on the march Bridgewood High FC
Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
on the march Bridgewood High FC Written by Dave Spurdens
This edition published in Great Britain in 2009 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 978-1-84666-711-4 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.
on the march 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 2009 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!
on the march
1
Back to Business A door slammed downstairs and the house shook. Dicky Woodward sighed and gripped the edge of his desk, his knuckles gleaming white. His parents were shouting at each other again; it was the fourth time this week. Dicky forced himself to relax his tense, hunched shoulders and slowly released his grip on the desk. His parents had been arguing for a while now and he was terrified that his dad would leave. He rested his head on the cold, hard surface and felt a surge of anger that gave way to helplessness and tears. Dicky stood up and paced around his bedroom. He wished he could escape to the gym again; at least that way he could vent his frustration and put his new levels of fitness to good use on the football pitch. When he was working on his fitness, the stress and worry of Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
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Bridgewood High FC
what was happening at home was blocked out of his mind and thoughts of football and the feeling of freedom and exhilaration it gave him filled his head instead. He heard a loud crash from downstairs. Grabbing his gym kit, he picked up his door key and stomped out of the house, his parents too caught up in their argument to ask where he was going or when he’d be back. Dicky’s knuckles shined white again, but this time it was the handle of the rowing machine he was gripping. A slick of sweat covered him as he put every ounce of his energy into training. Translating his pain at home into a good performance on the football pitch for his team was important to him, especially at this crucial time. Beaten in their last game, Bridgewood High FC remained second from bottom of the Division 3 table and the next league match loomed. The day of the match against Cardinal Wolsey Academy was on Bonfire Night and the players 2
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on the march
of Bridgewood High FC promised an explosive game. Like famous Guy Fawkes himself, PE teacher Mr Cauldwell was busy plotting. He hoped that by implementing a new Bridgewood playing formation he would kick-start the team’s much-needed climb up the league. ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t go off like a damp squib,’ captain Charlie Oakley quipped, resulting in a few nervous laughs from his teammates as they stretched and warmed up. Dermott Riley looked on glumly as he realised he had missed an obvious opportunity to crack one of his own usual puns. As things turned out, Charlie’s joke was bang on the mark. It was a hard-fought game and sparks were flying as some of the tackles from both sides made the referee wince. Shaken by the aggressive tactics of the opposition, away side Bridgewood seemed to have forgotten the flowing, passing game their teachers wanted them to play, which cost them yet another loss. Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
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Bridgewood High FC
‘It’s back to the drawing board, lads,’ Mr Cauldwell said, as the team slowly trudged off the field. ‘We’ll have to up the training if we want to climb up the league.’ ************************* The first fixture of the London Schools Cup Competition was fast approaching and the training sessions were harder, focusing on basic skills and manoeuvres. Mr Mansell had done his usual, thorough research of the tough opposition, Forest Green, a Division 2 team. Mr Mansell told the Bridgewood players that Forest Green’s goalkeeper was an England trialist and one of their front players was on Tottenham’s books. He knew their PE teacher was a fitness fanatic so there would be no letting up until the final whistle. Mr Mansell warned the players, ‘This is a cup game, lads, and cup games are different to league 4
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on the march
games. This is not like the league where you can put things right next week. It’s a one-off and if you blow it, you’re out!’ Timothy Houghton-Smith could see that Mr Mansell’s words had struck a chord with the players and they looked focused and raring to go. The game was a corker straight from the kickoff. Bridgewood High had recaptured their masterful passing and movement off the ball and Forest Green put up a tough, fair fight. Bridgewood’s goalkeeper, Ryan Hartley, successfully withstood a barrage of accurate shots and Dicky Woodward ran Forest Green’s back four ragged with some dazzling runs, living up to his nickname of ‘Tricky Dicky.’ The dramatic game hung in the balance right up to the last few minutes, with both teams scoring three goals each. It took a special moment from Dicky to turn the tide. He beat three Forest Green players Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
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Bridgewood High FC
before chipping the ball over their keeper and into the back of the net, taking Bridgewood High FC into the next round of the cup. At school the next day, the players were greeted and congratulated by their fellow students. The win in the cup game had given the team the confidence boost they needed and Bridgewood easily won the following league match against Langford Park High. ‘We’re back on form and going up!’ Dermott whooped, punching the air. ‘We’ve still got a long way to go, Dermott, so don’t celebrate too soon,’ Mr Cauldwell said, smiling. ‘Top of the table Stanford Park are still eight points better off than us and they are four points clear of their nearest rivals.’ Mr Cauldwell’s cautioning words to Dermott went in one ear and out of the other. Dermott was convinced that Bridgewood were going to go all the way in both the league and the cup and nothing anyone said to him could destroy this dream. 6
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on the march
Dermott’s bubbly enthusiasm rubbed off on Dicky who felt happy and optimistic about the future for the first time in weeks. He smiled to himself. Things might be looking up after all, he thought, as he walked down the corridor with his laughing teammates.
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on the march
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. Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
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Log on if you’re a football fan! Feel the passion of the football-mad students at Bridgewood High in these gripping tales of schooldays and sport, and then follow the footie action live online through fixture reports, player blogs, league tables and more! Become a Bridgewood High fan by logging on to: www.bridgewoodhighfc.com
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Unlock the thrilling climax to each story online! Aliens are poised to destroy the human race unless the seven artefacts that make up the Astral Legacies are returned. The world’s only hope lies with seven children, who must find the missing items without fail. Join the heroic quest by following the GPS coordinates in the books and solving the final puzzles to reveal the locations of the Astral Legacies. Go to www.astrallegacies.com and submit the hidden locations to unlock the climax to each story. 134
Time travellers bring history to life. Since the discovery of their father’s time machine, Henrietta and her brother Tom have secretly travelled back through the ages to experience history at first hand. Explore the past with them in these historically accurate illustrated journals. Check out Henrietta’s website for the latest time-travelling news: www.misshenriettagray.com
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Action-packed adventures from a real secret agent! Written by real undercover agent Gary Murray, these actionpacked stories follow Major Jack Strong in his quest to save the world from the evil Stealth. Through martial arts tournaments, covert surveillance, shoot-outs and more, Major Strong is relying on you to crack the codes in his dossiers and get online to infiltrate and destroy the enemy’s mission control websites.
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The Global Intelligence Organisation needs you now! Do you have what it takes to complete these unsolved missions? Each file contains everything you will need to learn agent field skills, crack tricky codes and ciphers and put your talent to the test to complete each top secret mission. Report your findings to www.global-intelligence.org
and stop Stealth from carrying out their dastardly plans!
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Train to become a secret agent with the Global Intelligence Organisation, and then prepare to pit your wits against the villainous Stealth. With global domination set firmly in their sights, there’s no time to lose in the battle to save the world! Secret Agent Handbook includes: • A padlock, keys and a key fob. • Survival and navigation techniques. • Real spy codes and ciphers. • Spy surveillance skills. • Spy stickers and much more top secret information! • Free downloads available at www.global-intelligence.org 139
Behind every good magic trick there is a story to tell ... Tall Tales of Magic is a brand new series that reveals the secrets behind the art of performing magic. Each exciting story will teach you how to perform an impressive range of magic tricks using the components that are included with each book. You can even go online to see the tricks being performed by professional magicians at www.talltalesofmagic.com
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on the march Bridgewood High FC by Dave Spurdens Excellent teamwork makes Bridgewood High School Football Club a force to be reckoned with. Have the team got what it takes to win promotion and cup competition glory? Follow the team online at www.bridgewoodhighfc.com • Match reports • Player profiles • Fan polls • Free downloads • Player blog and much more! Praise for Bridgewood High FC: “Having played for England, I can truly relate to the highs and lows experienced by the characters in Bridgewood High FC. ‘A New Team Is Born’ is a terrific book, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!” Matt Bloomfield, Former England U20 Player.
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 © 2009 Top That! Publishing plc. All rights reserved Printed and bound in China 0246897531