boys were on too much of a high about going to Amsterdam to let the thought of the trial get them down, and they weren’t alone. Dermott Riley and Dicky Woodward couldn’t stop slapping each other on the back and singing iv
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‘Here we go, here we go,’ over and over again. Albinus Gardiner was asking, ‘Are we there yet?’ before he’d even boarded the coach. He wasn’t happy about wearing school uniform for the trip, but the headmaster, Mr Hyde, reminded him that he was representing Bridgewood High School on an important international venture. Albinus still didn’t look happy, but it stopped him going on about it. He just waited until Mr Hyde turned away and then pulled his tie down a bit more as he climbed up the coach steps. Everyone raced towards the back of the coach to get the best seats, and the engine chugged into action. Amsterdam here we come!
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Thrills and spills Bridgewood got off to a flying start in Amsterdam with a comprehensive victory over the Karl Benz Academy. The squad had a day off following the first day of matches and there was a very happy atmosphere in the Bridgewood camp. Breakfast that morning was full of snap, crackle and pop. Timothy Houghton-Smith had a special spring in his step because they were going to visit the Van Gogh Museum. Angelo Paggio and Salam Chalabi were also looking forward to seeing some of the world’s greatest paintings, but they were equally excited about visiting the Anne Frank House. They had read The Diary of Anne Frank at their last school and knew all about the brave girl who hid from Hitler’s soldiers during World War Two. 1
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Albinus looked glum at the thought of being dragged round art galleries, but the news that they were visiting a famous Amsterdam shopping centre brought a smile to his face. ‘There you are, Albinus: music shops, cafés, souvenirs, designer clobber – and you can wear jeans!’ Dicky teased him. Meanwhile, the PE teacher, Mr Cauldwell, and Football Development Officer, Mr Mansell, had thought long and hard about which players they would play in the second match. They both agreed it would be unfair to come on a trip like this and not give everyone a run-out. They wanted to try to win the tournament if they could, but they didn’t want to make a group of great kids, who they knew would give their all, miserable. Straight after breakfast, they announced the team for the game, which was against the Servet Institute from Madrid.
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Ryan Hartley Luan Havolli
Charlie Oakley
Justin Cornard
Peter Schirtzer
Aaron Jacobs
Jack Mayhew
Albinus Gardiner
Dermott Riley
Dougie Butt
Christopher Coggins
The day off was marvellous. Timothy, Angelo and Salam were awestruck at being so close to paintings by Van Gogh. Mr Cauldwell noticed that the boys he thought would be bored actually seemed mesmerised by the paintings. A muffled ‘whoa!’ from Albinus and a ‘cool!’ from Dermott suggested they were both really impressed. The trip to the Anne Frank House gripped all the boys with an intense sense of suffering and bravery. As they filed out, a mood of thoughtfulness hung over them all. 3
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the struggle for success
The mood soon changed when it was announced that everybody was on trust for the visit to the shops. ‘Groups no bigger than four, and meet back here in two hours,’ announced the Head of PE, Mr Grant. The boys scuttled together into foursomes and took off to buy presents and souvenirs to take home. It had been the perfect day and a great cheer rang out when it was announced that they could choose to go ice skating or swimming that evening. Ice skating was a unanimous winner and led by Dicky who couldn’t wait to show his prowess on the blades, they all streamed off the coach at the ice rink. Timothy was amazed at how good Dicky was, but he wasn’t on his own. It was clearly not the first time on ice for Albinus, Aaron or Dominic. Mr Grant watched as the level of competition rose between the four boys. It all turned sour when Dicky announced his intentions to go for an ambitious double axel – Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
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with disastrous consequences. He left the ice gracefully – and then hit it again with a boneshuddering thud and lay still. Within seconds two rink attendants were at his side with a stretcher and first aid kits. By the time they reached the first aid room Dicky was sitting up, but was clearly in a lot of pain. ‘They don’t always go to plan,’ he whimpered. ‘Could be a break, might just be badly bruised. Probably best to get it x-rayed,’ suggested the attendant, examining Dicky’s elbow. PE teacher Miss Cranson volunteered to take Dicky to hospital to get it looked at. Two hours later they both returned in a taxi, with relatively good news. Nothing was broken – but Dicky’s arm should be kept in a sling for the next two days. ‘Can you Adam and Eve it? I won’t even get on the pitch tomorrow!’ Dicky exclaimed. ‘Well, mate, you can’t be an ice skater and Ronaldo rolled into one. I’d give that skating the 5
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elbow if I was you!’ Dermott knew the pun wasn’t lost on his teammate, who acknowledged the joke with a sickly smile. Apart from Dicky’s spill, it had been a great rest day. There was much chatter about the game against Servet the next day, until finally the teachers packed everyone off to get a good night’s sleep.
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Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com Follow the team online and keep up to date with the latest Bridgewood High FC action. The fan site includes player profiles, photographs, a player blog, league tables & fixtures, free downloads, match reports, polls, competitions, Bridgewood High FC merchandise & much more!
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Publish in date: g
Spring 2009
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AUTHOR PROFILE
DAVE SPURDENS Dave Spurdens has worked as a sports writer and journalist for twenty-five years. He has written for magazines including Football Kick, Football Monthly and Football Digest and was a football correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph. His published football-related books include World Soccer Skills, Liverpool Football Club – The Inside Story, Wolves – Our Way, Norwich City – Our Way and the children’s novel Rowton Road, which has a BMX theme. He has written four additional books on BMX and was the editor of BMX Racer & Freestyle magazine. In his early days, Dave played football for Crystal Palace youths and reserves and was player-coach for Maidstone United. He held the FA Full Badge coaching qualification and was an adjudicator of Preliminary Badge courses for the FA coaching department. Dave also worked for six years as a football coach in South and East London schools. 149
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the struggle for success Bridgewood High FC by Dave Spurdens The premier Bridgewood High School football team experience the highs and lows of football as they struggle to make their mark in the competitive league. Have they got what it takes to be a successful team? Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com • Match reports • Player profiles • Fan polls • Free downloads • Player blog and much more! “An action-packed book with a fantastic website. My son and I loved reading about the exploits of the Bridgewood High FC team and are looking forward to the next instalment.” Richard Wright, former England and West Ham goalkeeper.
RRP £5.99
Quest is an imprint of Top That! Publishing plc, Tide Mill Way, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 1AP, UK www.quest-books.co.uk Copyright © 2008 Top That! Publishing plc. All rights reserved Printed and bound in China 0246897531